Dyslexia In Higher Education Research Articles

Dyslexia in higher education – teacher’s perspective: scoping review

The experience of dyslexic students is influenced by the beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of their teachers at all levels of education, including the university. The purpose of this review is to explore the empirical knowledge of dyslexic university students from the point of view of their teachers. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 12 studies (out of the 771 retrieved from 5 main relevant databases) met the inclusion criteria. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the included studies. Three main themes were identified: dyslexia = gray area; “inclusive university”; and practical training is necessary. In conclusion, awareness of dyslexia among university teachers is sufficient, and their attitudes toward dyslexic students are mostly positive, while expressing some concerns, which would deserve closer examination directly in practice. Higher education teachers would appreciate practical training to acquire skills to work with students with dyslexia. These trainings have the potential to increase the self-efficacy of teachers and thus overall support the well-being not only of teachers but also of dyslexic students. This study advances the existing literature on dyslexia in higher education by adding the point of view of higher education teachers. Based on the results of this study, it is clear that universities should provide more support to their teaching staff, including guidance and practical training, so that their courses could become inclusive and welcoming for all students (including students with dyslexia).

Factors contributing to realizing valuable goals of students with dyslexia in higher education.

When students with dyslexia enter higher education, studying often creates challenges at different levels. Universities differ in the way they facilitate students with dyslexia in their educational careers. This study focusses on studying with dyslexia from a value-driven perspective. The aim of the study is to investigate valuable goals of students with dyslexia in higher education and the conversion factors that are stimulating and inhibiting in the realization of these valuable goals. Data were collected during focus groups: five focus groups of students with dyslexia (23 participants) and two focus groups of student counsellors (10 participants). Important values for students are their personal development and to prove they can succeed at university level. Not all students are able or being enabled to show their knowledge and skills and to grow within the educational system. Different personal and environmental factors are described that inhibit or facilitate the realization of valuable goals. The results are presented from two perspectives: of students and student counsellors. The implications of the results and guidelines for future research are discussed.

Dyslexia in higher education: enhancing student belonging and overcoming barriers to achievement through communities of practice

Feeling that they belong is a crucial part of a student's learning journey which impacts enjoyment, attainment and retention. Dyslexic students can feel isolated within their diagnosis and do not openly discuss their inherent challenges and strengths, often due to previous educational and/or social misconceptions. In the United Kingdom, with a professional diagnosis, tailored support for this Specific Learning Difference (SpLD) may be sought through government funding known as Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). However, many dyslexic students remain undiagnosed, or do not wish to disclose, and this, combined with a reduction in DSA funding in 2015, has negatively impacted the achievement and affinity of this cohort. Although as a result of this funding cut higher education institutions became legally responsible for making reasonable adjustments to their teaching practices, this broad-brush approach does not support dyslexic students in understanding the many intricacies associated with this SpLD, or how to navigate their learning in a higher education context. To bridge this gap, and help like-minded students share ideas to help others whilst also developing their own skills and confidence, I initiated a community of practice (CoP). After a year of fortnightly meetings, a group of empowered individuals, who had a much deeper understanding of what being dyslexic meant, emerged with newfound confidence, having connected and collaborated with neurologically similar people.

Awareness of Dyslexia in Higher Education: Embracing Diversity and Inclusivity

Awareness of Dyslexia in Higher Education: Embracing Diversity and Inclusivity

Participation problems and effective accommodations in students with dyslexia in higher education

ABSTRACT Students with dyslexia face particular challenges in higher education. Individuals with disabilities have a right to accommodations to guarantee equal opportunities and participation in education. The present study addresses (1) the frequency of functioning and participation problems of students with dyslexia in higher education, (2) the teaching and evaluation methods during which the functioning and participation problems emerge, and (3) the effectiveness of accommodations perceived by students with dyslexia. Results showed that students with dyslexia primarily have problems with reading comprehension, reading speed, spelling and text writing. Furthermore, most students with dyslexia experience more problems during classical teaching (e.g. lecture) or classical evaluation methods (e.g. written exam with open questions) than during dynamic or activating teaching methods (e.g. excursion or internship) or alternative evaluation methods (e.g. peer evaluation). Finally, perception of the effectiveness of accommodations depends strongly on the individual functioning and participation problems students with dyslexia experienced.

