Dyslexia In Higher Education Research Articles

Dyslexia in the United Arab Emirates University – A Study of Prevalence in English and Arabic

Background: A steadily increasing number of students with dyslexia are entering higher education internationally. If identified early, they can be helped to adapt and cope with their difficulties and acquire the skills they need to reach their full potential. English speaking countries have recently started to research dyslexia in higher education. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), generic research on dyslexia has, until today, been limited. Methods: This study investigated the prevalence of dyslexia among female students attending the UAE University during the academic year 2007/2008. The study also explored the language in which dyslexic-features are evident, whether it is Arabic - the students’ mother-tongue, or English - the students’ second language, or both, as well as the association if any with the students’ choice of subjects of study. Results: Our findings suggest that the prevalence of features consistent with dyslexia is 17.6% among female Emirati University students, that they experience these difficulties in both English and Arabic, and that they tend to choose courses that are more job-oriented. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the occurrence of dyslexia among higher education students in the UAE and highlight the need for systematic screening programs for dyslexia. The present data also suggests that despite differences in the linguistic contexts of English and Arabic, dyslexia crosses language boundaries.

Greek university students with dyslexia: an interview study

This paper reports a study exploring the personal and educational experiences of Greek students with dyslexia in higher education. Interviews with 16 students with dyslexia (11 male and five female) were conducted to investigate how they experienced school, peer relations, labelling, family support, university, self‐esteem and how they made their future plans. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Primary school was remembered by interviewees as a series of unhappy and distressing memories that had a negative effect on their self‐esteem. As they grew older, problems were more limited to academic skills, and they developed friendships with peers. The time in which they were diagnosed as dyslexic was important because it opened the way to adaptation. Students with dyslexia experienced a variety of difficulties at university, and employed a number of coping strategies to deal with them. The findings of the present study seem to indicate that the recipe for a favourable outcome appears to be early diagnosis, explanation of the diagnosis to the student, parental support and suitable teaching and help at school and at university. Further research is needed into how to make schools and universities more ‘dyslexia friendly’, and on how the secondary effects of dyslexia can be reduced.

Teaching students with dyslexia in higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the type of adjustments to delivery appropriate for students with dyslexia in a UK higher education setting.Design/methodology/approachA case study in a UK university department was conducted over a four‐year period.FindingsIt was found that a variety of adjustments may be required for students with dyslexia in a UK higher education environment including adjustments to teaching delivery, assessment and pastoral care. In addition it is necessary to provide a managed transition from school/college/work to higher education.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the case study reported here focusesd on only 22 students with dyslexia, the number of students entering UK higher education with dyslexia is likely to increase and institutions need to be aware of the adjustments that may potentially be required.Originality/valuePreviously few students with dyslexia had attended university in the UK. However, growing numbers of such students are now attending university, but thus far little, if any, research has been conducted regarding the adjustments that may need to be made for such students.

Theorising dyslexic student discussion/action groups in UK higher education: research in practice

This research in practice analyses the experience of operating discussion/action groups with dyslexic students in higher education in three British universities which reflects a shift from the practice of developing ‘support groups’ to a more developmental, proactive stance. It does so in the current UK legislative context which requires higher education institutions to involve disabled students in creating practices which promote equality. The students in these particular groups learned more about their own dyslexia and about dyslexia in general. They also learned about processes of institutional change and devised actual changes in systems and practices. They provided new descriptions about dyslexia in higher education which could be used within staff development processes. The significance of these developments can be recognised with the help of current theories about learning as a situated social activity, about academic literacies as social practice and about social models of disability.

