Inclusive education requires that the framework within which education is delivered should be broad enough to accommodate equally the needs and circumstances of every learner in the society. This includes learners with disabilities like dyslexia who have been excluded from the formal education system. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study that explored and described the dyslexic learners’ experiences with their peers and teachers in special and public schools in North-West Province of South Africa.
The study adopted a qualitative methodology and used a phenomenology research design. The sample was purposively selected and comprised nine dyslexic learners. All the learners were in public schools previously and were later moved to a special school after being diagnosed as dyslexic. The participants were aged 9–12 years. The researchers conducted one-on-one interviews with the participants and content-analysed the data.
The findings revealed that in public schools the dyslexic learners were exposed to ill-treatment by other learners who despised, ridiculed, bullied and undermined them. The findings further revealed that teachers in public schools were not patient with dyslexic learners, did not give them extra attention and that some teachers used negative comments that embarrassed them.
The article spells out the barriers experienced by dyslexic learners in public schools and also recommends training of teachers so that they know how to deal with dyslexic learners, thereby eliminating the barriers. The study further recommended awareness campaigns among the student body about dyslexia.
South Africa followed international trends in accordance with the social rights discourse and adopted inclusive education. Subsequently, the policy document, Education White Paper No. 6 (2001), was developed, and it outlined and accepted its responsibility to provide a supportive inclusive education environment for learners with special needs (Sukhraj
It is against this background that the current study seeks to explore and describe the dyslexic learners’ experiences with their peers and teachers in special and public schools. Specifically, this study explores the classroom experiences of dyslexic learners with a view to establishing if the classroom environment in public schools is conducive for them to learn as stated in the inclusive education policy. It is assumed that having this knowledge would assist the inclusive education implementation strategy by identifying the needs of the dyslexic learners and therefore devise means to address them. In addition, Hoskins (
There are numerous definitions of dyslexia by different authors. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterised by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction (Lyon et al.
Moats et al. (
The ability to read and write is recognised as being one of the most fundamental of the core skills contributing to academic achievement, lifelong learning and sustainable development (Trudell et al.
Dyslexia affects the reading process at two levels, that is, decoding and reading comprehension (Gough & Turner in Pirttimaa, Takala & Ladonlahti
Davie in Hoskins (
How do dyslexic learners relate with their peers and teachers in public schools?
How do dyslexic learners relate with their peers and teachers in special schools?
Which learning environment do dyslexic learners believe to be conducive between public and special schools?
Murungi (
Research has shown that dyslexic learners require a classroom environment which is predominantly a learning environment where they can feel comfortable and develop confidence and self-esteem (Lynn
The study was qualitative in nature, and it followed a phenomenological research design. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (
The sample consisted of nine dyslexic learners. These learners were purposefully selected as they were formally diagnosed with dyslexia by psychologists in their previous schools before joining the special school and as such all the respondents were aware of their condition. The learners were enrolled for grades 3 and 4 at a special school together with learners with other challenges, including visually impaired learners and physically challenged learners who had learning challenges. The sample consisted of three girls and six boys and their ages ranged from 9 to 12 years. The mother tongue of all the respondents was Setswana.
Semi-structured interviews were used in order to get information from the respondents. According to Hall (
The recorded interviews were transcribed and translated into English. One of the researchers who spoke Setswana translated the interviews back into Setswana in order to eliminate inconsistencies. After the researchers had satisfied themselves that the transcript was accurate, they made four copies of it and independently coded the data. After coding the data, the researchers held a meeting where they discussed the themes and reached a consensus on five themes.
The clearance certificate to conduct this study was granted by the Tshwane University of Technology’s (TUT) Faculty Committee for Research Ethics-Humanities (FCRE-HUM). This committee is a subcommittee of the Senate Committee for Research Ethics. The TUT Research Ethics Committee is registered with the National Health Research Ethics Council (REC-160509-21). The clearance certificate was submitted to the school principal who later granted permission to one of the researchers to conduct research at the identified school. As already mentioned, the respondents were aged between 9 and 12 years, which meant that the researchers had to seek permission from the parents or guardians. In the consent letter, the purpose of the study and the rights of the respondents were explained. After the parents or guardians had allowed learners to participate in the study, one of the researchers whose mother tongue is Setswana scheduled an appointment with the school principal. The dyslexic learners were identified with the assistance of the educational psychologist based at the special school. The researcher interviewed each respondent for about 30 min in their mother tongue. The researcher explained the purpose of the study and sought permission from the respondents to record the interview, which was granted by all interviewees. All respondents were interviewed in a day.
