Trainee Teachers with Dyslexia: Results of a Qualitative Study of Teachers and their Mentors

Abstract

Abstract. This study explored the perceptions of trainee teachers with dyslexia, and their mentors, of their placement experiences during their initial teacher training course. The research was conducted within one initial teacher education partnership in the north of England. Data were collected through two focus groups; one of trainees and one of mentors. Trainees described the difficulties they experienced with teaching literacy (particularly phonics), difficulties with memory and difficulties with the administrative demands of placement. Mentors emphasised trainees' weaknesses and although some mentors wanted to recognise and support the strengths of the trainees, they felt responsible as gatekeepers to the profession.

Lived Experiences of Everyday Memory in Adults with Dyslexia: A Thematic Analysis

“…To the best knowledge of the authors, the current study is novel in focusing specifically on the everyday memory functioning of adults with dyslexia from a qualitative perspective. While differing in focus, the reports of the impact of dyslexia on memory are consistent with those identified in previous qualitative research (e.g., [32,62]) and those documented in self-report questionnaire studies (e.g., [15,21]) and (semi-)naturalistic research (e.g., [14,15]. These different sources of evidence should triangulate to inform support arrangements and reasonable adjustments.…”

“…They also reported forgetting information under exam pressure that they otherwise knew. Difficulties with memory have also been highlighted in interviews with student teachers [62] and with acting students learning Shakespeare parts [63].…”

“I've got something to tell you. I'm dyslexic”: The lived experiences of trainee teachers with dyslexia

“…Furthermore, the trainees in this study acknowledged how their personal experiences of dyslexia had influenced their professional identities, referring to themselves as caring and empathetic teachers (Glazzard and Dale, 2013). Similarly, Glazzard (2018) found that when training primary school teachers, mentors acknowledged the trainees' strengths which included being skilled in teaching children with special educational needs and greater pedagogical creativity but were quick to counterbalance these strengths with weaknesses such as teaching phonics or literacy.…”

“…Existing literature has explored the experiences of dyslexic primary school trainees (Morgan and Burn, 2000;Riddick, 2003;Griffiths, 2012;Glazzard and Dale, 2013;Glazzard and Dale, 2015;Glazzard, 2018). However, there is a scarcity of research into secondary school trainees where the demands, routines and subject content are vastly different; teachers will teach different age groups and a limited amount of subjects in comparison to the one class and multiple subjects taught by primary teachers (TES, 2019).…”

“…In relation to primary school ITE, dyslexia has proven a significant barrier for some trainee teachers. Those placed with children under six years old will spend a substantial portion of time preparing them for the phonics screening check (Glazzard, 2018). Government policy in the UK prioritises the role of synthetic phonics in early reading development and trainee teachers must develop mastery of synthetic phonics to meet the teachers' standards (DfE, 2011).…”