Classroom Teachers’ Awareness, Difficulties and Suggestions about Students with Learning Disabilities in Mathematics

Abstract

Classroom teachers’ awareness of the characteristics of students with mathematics learning difficulties is important for the planning and implementation of individualized intervention programs for students. This study aims to examine classroom teachers’ awareness of students with mathematics learning difficulties, as well as the mathematics teaching strategies they apply according to their professional knowledge and experience and their approaches towards these children. Case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The study was conducted with 5 classroom teachers working in 5 different provinces in Turkey in the 2021-2022 academic year. A semi-structured interview form was used to collect the data. The participants of the study were determined by the easily accessible sampling method. The interviews were recorded on a voice recorder with the permission of the classroom teachers, and the data obtained were analyzed by content analysis method. The results of the study show that the knowledge of classroom teachers about the concept of mathematics learning disabilities varies according to the experience and working time of the teachers, the majority of the teachers do not have sufficient knowledge, they do not receive special training about this situation in their undergraduate education and in the institutions where they work, their knowledge about the process of referring students with mathematics learning disabilities to the necessary institutions when they encounter students with mathematics learning disabilities is insufficient, and teachers feel themselves inadequate in the education of these students.