Secondary Mathematics Teachers: What they Know and Don't Know about Dyscalculia
Abstract
Although much research on teachers’ knowledge and attitudes towards their students with dyslexia has been accumulated, students with dyscalculia have not gained the same attention. Teachers’ knowledge about the nature and characteristics of students with dyscalculia seems to be limited and this has a strong impact on their instructional decisions. In secondary education, where teachers’ pre-service educational programs are more focused on the scientific subject instead of appropriate instructional methods, teachers’ knowledge about dyscalculia has not yet been taken into account. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which mathematics teachers know what dyscalculia is, and what its features are. Possible differences that may occur between teachers with and without special education training were also examined, as well as differences that may occur as a result of their working experience. One hundred and fourteen secondary mathematics teachers, with an average service time of twelve years, completed an electronic questionnaire in which they had to respond to 19 questions about the definition, the content and the major characteristics of dyscalculia. Although they seemed to understand the innate profile of dyscalculia, 31% of them attributed dyscalculia to learning gaps resulted by student absence from school while 67% of the teachers felt that mistakes of students with dyscalculia in solving algorithms may be reduced if more time is provided to the students. Furthermore, confusion prevailed regarding skills of students with dyscalculia to solve word problems. The findings in this study contribute to the ongoing discussion on the appropriate education and training of secondary mathematics teachers, which should not neglect the special characteristics and difficulties of students with dyscalculia. The teachers’ knowledge about dyscalculia is suggested as the base for the design of appropriate teaching practices to address specific learning disabilities in math.
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