A Quantitative Study Identifying the Prevalence of Anxiety in Dyslexic Students in Higher Education

Adult students with dyslexia in higher education can receive support for their cognitive needs but may also experience negative emotions such as anxiety due to their dyslexia in connection with their studies. This paper aims to test the hypothesis that adult dyslexic learners have a higher prevalence of academic and social anxiety than their non-dyslexic peers. A quantitative approach was used to measure differences in academic and social anxiety between 102 students with a formal diagnosis of dyslexia compared to 72 students with no history of learning difficulties. Academic and social anxiety was measured in a questionnaire based on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Findings showed that dyslexic students showed statistically significantly higher levels of academic, but not social anxiety in comparison to the non-dyslexic sample. Dyslexic students in higher education show academic anxiety levels that are well above what is shown by students without dyslexia. The implications of this for the dyslexia practitioner is that delivery of strategies to deal with anxiety should be seen equally as important, if not more so, than interventions to deal with cognitive difficulties.

Dyslexia in higher education: a systematic review of interventions used to promote learning

ABSTRACT This systematic review assessed the effectiveness of published inventions, of an experimental design, used to promote learning for learners with dyslexia on HE programmes. Historical observations suggest that a notable number of learners with dyslexia express concern at the levels of support they receive and that support plans provided to their departments are not implemented fully. To be eligible for inclusion in this systematic review studies had to evaluate interventions aimed at improving outcomes for students with dyslexia. Data was extracted from the studies using specially developed data extraction templates, one for studies of experimental/quasi-experimental design and one for systematic reviews to ensure a systematic and transparent approach to data collection. The included studies were quality appraised for internal validity, external validity and relevance. A thematic narrative synthesis was carried out on the studies’ data. Evidence from the included studies was limited in terms of the number and rigour of studies which met the inclusion criteria. This impeded the review’s ability to establish strong evidential conclusions. Findings suggest a scarcity of high quality, experimental research that tests the effectiveness of dyslexia support interventions in HE. Pockets of good practice exist which may prove useful but these require further investigation.

“A” for Attitude—Attitudes towards Dyslexia in Higher Education

This paper makes the case for the importance of an empathetic approach to understanding dyslexia, in educational establishments, especially in Higher Education. An awareness of the implications that having dyslexia and how this affects both study skills (concentration, organisation, revision and so forth) and presentation skills (completion of assignments within academic language and structures and without grammar, punctation and spelling errors) is accentuated in this article.This research employs meta-ethnography, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and a grounded theory overlay to thematic critical analysis. In so doing, UK literature of both quantitative and qualitative format was examined through specifying inclusion criteria and using a filtering approach.The justification for this work is to challenge any institutional or individual indirect discriminatory practice towards students with dyslexia.Conclusions indicate the need for enhanced institutional understanding of dyslexia and associated provision for individual dyslexic learners within Higher Education in its entirety. For example, access to digitalised resources, individual tutorials, assistive technology and adjusted expectations in marking criteria (as not to penalise for issues concomitant with dyslexia).

Knowledge, awareness of problems, and support: university instructors’ perspectives on dyslexia in higher education

ABSTRACTThe present study examines the perspectives of 234 university instructors (UI) about (1) problems they see for students with dyslexia (StD), (2) the support they would need in order to be able to teach StD, and (3) the help they currently provide StD. In addition, information on instructors’ dyslexia-related knowledge was collected. The results showed that while instructors are informed about dyslexia itself to some extent, they lack basic information about certain aspects, particularly diagnostics and dealing with StD in an appropriate way. Legal uncertainty aggravates this problem. A third of the instructors had provided assistance to StD in the past, but support is limited to compensational measures in exams. We argue that UI should receive more practical information concerning the above points and that support for StD should facilitate the learning process rather than (just) take the form of compensatory measures in exams.

A documentary analysis of the support services offered to adult learners with dyslexia in higher education

ABSTRACTThe National Student Survey (NSS) seeks to measure how ‘satisfied’ students are with their programmes of study and educational experience. Ongoing NSS data demonstrates that global satisfaction scores are increasing; however, when this is separated into disabled and non-disabled students, downward satisfaction trends for disabled students are apparent. Around half of these students will have dyslexia. This ‘snapshot’ documentary analysis evaluates the currently publicly available information outlining the support services that are available for students with dyslexia. The survey focuses upon a sample of higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. Findings indicate that there are notable differences in the types and consistency of support offered across the sample institutions. The most frequently used model is that of additional learning support (ALS), where support is provided outside of the usual class contact time. Mentoring provides benefits for students with dyslexia but fewer than half of the institutions surveyed offered this. Subject specialist mentoring is particularly beneficial but there is little evidence of this taking place. There is a level of support in all the institutions that appears to meet the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) but this does not necessarily indicate that dyslexic students are supported in the most effective way.

