Legislation and good practices regarding learning difficulties are different from one country to another, and the differences are noticeable starting with the way they are defined. From an educational perspective, learning difficulties are a disability. Instead, in the clinical approach, learning difficulties are considered a disorder (learning disorders being the concept that corresponds to the medical model). In many countries, people with learning disabilities are considered people with disabilities, giving them access to many benefits from the state.
In order to carry out this needs analysis, we used a mixed cross-sectional methodology (quantitative and qualitative), which would offer a comprehensive perspective on several aspects regarding the education and interaction with students with LD: attitude and knowledge about learning difficulties, concerns about teaching students with LD, integrated curriculum use, methods of teaching Mathematics, Reading, Writing, and Spelling, methods for identifying students with LD and assessing their cognitive skills, management of challenging behaviors, parent-teacher relationship, methods of enhancing empathy in children with LD, and education quality.
Participants from 3 countries were involved in this need analysis.
We designed a need analysis questionnaire divided into five parts:
- socio-demographic information;
- teachers’ attitude and knowledge about students with LD;
- concerns about teaching students with LD;
- integrated curriculum use;
- teachers’ practice with students with LD.
The participants were also offered the option to report that they do not know about the investigated phenomena.
This report presents the current state of affairs regarding the situation of students with learning disabilities in Romania, Belgium, and Greece. The report analyzes also the needs of specialists working with students with learning difficulties in these three countries.
Select the following links to access the desk research from each partner country as well as the need analysis.
