Educational Support for Students with Specific Learning Difficulties

This article examines the views of secondary school students with specific learning difficulties on the educational support they receive.  It is not uncommon for students with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia) to perceive themselves as inferior to their peers, which in turn leads to lower motivation, a reluctance to learn, a lack of success at school and emotional overload, and in more severe cases, neurotic and depressive symptoms or risk-taking behaviour may also occur. In addition, dyslexia can have a significant impact on students’ social functioning, particularly in terms of peer relationships, sociometric status and school and personal adjustment. The analysis of the research material indicates the convergence of the results obtained with the conclusions of, among others, Peter Gindrich, whose research found that school-age adolescents often do not experience sufficient support from teachers and that relationships with peers are sometimes superficial and not based on real understanding. Gindrich also highlights the clear variation in the level of support depending on the type of school and the gender of the students (Gindrich, 2014, p. 159-164), which was also confirmed in this study. The research results obtained also show convergence with the findings presented in the DysTRANS report (2018), which revealed that, although the vast majority of dyslexic students declare that their parents show interest in their education, not all receive sufficient emotional support.