In the Process of Educational Diagnosis of and Educational Intervention in Specific Learning Difficulties: Primary School Teachers’ Opinions and Experiences

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
Hayriye Gül Kuruyer ◽  
Ahmet Çakıroğlu

Students with a specific learning difficulty are students with low achievement and difficulties in the fields of reading, comprehension and language use, writing, listening, thinking, speaking, or mathematical thinking and operational skills. Identification of specific learning difficulties is the first stage in the development of educational intervention programs. In order to be able to make regulations, it is necessary to determine the strengths and weaknesses of these students in terms of their educational needs. Therefore, it is important to explore primary school teachers’ experiences and classroom applications as well opinions and knowledge about the concept of specific learning difficulty and students having such difficulties because determination of interventions to be made to improve a state depends to a great extent on knowledge about the issue. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to explore primary school teachers’ opinions and applications related to educational diagnosis and education intervention processes followed in case of specific learning difficulties. A grounded theory methodology was used. The study group of the current research consists of 8 primary school teachers. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. The collected data were analyzed by means of the constant comparison method. The analysis yielded four super categories: specific learning difficulty, problems, tasks and process. As a result of the study, it can be maintained that the primary school teachers have both knowledge deficiencies as regards the educational diagnosis of specific learning difficulties and development of educational intervention programs and conceptual fallacies that make diagnosis more difficult. In addition, it was observed that the teachers experienced difficulties in the process of development and application of educational intervention programs.

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-31
Author(s):  
Kingsley Udeh ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi ◽  
John Fulton

The increasing incidence and prevalence of non-communicable diseases is a major global health concern. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) account for the highest percentage of deaths related to non-communicable diseases, and low and middle-income countries (LMIC) face the highest burden of CVDs. Understanding the knowledge and perception of CVDs and their risk factors in an LMIC such as Nigeria may play an important role in cardiovascular health promotion and improvement plans to reduce CVD-related deaths. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of some personal and sociocultural views on CVDs and their risk factors. The participants were purposively sampled primary school teachers in South-Eastern Nigeria. Thematic analysis approach was used for data analysis. The study findings include knowledge of heart disease, perceived causes and risk factors of CVDs, spirituality, and the way forward. Overall, the knowledge of CVDs in the setting was found to be related to the psychosocial nature of the participants; the effectiveness of any intervention needs to take these factors into consideration. For example, health policies for CVD health education and awareness should be tailored to address some of the issues of belief, values, and religion, as mentioned in the study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 454-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khanyisile Brenda Nhlengethwa ◽  
Nadaraj Govender ◽  
Doras Sibanda

Teachers’ accurate understanding of Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (IBST) is crucial for the proper enactment of this pedagogical approach. In this research, a qualitative case study design was used to explore and interpret pre-service teachers’ understanding of IBST at the conclusion of their three-year primary diploma at a university in Swaziland. Data were collected using a semi-structured teaching scenario-based questionnaire in conjunction with individual semi-structured interviews. Thirty-four participants completed the questionnaire and eight of them were subsequently interviewed. The data were analyzed using a conceptual framework of IBST that outlines two dimensions of IBST; namely the cognitive and guidance dimensions. The results show that in the cognitive dimension, participants focused mainly on the procedural domain. With regard to the guidance dimension, they associated the pedagogical approach more with teacher-directed than learner-directed learning activities. This paper recommends that in training pre-service primary school teachers, teacher educators must broaden their focus from procedural aspects of IBST to include all its aspects; thereby developing their pre-service teachers’ holistic and deep experiences of IBST. Keywords: inquiry-based science teaching, primary school, pre-service teachers, scenario-based questionnaire, IBST understanding.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Gari ◽  
Kostas Mylonas ◽  
Sarka Portešová

The provision of gifted students with learning difficulties (GSLD) composes a complicated educational problem that deserves special care. This study explores teachers’ attitudes towards the GSLD in two samples of primary school teachers: 225 Greek teachers and 158 teachers in the Czech Republic, 40–59 years of age and with 14–28 years of teaching experience. A questionnaire of 26 questions, created for the purpose of this study, was administered referring to teachers’ attitudes towards opinions and information regarding the GSLD characteristics, along with three open-ended questions on the most preferable types of the GSLD educational provision. Through multidimensional scaling solutions in their trigonometric transformation (MDS-T) one large common and one minor separate system of items emerged for the two samples, which were meaningful in the direction of understanding teachers’ difficulties in accepting the contradictory core of the GSLD characteristics and educational needs. These systems of attitudes are discussed in respect to their relative importance to Czech and Greek teachers and the respective educational settings.