Recently identified university students navigate dyslexia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to capture students’ understandings of dyslexia as a component of identity. Specifically, the journey that students embarked on in order to contribute to self-understanding of learning and how dyslexia contributes to these experiences was examined.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative case study explored concepts of social identity theory, how students understood their dyslexia and whether or not labelling theory informed students’ identities through an arts-based phenomenological lens. Eight university students participated in a brief survey, a semi-structured interview and created artefacts representing their dyslexia, which facilitated dialogue about their individual experiences in a higher education context.FindingsInterpretive phenomenological analysis revealed that student participants associated strongly with the identity of dyslexia; however they did not consider themselves to be part of a dyslexic group. They also discussed different routes that informed their decisions to undergo diagnostic assessments for dyslexia. Students did not report dyslexia identity as a label. Nonetheless, the students expressed that creating an artefact supported them to better understand and communicate their dyslexia.Originality/valueAlthough visual methods are increasingly prevalent in educational research, they are not typical in the field of dyslexia in higher education. This research therefore engaged students in active self-reflection which provided valuable insight into the nature and diversity of the experiences that can emerge from identification of dyslexia at university.

‘Just deal with it’: neoliberalism in dyslexic students’ talk about dyslexia and learning at university

There are different ways of theorising dyslexia and different ways of constructing meanings around dyslexia in different learning contexts. This paper considers the role of neoliberalist ideology in shaping conversations about dyslexia and ‘fairness’ during two focus group conversations analysed as part of a study into the discursive construction of dyslexia in higher education. Ideological analysis was undertaken with reference to Gee's discourse analysis and Willig's concept of the use of discursive resources in interaction. Investigation identified neoliberalist ideology as a powerful voice within the analysed texts, and as directive for identity and action. This paper argues that recognition of the ways in which neoliberalist ideology shapes everyday conversation about learning and learning differences is vital in the construction and maintenance of fairer higher education in the UK.

The inclusion of students with dyslexia in higher education: a systematic review using narrative synthesis.

This article reports on a study focusing on the inclusion of students with dyslexia in higher education (HE). A systematic review was carried out to retrieve, critically appraise and synthesize the available evidence on how the inclusion of students with dyslexia can be fostered in HE. The 15 studies included in the final synthesis employed descriptive designs and overwhelmingly used qualitative methods to explore dyslexic students' perceptions on the impact of teaching, support and accommodation in their own learning experience. A critical appraisal of these studies revealed a landscape of significant gaps in the available stock of evidence on the inclusion of students with dyslexia in HE. The synthesis of the available evidence is presented in a narrative of five cross-study thematic areas: student coping strategies, being identified as dyslexic, interaction with academic staff, accessibility and accommodations, and using assistive technologies and information and communication technologies. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Dyslexia in Higher Education – 20th Society of Scientific Study of Reading Annual Conference

Hong Kong, 10–13 July 2013

Dyslexia in Higher Education: the decision to study art

Increasing numbers of students in Higher Education (HE) have dyslexia and are particularly over represented in the visual and creative arts. While dyslexia has been associated with artistic talent, some applicants may perceive their academic opportunities as limited because of negative learning experiences associated with their dyslexia. This study explored how the qualitative lived experience of dyslexia was implicated in degree choice. Transcripts of semi-structured interviews with 13 arts students provided data for an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three superordinate themes emerged which can be described under the broad headings: (1) Influence of school and family, (2) Dyslexia as a strength, (3) Having a passion for art. The data from eight students clearly suggested that they had actively chosen to study art because of a long standing interest and acknowledged talent. The others had perceived their academic options as otherwise limited. However, for all participants, studying and practising art had helped facilitate the development of a positive personal identity as an artist with dyslexia. We suggest this to be an important illustration of how access to HE can help individuals with dyslexia to achieve their potential.

Assessing dyslexia in higher education: the York adult assessment battery‐revised

Although there are a number of standardised measures to assess dyslexia in children, there are comparatively fewer instruments suitable for the assessment of dyslexia in adults. Given the growing number of students entering UK higher education institutions, there is a need to develop reliable tools for assessing the additional needs of those with dyslexia and related difficulties. This study reports data from a revised version of the York Adult Assessment: An Assessment Battery for Dyslexia Screening in Higher Education. The current York Adult Assessment‐Revised (YAA‐R) is an assessment battery consisting of tests of reading, spelling, writing and phonological skills. Data from a normative sample of 106 adults without dyslexia and a validation sample of 20 adults with dyslexia illustrate significant group differences on the tests comprising the YAA‐R. Additionally, the YAA‐R has good discriminatory power yielding 80% sensitivity and 97% specificity. Taken together, the YAA‐R is a suitable test battery for the assessment and identification of dyslexia in university students.

