There were four aims identified for the study. Firstly,
to become familiar with current research concerning
children with learning difficulties in mainstream classes
in primary schools. Secondly, to ascertain teachers'
attitudes towards, and experience of, these children.
Thirdly, to interview a sample of children identified by
their teachers as performing in all academic areas at
least 18 months behind the rest of the class. The purpose
of the interview was to examine how they perceived their
performance in reading and mathematics compared with the
rest of the class, and to investigate their self-concepts.
The final aim was to gain an understanding of the nature
of the interaction between teachers and children with
learning difficulties by observing a small sample of
them, and a Control group, in class.
Field work was conducted in three A.C.T. primary
schools in 1984-85. The field work was divided into three
stages. In Stage 1 a sample of 30 teachers volunteered to
complete a questionnaire. In Stage 2 a sample of 30
children identified by their teachers as having learning
difficulties was interviewed. In Stage 3, 6 of the
previously identified children and 6 Control children
were observed in class.
Whilst the findings of these 3 stages of field work
can only be presented tentatively due to the small sample
sizes involved, there were some findings worthy of
comment. For example, many teachers indicated a lack
of pre-service training, or even in-service course attendance
which could have provided a background to teaching
children with learning difficulties.
The childrens' responses indicated that their perception
of their performance in reading compared with their
peers was that they were "enot as good as the rest of the
class."e However, for mathematics their perception was
that their performance was more in the middle of the
class. As a group their self-concept was low, as measured
on the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory. From the
observation it appeared that children with learning
difficulties were on-task as much as the Control children.
The teacher was twice as likely to interact with a child
with learning difficulties than with a Control child,
and the majority of these interactions were to impart
instructions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218789 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Bourke, Margaret, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Margaret Bourke |
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