Author(s):  
Ruth Fairbanks ◽  
Catherine Andrew

Inquiry learning is considered more effective than traditional teacher-led learning. Whilst teachers espouse ideals of inquiry learning, actual implementation and practice remains unclear, requiring further study. Inquiry learning research in primary schools is mostly contained to maths and science. Few studies have investigated how primary school teachers differentiate practice to meet the needs of students with learning difficulties. Even fewer studies have investigated primary school teachers' implementation of Humanities and Social Science (HASS) inquiry learning. This chapter investigates primary school teachers' practices of implementing HASS inquiry learning, including strategies used to support students with learning difficulties, and school based factors impacting the implementation of inquiry learning. One Queensland regional school was identified using a theory-based sampling method. Teachers were recruited using criterion sampling method. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and demographic questionnaires; and HASS unit plans of three teachers (n=3) were synthesised into three themes: (i) teachers described a sense of professional fulfilment when implementing inquiry learning; (ii) teachers implemented specific strategies including explicit instruction to differentiate learning for students with learning difficulties; and (iii) school-based factors including leadership endorsement impact on successful implementation of inquiry learning in a primary school. Data obtained from the single school and small sample limit generalisability, therefore future research regarding teachers' implementation of HASS inquiry learning is recommended. Identification of strategies that support students with learning difficulties, and the impact of HASS inquiry learning on achievement amongst students with and without learning difficulties, are also recommended.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
I Adeosun ◽  
O Ogun ◽  
S Adeyemo ◽  
A Bello ◽  
O Fatiregun

Objective: Primary school teachers have been identified as important partners in the prompt recognition, referral and management of children with ADHD. However their capacity to function in these roles is hinged on their extent of knowledge about ADHD. Furthermore teachers' knowledge about ADHD may influence the education and clinical outcomes of children with ADHD. This study assessed the impact of an educational intervention program on knowledge about ADHD among primary school teachers in Lagos, Nigeria. Method: An experimental study of the impact of a brief educational intervention on ADHD literacy among primary school teachers (n=144) in Lagos, Nigeria. At baseline, knowledge about symptoms and treatment of ADHD was elicited with a vignette-based questionnaire. The intervention consisted of the administration of an educational leaflet about ADHD, designed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. One week post-intervention, the baseline assessments were repeated. Results: At baseline, 92.4% of the teachers could not recognise features of ADHD. The majority were also unaware of the role of teachers, medications and psychological interventions in the management of children with ADHD. Post-intervention, significantly greater number of respondents compared with baseline (88.0% vs. 7.6%) correctly identified symptoms of ADHD (p<0.005), and agreed that ADHD could be successfully managed with medications (63.2% vs. 9.0%; p<0.005) and psychological treatment (79.2% vs. 16.7%; p<0.005). Conclusion: A simple low-cost educational intervention is effective in improving knowledge about ADHD among primary school teachers in the shortterm. Further research is required to evaluate the impact of this intervention in the long term.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Falkiner ◽  
Donald Thomson ◽  
Andrew Day

Across the eight jurisdictions of Australia, mandatory reporting obligations and thresholds for reporting vary. Teachers are one group of the professionals who are mandated to report child maltreatment, yet some teachers are still reluctant to make such a report. This paper examines the barriers that discourage teachers from reporting child maltreatment and also whether teachers consider it necessary to question a child about the maltreatment before they decide if a report should be made. Thirty semi-structured interviews with Victorian primary school teachers were thematically analysed and revealed that inadequate and inconsistent mandatory reporting training, the need for certainty before initiating a report and the ambiguous concept of neglect were barriers to teachers identifying and reporting child maltreatment. Analyses further revealed that teachers gather evidence to confirm or disconfirm their suspicions of maltreatment by questioning the suspected child victim. The consequences of this practice are discussed along with recommendations to help overcome the barriers to making a formal report when child maltreatment is suspected.


Author(s):  
Ei Ei Phyo Aung ◽  
Nang Mie Mie Htun ◽  
Pa Pa Soe

Background: Rabies is an exceptionally fatal zoonotic disease and major public health problem in developing countries. Health knowledge of preventive measures of rabies among primary school teachers is paramount to cultivate their students and create a secure and safe environment since primary school students are the most vulnerable group. The study aimed to assess the effect of health education on knowledge of preventive measures of rabies among primary school teachers.Methods: A pre and post-test intervention study was conducted among randomly selected 64 primary school teachers from 7 Townships in Mandalay from July to October, 2020. An educational intervention was conducted by contributing 4 sheets of pamphlets and appearing 5 minutes education video record and reassessment was done one month later.Results: The mean knowledge scores before and after intervention were 40.59±4.85 and 47.75±4.02 showing statistically significant improvement (p<0.001). Mean of the improvement percentage was 19.38±5.06. Out of 64 participants, 37.5% had good knowledge in pre-test which improved to 95.3% in post-test (p<0.05). Although, age, marital status, having children and having stray dogs near school compound were adjusted in multiple linear regression, there was no statistical significance association with improvement percentage.Conclusions: There is improvement of knowledge status, which is not influenced by sociodemographic factors, following educational intervention. This highlights the need of continuing medical education for preventive measures of rabies for both primary school teachers and primary school students.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Rostom Meryem

Research on the gendered division of household labour suggests that spouses’ inequitable housework division is determined by economic, cultural and/ or pragmatic considerations. While these factors are partially supported by the literature on household labour division, results of this study further suggested that women perform more housework than their spouses out of choice and are not necessarily unhappy with their unbalanced share. The data for the study were drawn from in-depth semi-structured interviews administered to 30 Moroccan female primary school teachers. Building on Thompson’s (1991) distributive justice framework, this paper focuses on examining women’s underlying motivation for doing a far greater proportion of housework tasks than do their husbands in spite of working for pay. It also states the implications of such a deliberate choice.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustapha Abdu ◽  
Ahmad Umar ◽  
Bin Hj. Ibrahim Faisal ◽  
Syed Hassan Syed Tajuddin ◽  
Binti Ismail Suria ◽  
...  

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