The management of needs of children with dyslexia in state primary schools in Gozo

Abstract

This study aims at gathering information on the way students with dyslexia are being catered for in Gozitan primary state schools. It shows what kind of service is being provided and to what level this provision is set. Most importantly, the results show the role of the school administration and school staff with regard to the needs of students with dyslexia. The views of Heads of School and teachers were collected through questionnaires. Answers were analysed to determine how these professionals viewed this profile and their educational role. The study goes into detail and gathers responses from all the eleven primary schools in Gozo. Results show that teachers are directly responsible for the day-to-day learning of students with dyslexia. On the other hand, Heads of Schools and Senior Management Team set the right physical, social and emotional environment for learning to take place. The findings show that there is a need of more training and expertise to cater better for the needs of these students. Therefore, there should be more professional development for Heads of Schools, teachers, Leaming Support Assistants (LSAs) and complimentary teachers either in the form of in-service courses, or professional discussions. The study evidences the importance of having parents as partners in the educational experience. In the case of students with dyslexia, parents' participation has to increase in order to continue building on the core skills being learned at school. Another important finding is that schools are asking for more intervention and support from outside school expertise. It is clear that the link between schools in Gozo and the SpLD unit needs to be stronger. Several recommendations were proposed so as to improve the ways, needs of students with dyslexia are catered for as a result of the findings.