The dyslexic learners painted a gloomy picture about the relationship with their peers in public schools. They indicated that many learners in public schools did not understand their problem as dyslexic learners. As a result, when they battle to read and write, they become the centre of attraction among the normal learners. The dyslexic learners mentioned that very few learners in the public school sympathised with them, but the majority teased and laughed at them. This attitude made them look inferior to other learners. The majority of the dyslexic learners felt embarrassed by the fact that they were different from other learners in terms of reading and writing performance. Being different made them uncomfortable and they lost confidence in themselves. This negative attitude was facilitated by the negative comments they received from their peers emanating from the fact that they struggled a lot with reading and writing. They further mentioned that when they were grouped by their teachers in class they felt embarrassed as their peers sometimes would like them to give feedback on behalf of the group. In such situations, they felt that their failure to read and write properly did not only affect them but also their peers. They also mentioned that in public schools they were bullied by other learners as they looked inferior as far as their academic performance was concerned. One respondent said:
‘When I was at public school my peers used to make me feel stupid. When I struggle to read or mispronounce words they would laugh at me. This worried me a lot as I was the only one in class experiencing this problem. As a result I decided to isolate myself so as to avoid embarrassment. Even at home I used to isolate myself from playing with other children since I had developed a very low self-esteem.’ (Participant 4, male, grade 3)
On the same question, another respondent mentioned the following:
‘Other learners used to judge me because they did not understand my problem. They made me feel like blaming myself and yet I did not choose for myself to have these challenges. The situation was worse when it came to group work. My group members would force me to give feedback representing our group. This was a strategy to attract everybody’s attention to my challenges as the whole class would laugh at me.’ (Participant 1, female, grade 4)
Another respondent said:
‘Observing other learners reading properly was frustrating. This made me feel less than other learners in class. My major problem was with spelling, especially English words. My problem was better in the mother tongue.’ (Participant 9, female, grade 3)
The dyslexic learners complained about the manner in which they were treated by the majority of teachers in public schools. They mentioned that teachers were not patient with them. They felt that their teachers did not give them extra attention but treated them like other learners in the classroom. They felt that teachers in the public school did not understand that they have learning challenges and were different from other learners and therefore needed special attention. They further mentioned that some teachers used negative comments that embarrassed the dyslexic learners. One learner said:
‘In my previous school some teachers used to be angry and punish me when I failed to read and write properly. They seemed not to understand that I had a challenge. They thought that I was stupid in class and I was there to create problems for them. They also felt that I was holding back the class as they were no longer moving at their normal pace in an attempt to accommodate me.’ (Participant 2, male, grade 4)
On the same question another learner said:
‘Teachers used to ridicule me in front of other learners. They would ask me to read alone while other learners were listening and this embarrassed me. What frustrated me most was to fail to imitate the teacher when she was modelling reading for me. As she was paying attention to me some learners would feel bored and tease me during break.’ (Participant 8, female, grade 3)
Responding to the same question, one learner said:
‘I did not like the manner in which I was treated by the majority of teachers. They made me feel inferior and stupid. I did not receive any support from them. As a result I used to bunk school because I was not happy at all. At some stage I thought of dropping out but my parents promised to take me to a special school.’ (Participant 6, male, grade 3)
Dyslexic learners expressed satisfaction about their relationship with their peers in special schools. They emphasised that the very fact that there were many children like them in such schools made them feel comfortable. In special schools, they did not see themselves different from other learners as used to be the case in public schools. Other students seemed to understand their challenge and did not ridicule them. Instead, they received support from their peers. The fact that they were not different from other learners in their classroom made them feel normal. One learner said:
‘I have been here for 6 months and I am comfortable because my peers recognise me as a human being. That makes me feel comfortable and I have regained the confidence I lost when I was in a public school. Other learners do not laugh at me here.’ (Participant 8, female, grade 3)
Responding to the same question, another learner said:
‘Other students are patient with me. They seem to understand what I am going through and the very fact that I am not the only one with this challenge makes me feel comfortable. There are many of us here who battle with reading and writing and that makes me feel not different.’ (Participant 6, male, grade 3)
On the same question, another learner said:
‘I am happy with the treatment and respect I receive from other learners here. They do not ridicule nor bully me as it used to be the case in public schools.’ (Participant 2, male, grade 4)