Identifying students with dyslexia in higher education

An increasing number of students with dyslexia enter higher education. As a result, there is a growing need for standardized diagnosis. Previous research has suggested that a small number of tests may suffice to reliably assess students with dyslexia, but these studies were based on post hoc discriminant analysis, which tends to overestimate the percentage of systematic variance, and were limited to the English language (and the Anglo-Saxon education system). Therefore, we repeated the research in a non-English language (Dutch) and we selected variables on the basis of a prediction analysis. The results of our study confirm that it is not necessary to administer a wide range of tests to diagnose dyslexia in (young) adults. Three tests sufficed: word reading, word spelling and phonological awareness, in line with the proposal that higher education students with dyslexia continue to have specific problems with reading and writing. We also show that a traditional postdiction analysis selects more variables of importance than the prediction analysis. However, these extra variables explain study-specific variance and do not result in more predictive power of the model.

Cognitive profile of students who enter higher education with an indication of dyslexia.

For languages other than English there is a lack of empirical evidence about the cognitive profile of students entering higher education with a diagnosis of dyslexia. To obtain such evidence, we compared a group of 100 Dutch-speaking students diagnosed with dyslexia with a control group of 100 students without learning disabilities. Our study showed selective deficits in reading and writing (effect sizes for accuracy between d = 1 and d = 2), arithmetic (d≈1), and phonological processing (d>0.7). Except for spelling, these deficits were larger for speed related measures than for accuracy related measures. Students with dyslexia also performed slightly inferior on the KAIT tests of crystallized intelligence, due to the retrieval of verbal information from long-term memory. No significant differences were observed in the KAIT tests of fluid intelligence. The profile we obtained agrees with a recent meta-analysis of English findings suggesting that it generalizes to all alphabetic languages. Implications for special arrangements for students with dyslexia in higher education are outlined.

Beyond spelling: the writing skills of students with dyslexia in higher education

To have a clearer idea of the problems students with dyslexia may face during their studies, we compared writings of 100 students with dyslexia and 100 age matched control students in higher education. The aim of this study was to compare the writing of young adults with dyslexia and young adults without dyslexia. The study was carried out in Belgium with writers of Dutch. First, we studied the number and type of spelling errors, the quality of the texts produced, the use of words, and the handwriting, both in a precis writing task (writing a summary of an informative text) and in a dictation task (sentence writing). Our results showed medium to large effect sizes for spelling errors: d = 0.93 for morphosyntactic spelling errors, d = 0.55 for memory-related spelling errors, and a medium effect size for punctuation and capitalization errors, d = 0.40. Second, experts who were blind to the aims of the study were asked to judge the quality of the writing of both groups based on transcriptions that were free from spelling errors. The quality of the texts produced was judged lower for students with dyslexia than for the controls, d = 0.61 for text structure and d = 0.56 for agreeability, even though the number and types of words used by both groups were very much the same. There was no significant difference in the quality of the handwriting, d = 0.15. Given that remedial teaching has been shown to be effective for essay-writing skills, educational support along these lines may be helpful for students with dyslexia.

Dyslexia in higher education: creating a fully inclusive institution

Disability legislation demands inclusive institutional policy and practice to meet the needs of the growing numbers of students disclosing specific learning difficulties (SpLD)/dyslexia. However, surveys of provision indicate mixed levels of student satisfaction. Institutions need to be able to monitor the extent to which their practice embodies their inclusive mission statements. Fuller, Healey, Bradley and Hall developed a stage model of progress towards the fully inclusive institution which suggests that departments or individuals can remain at different stages, delaying transformation of the whole system. This case study, conducted within a small university, used documentation, interviews, questionnaires and focus groups to explore attitudes and practices at each level of the institution to establish the extent to which Fuller's model might enable identification and elimination of ‘disablist institutional practice’ and the development of the fully inclusive ethos.Policy, management, lecturers and students were surveyed to explore attitudes and practices relevant to SpLD/dyslexia. Findings indicated that Fuller's model provided a clear and practical way of charting the institution's journey towards full inclusivity. Participants demonstrated the existence of examples of inclusive culture at all levels in University X, alongside a need for strengthened and clarified systems cementing links between management policy and the work of facilitators and lecturers. Inconsistencies in the systems connecting the levels potentially allow disablist practices to survive. Hence, identifying these gaps can facilitate their closure and promote the establishment of the fully inclusive institution.