Learning Difficulties in Children

In Indian context, one can find heterogeneous group of students with diversified needs in normal classroom set up. Their class teachers effectively meet these diversified needs to a greater extent. Learning disability is the most recent classification of disability and still educator remain unsure about its nature of category. One can see a group of children with specific learning deficits in a normal classroom. Their teachers leave them unidentified and misunderstood as dull and lazy students. As a result, they are the potential dropouts and this also leads to stagnation. At this point, it is imperative to focus our attention on awareness/sensitization-building programmes, with competency-based training programmes for the teachers both in-service and pre-service. Studies that spotlight on these concept also facilitate better planning and organization of instructional procedures for the teachers in normal schools. Keeping this in mind, the book focuses its attention on the competencies required for primary school teachers to handle learning difficulties/disabilities in children. This book also presents a good theoretical framework of the study undertaken. The author has reviewed a good number of books, studies, journals and monographs and accounted these under different headings related to the title studies on learning difficulties, studies on teacher competencies to handle normal children, studies on teacher competencies to handle disabled children, studies on teacher competencies to handle learning difficulties in children. This book also lists out specific competencies that are required for primary school teachers for effective planning and instruction. In this study, the author has developed a three- point rating-scale to assess the possessed competencies and a questionnaires with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ type to assess the required competencies for primary school teachers to handle children with learning difficulties/disabilities. It presents insight into the teachers’ present level of competencies. The study also focuses on the percentage of teachers who require competency-enhancement to handle children with learning difficulties/disabilities. This book will serve as a handbook or manual for researchers, teachers and other personnel who deal with children with learning difficulties/disabilities.