“Today everybody must be able to read” : Three pedagogues’ working methods for pupils with reading and writing difficulties

Abstract The aim of the study is to investigate how three pedagogues with different orientations work with reading and writing difficulties in the same school. A qualitative method with interviews and observations of the teachers was applied to investigate the methods used by a special education teacher, a class pedagogue and a special education pedagogue, and the needs for support in the teaching of pupils with reading and writing difficulties. In the design of interview questions and observation protocols and the processing of the collected data, the research method has been deductive, which means that themes based on the aim of the study and previous research were the starting point for the categorization of the data. The results of the study show that the group of pupils with reading and writing difficulties is problematic because the needs for support vary greatly and because, according to the pedagogues, the iPad was the device that contained the alternative tools that were able to give the pupils the best support. It is important to have variation in the teaching, and different apps can offer this. The theoretical premise of the study is the socio-cultural perspective which revealed itself in the way that, no matter what difficulty the pupil has, support from the pedagogues is needed to advance in the learning process, and this should take place in social interaction between pedagogue and pupil.