Universal design for learning principles and students with learning disabilities: an application with general education teachers in Saudi Arabia

Purpose This study aims to identify the degree to which general education teachers use the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) in teaching and evaluating students with learning disabilities, moderated by gender, experience and qualification. Ethical approvals were requested and reported from teachers prior to their participation. Design/methodology/approach This study collected questionnaire data from male and female teachers from the eastern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between 2019 and 2021. Findings General education teachers were devoted to using UDL principles for teaching and assessing students with learning disabilities. The one used most often was “Providing multiple tools for presenting information by the teacher.” Moreover, there were statistically significant differences between participants whose experiences were 5–10 and < 5 years toward the third principle (providing learning opportunities that suit individual differences among students). Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences possibly ascribed to qualification. However, there were statistically significant differences between those who held postgraduates and diploma holders, also showed that there were no statistically significant differences at <0.05 that could be ascribed to qualification variable. Originality/value Teachers use UDL principles specifically. The current research is distinguished from previous studies as it targets teachers of general classes and measures how much they use UDL in teaching and evaluating students with learning disabilities. To the knowledge of the researcher, no Arab studies have examined this subject.