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Affective issues impacting children with dyslexia in a special school in Ireland
Author(s) -
Brien Trevor O’
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of research in special educational needs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 27
ISSN - 1471-3802
DOI - 10.1111/1471-3802.12450
Subject(s) - dyslexia , active listening , psychology , mainstream , context (archaeology) , special educational needs , special education , affect (linguistics) , reading (process) , mainstreaming , developmental psychology , inclusion (mineral) , pedagogy , medical education , social psychology , medicine , political science , communication , paleontology , law , biology
In this paper, the views of young children towards school in Ireland are presented. The six children at the centre of the study each had a diagnosis of dyslexia and attended a reading school. The project aimed to build on previous research pertaining to the experiences of children with dyslexia in special settings. As the topic of student voice has become central in educational discourse, it was considered important to investigate children's views. The objective was to share these views with practitioners and researchers as a means of improving practice. Focus groups were conducted on two occasions to elicit the expert views of the participants and the data were interpreted using Braun and Clarke's Model of analysis (2006). The key findings pointed to increased confidence, self‐esteem and self‐efficacy in the special setting. The importance of relationships and the physical environment which impacted the students were also highlighted. The topic of bullying in the context of mainstream schools was also raised by the children. The study signifies the importance of listening to children's views on topics which affect them and raises the issue of whether children should be included more fully in educational matters, both in policy‐making and in practice.