KNOWLEDGE & ATTITUDE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS REGARDING LEARNING DISABILITIES AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN IN SELECTED SCHOOLS IN BENGALURU, WITH A VIEW TO DEVELOP AN INFORMATION BOOKLET

Veena.S. Chaudhary, Kulpooja, Dr. Neeta Bhide, Sapna singh, Sheetal

Keywords:

Knowledge; Learning disabilities, Information booklet, Primary school teachers

Abstract:

Children constitute the foundation of human life. The young are often among the most vulnerable in society and thus their needs require special attention. Learning disabilities are a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. The teacher makes learning an enjoyable experience for their pupils so that they could achieve much better results in the classroom. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and attitude of primary school teachers regarding learning disabilities of school children. Methods: A non-experimental study based on descriptive survey design was used to assess knowledge and attitude regarding specific learning disabilities in children among primary school teachers teaching in school of Bengaluru with a view to develop an information booklet and the sample size is 60. A structured questionnaire and attitude scale was prepared and used to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding specific learning disabilities in children. Reliability was tested and found to have the score of (R=0.78) for structured questionnaire and (R=6.81) for attitude scale. Result: The knowledge assessment, there were 28 ( 46.7%) participants with inadequate knowledge, 32 (53.3%) participants were having moderate knowledge and no one were having adequate knowledge regarding Learning Disabilities. And the mean knowledge score was 11.75 with the mean percentage of 39.16% and the standard deviation was 5.59. Related to attitude assessment shows that there were 24 ( 40%) participants with neutral attitude, 36 (60%) participants were having favorable attitude and no one were having unfavorable attitude regarding learning disabilities in children. And the mean attitude score was 50.50 with the mean percentage of 67.33% and the standard deviation was 6.8. And finding related to association shows the significant association between only one variable and knowledge score , Hence H1 was partially accepted. Whereas it was found to have no association with the attitude score and hence we reject H2. Conclusion: This study revealed that the knowledge and attitude of primary school teachers regarding learning disabilities of children is not up to the mark hence information booklet was designed and provided to improve their knowledge.

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