The respondents expressed satisfaction with the manner they were treated by their teachers in a special school. Dyslexic learners felt that teachers in special schools understood their challenge and as such were patient with them. They also observed that teachers at a special school knew how to deal with their challenge as compared to teachers in public schools. Responding to the question, one learner said the following:
‘Teachers treat us well here. Since I came to a special school I am feeling well and my academic performance has picked up because sometimes I receive extra lessons.’ (Participant 3, male, grade 4)
On the same question, another learner said:
‘In the current school educators treat me normal like other learners but in the previous school I did not receive good treatment and that was the reason why I ended up losing interest in school. Another important thing is that teachers at special school do not see dyslexia as a challenge, they know how to deal with dyslexic learners. They make me feel welcome as I spend more hours with them than at home.’ (Participant 7, male, grade 4)
The dyslexic learners preferred a special school environment to that of a public school. They explained that the public school environment was not friendly to them and did not allow them to prosper in their academic endeavours. They pointed out that the public school environment made them feel different from other learners, whereas the special school environment made them feel like normal human beings. They mentioned that in special schools they had the opportunity to interact with other dyslexic learners, something that did not exist in public schools. One learner said:
‘Based on my experience with a public school, I feel that the special school provides a better learning environment because it recognises me as a human being who has potential to learn. Moreover, the special school environment helps me develop a positive self-concept whereas the public school made me feel inferior to other human beings.’ (Participant 5, male, grade 3)
Responding to the same question, another learner said:
‘I think special school environment provides a conducive learning environment than public learning environment. I am saying this because my academic performance improved while attending a special school. Here, I feel confident and optimistic that I will be able to achieve the academic goals I have set for myself.’ (Participant 7, male, grade 4)
The results of the study revealed that the relationship between the dyslexic learners and their peers was negative in the public school. These learners were exposed to ill-treatment by other learners who despised, ridiculed, bullied and undermined them. When dyslectic learners failed to read and write properly, they became objects of ridicule by their classmates who could read and write better than them. This finding is supported by Selvan (2004) in Mweli and Kalenga (
The results further revealed that because of the suffocating situation the dyslexic learners went through in public schools, they developed a negative self-concept. This finding is echoed by Riddick (
It is also noteworthy that dyslexic learners were not satisfied with the manner in which they were handled by teachers in public schools. Specifically, they complained that teachers in public schools were not patient with them, did not give them extra attention and that some teachers used negative comments that embarrassed them. This finding is supported by Thompson (
The findings of the study further point to a positive relationship between dyslexic learners and their peers in a special school. This is partly owing to the fact that in special schools, the dyslexic learners interact with learners who are also dyslexic and therefore do not see themselves as different. This finding is echoed by Nugent (
The results further revealed a positive relationship between dyslexic learners and their teachers in a special school setting. The dyslexic learners felt that teachers in a special school understood their challenges and as such were patient with them. They also observed that teachers at a special school knew how to deal with their challenges as compared to teachers in public schools. Olagboyega (
The findings of this study further revealed that the dyslexic learners preferred a special school environment to that of a public school. They associated the special school environment with academic success. This finding is supported by Lynn (
Despite the fact that Education and White Paper 6 (2011) advocates the inclusion of learners with disability in regular schools, the findings of this study revealed that the existing public school conditions did not consider the needs of learners with disabilities, including dyslexic learners. Based on the experiences of dyslexic learners, they find comfort and recognition in special schools rather than in public schools. The findings of the study revealed that dyslexic learners felt neglected and undermined in public schools by both their peers and teachers. Paying attention to the voices of dyslexic learners, the study has revealed that the dyslexic learners prefer a special school environment to that of a public school.
Based on the findings of the study, the authors recommend that the government should play an important role in creating a learning environment in public schools that is conducive for learners with dyslexia. Specifically, teachers should be equipped with sufficient skills, qualifications and competencies relevant to deal with dyslexic learners. Another important requirement is to make other learners aware that although dyslexic learners have a challenge with reading and writing, they can also be successful academically, just like any learner. This is important so that they accept and support the dyslexic learners instead of ridiculing them.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
M.L. was responsible for the introduction and collected and analysed the data. P.M. was responsible for the literature review and analysed the data. M.M. was responsible for the methodology section and the presentation of findings. M.C. was responsible for the discussion of findings, conclusion and recommendations and collated the article.