Knowledge of Late-Emerging Reading Disabilities Amongst Current and Future Ontario Educators
Abstract
Children with Late Emerging Reading Disabilities (LERD) are believed to represent a significant proportion of children with reading disabilities (Badian, 1999; Leach et al., 2003; Shaywitz et al., 1992). Yet, these disorders have gone unnoticed or are minimally discussed in educational settings (Chugh, 2011; Catts et al., 2012). Little is known about the extent of teachers’ LERD knowledge, which is problematic given their role in supporting students with reading difficulties. In the first study of this dissertation, in-service teachers’ knowledge, and perceptions of LERD was investigated. Results showed that teachers had little knowledge of LERD and limited confidence in their abilities to identify and provide interventions for these students in the classroom. Based on these findings, a web-based, self-paced workshop was developed with the purpose of increasing educators’ conceptual and practical knowledge of LERD. Participants in Study 2 were pre-service teachers at the University of Western Ontario. Participants watched three module videos, completed associated quizzes, and completed pre- and post-workshop questionnaires. The findings of this study supported the utility of the short web-based workshop for significantly improving pre-service teachers’ conceptual knowledge of LERD. There was some support for its impact on practical knowledge acquisition. Implications for current and future educators’ professional development as well as limitations and next steps for this area of research are discussed.