Specific Learning Disabilities in the Eyes of Schoolteachers in Ethiopia

Abstract

This study assessed the level of awareness of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) among schoolteachers in Ethiopia. A descriptive quantitative research design was adopted with a survey method that used a questionnaire. Data were collected from a total of N = 305 schoolteachers (age: M = 24.8, SD = 7.4, range 18–55 years; Male = 150; Female = 155), in 40 public schools in 3 regional states and 2 city administrations. Findings showed that almost all schoolteachers studied demonstrated no knowledge of SLDs at all, with very few exhibiting profoundly poor level of knowledge. The teachers reported that they received no training on SLDs as part of their formal training or professional development programmes. The results call for evidence-informed measures to address issues of policy and practice related to SLDs in Ethiopia and reinforce the urgent need for improving awareness not only among educators and policymakers but also among parents and the general public.

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to all participants of this study. Special thanks are due to the school administrators for their kind cooperation during data collection and to Samuel Zenabu, who assisted data collection in the pilot study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was financed by a NORAD funded project: BEYOND ACCESS: Improving Quality of Early Years Reading Instructions in Ethiopia and South Sudan, 2016–2021; Project Number: QZA 0483 ETH-16/0028.