Dyslexia and difficulties with study skills in higher education

Abstract

This article presents findings from a questionnaire survey of 136 male students, 62 with dyslexia and 74 without dyslexia, from 17 British higher education institutions. The students with dyslexia reported difficulties with a wide range of skills and academic tasks, notably note taking, organization of essays and expressing ideas in writing. They reported that their difficulties were long-standing and had been experienced in primary and secondary school, although the pattern of these difficulties changed over time. They reported making use of resources available to them, including additional time for examinations, access to dyslexia tutors and support with information technology. However, there are indications of unmet needs in several areas, notably support for specific subjects and with organizing coursework, learning in lectures, and academic writing skills. The implications of these findings for provision for students with dyslexia are discussed.

When digital capital is not enough: reconsidering the digital lives of disabled university students

“…The stigma of dyslexia and disability revealed here in the context of technology use; supports the findings of other non-technology related research, where disabled students have expressed concerns about other students' perceptions of the allowances that were made for them (Mortimore & Crozier, 2006;Fuller et al 2004;Shevlin et al 2004).…”

“…Research reveals for example, that disabled students are using general and specialised technologies to support their learning (Mortimore & Crozier, 2006) but that there are difficulties including: barriers to using publicly available computing facilities due to poor location or lack of specialised software (Fuller et al 2004); frustrations with the bureaucracy and speed of the funding and assessment procedures for obtaining assistive technology (Shevlin et al 2004;Goode, 2007) and lack of support or training to enable disabled learners to become "fluent users" of assistive technologies (Shevlin et al 2004). Whilst these studies reveal some insights into the technological relationships that disabled students have with their universities and associated funding and support mechanisms, they tell us little about the digital nativity of the disabled students and the relationships they have with technologies.…”

Trainee Teachers with Dyslexia: Results of a Qualitative Study of Teachers and their Mentors

“…Trainees felt unsupported by their mentors in addressing their difficulties with literacy, memory and administration. These difficulties are consistent with previous research and are well-documented in the literature (Griffiths, 2012;Hatcher et al, 2002;Mcloughlin et al, 2002;Mortimore & Crozier, 2009;Pollak, 2009). An emergent theme in the data specifically related to difficulties with phonics.…”

Beyond cognitive deficit: the everyday lived experience of dyslexic students at university

“…Although not the intention, squabbles in the field of dyslexia research feed arguments expressed in the popular press that dyslexia does not exist (for example, Sample 2005), which unfortunately are too often translated into an assumption that people's reports of specific difficulties with literacy and related domains are disingenuous Variations in ways in which the dyslexia label may be interpreted can also mean that students have to be increasingly flexible in how they use the label: sometimes hiding it, sometimes openly disclosing, sometimes taking pride in it, sometimes feeling ashamed to take help (Cameron and Billington 2015b;Pollak 2005). Yet there is strong evidence that people with the dyslexia label do face particular difficulties in relation to specific difficulties in particular cognitive domains (for example, Nicolson and Fawcett 2008;Shaywitz and Shaywitz 2005;Snowling 1995;Stein 2001) and that these have implications for study in higher education (Farmer, riddick, and Sterling 2002;Hatcher, Snowling, and Griffiths 2002;Mortimore and Crozier 2006;Pino and Mortari 2014). There is also evidence that dyslexic adults have lower self-esteem in educational contexts (Carroll and Iles 2006;Madriaga 2007;Riddick et al 1999), and often have to manage memories of very challenging experiences at school which continue to impact upon their adult educational experiences (for example , Madriaga 2007;Mcnulty 2003).…”