Flitiga flickor och omogna pojkar : En studie av lärares erfarenheter av att arbeta med anpassningar och stöd till elever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter

The purpose of the study was to examine a selection of teachers’ experiences of working with adaptation and support for students with reading and writing difficulties. Adaptation and support should be immediately addressed to students with reading and writing difficulties according to the Swedish Agency for Education (2017). The Adaptations and support fields are lesser researched areas of reading and writing difficulties. This study is based on interviews with six teachers and the teachers were interviewed with semi-structured interviews. This study has a gender perspective and is based on gender as an active process that is constantly changing. Even hidden assumptions guiding gender is constantly affecting thoughts and reasons. Hardings (1986) gender model with three continuing processes in symbolic, structure and individual levels was used to analyse the study. The results show that the most common ways of paying attention to students in need of adaptations and support for reading and writing difficulties are when the teacher listens when the student reads high through different screenings. The teachers say they notice boys and girls equally. Intensive training of the students reading ability and the usage of compensatory aids are the most common adaptations and support methods. Difficulties for boys tend to follow them through the school years despite adaptations and support. The results from the study show that boys more often than girls have problem with concentration, attention and motivation in combination with reading and writing difficulties. The teachers in the study describe girls as diligent and boys as immature and sloppy. According to the teachers the boys also experience poorer child support. The analysis shows that at the symbolic level there are differences in the characteristics of boys and girls attributed to the teachers and on individual level there are writing and motivational differences between boys and girls. Boys are described to have less motivation and writing skills compared to girls. Girls are described to be vivid book readers whilst boys are thought of as non-readers. Support from colleagues and special education teachers are emphasised by all of the teachers so they can provide the best possible read and writing development support.