Dyscalculia and dyslexia in higher education — “Pathways to Progress”

Dyscalculia and dyslexia in higher education — “Pathways to Progress”

“Forging The Future”. Dyscalculia and Dyslexia in Higher Education

“Forging The Future”. Dyscalculia and Dyslexia in Higher Education

What counts as a reasonable adjustment? Dyslexic students and the concept of fair assessment

This article focuses on the construction of dyslexia in higher education and explores the nature of negotiations between students, lecturers and academic institutions over diagnosis, support and assessment. Disabled students are now entitled, under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), to reasonable adjustments in assessment. However, there continue to be debates about the nature of dyslexia and the extent to which requests for reasonable adjustments threaten to compromise academic standards. The article begins with a brief overview of the provisions of the DDA and its implications for learning support and adjustments to assessment in higher education, before considering current debates in education over the nature of dyslexia and its implications for assessment in higher education. We then consider the incidence of dyslexia in higher education and the implications of the rapid growth in the number and proportion of disabled students in higher education for assessment practices. Subsequently, we present case studies of dyslexic students and discuss (a) the way in which dyslexia is understood by different actors and (b) institutional responses to claims for reasonable adjustment in teaching and assessment.

The disclosure of dyslexia in clinical practice: Experiences of student nurses in the United Kingdom

Heightened awareness and increasingly sophisticated psychological tests have seen a dramatic rise in the numbers of people diagnosed with dyslexia. Accordingly, there is a reported increase in the numbers of students with dyslexia entering Higher Education (HE) in the United Kingdom (UK) [Singleton, C.H., Chair, 1999. Dyslexia in higher education: policy, provision and practice. Report of the national working party on dyslexia in higher education. University of Hull on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Councils of England and Scotland, Hull], [Higher Education Statistics Agency. HESA. Available from: <URL http://www.hesa.ac.uk> (accessed 21.12.05)]. Studies researching the effects of dyslexia on the clinical practice of nurses are almost non-existent. This paper reports part of a UK study exploring the clinical experiences of student nurses with dyslexia. In depth interviewing of 18 adult branch student nurses revealed a range of difficulties encountered and a variety of coping mechanisms to manage these. Other than in exceptional circumstances there is no legal requirement to disclose a dyslexia diagnosis. The decision to conceal or disclose their dyslexia was particularly prominent and contentious for these participants. This related to the attitudes of co-workers, concerns for patient safety, expectations of support, confidentiality issues and potential discrimination. Dyslexia continues to attract an unwarranted stigma and can adversely affect the learning experience. The need for disability awareness training in the workplace and improved education/service partnerships to support these students is considered crucial.

Proximal Analysis of Developmental Dyslexia in Adulthood: The Cognitive Mosaic Model.

Dyslexic students may be disadvantaged in their use of written language, impeding academic achievement, and requiring remediation and concessions. A proximal analysis assessed the operations of the 3 major pathways (orthography to semantics, orthography to phonology, and phonology to orthography) within models of reading and spelling through lexical decision, reading aloud, and spelling aloud. No dyslexic individual exactly matched the group outcomes on all of the indicators, and no 2 dyslexic individuals presented identical profiles. A multicomponent mosaic model is supported whereby dyslexic difficulties relate to functions that require manipulation of orthographic and phonological units. A documented history and cognitive indicators of orthographic processing may offer a viable approach to the diagnosis, remediation, and concession of adult dyslexia in higher education.

Dyslexia in Higher Education: an abuse of the system?

Summary Following on from a previous article which examined concerns regarding the growing demand for public examination concessions on the basis of specific learning difficulties, this article further argues against the much used one‐off psychometric assessment procedure. The appropriateness is queried of a process which does not take into account such other factors as anxiety and emotional disturbance, inappropriate teaching, parental pressure, and socio‐cultural opportunity, all of which can produce a very similar pattern of failure. The nature of specific learning difficulties is also examined, plus a comment on differing assessment techniques. It was concluded that the ‘specific’ needs to be put back into an assessment of ‘specific learning difficulty’. So‐called dyslexia should be identified as the student's major special educational need and not merely as part of a more general learning problem. To do otherwise leaves the system open to abuse, and the long‐term interests of the students concerned w...