Julie Watson

If I Had a Magic Wand: School Experiences of Students with Learning Disabilities Julie Watson

Students with learning disabilities are generally unhappy at school. This was one finding of research conducted in Queensland, Australia in government and non-government schools. A low stakes Rasch analysis of teacher attitudes and understanding about these students revealed uniformly negative perceptions and minimal understanding of student characteristics. Increased understanding did not improve teacher attitudes. Affected students, their parents and teachers were also interviewed. Students told of mostly negative experiences at school. Teachers uniformly believed that schools were performing well and were inclusive. Parents wanted their children to be happy. Long and short term recommendations were made aimed at increasing teacher capacity and changing existing school culture.