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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.
Sec. Special Educational Needs
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1468923

Identifying sources of preservice teachers’ dyslexia knowledge to guide teacher education

Provisionally accepted
Susan J Chambre Susan J Chambre 1*Alida Anderson Alida Anderson 2
  • 1 Kean University, Union, United States
  • 2 American University, Washington, DC, Washington, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper presents findings from an exploratory descriptive qualitative inquiry of preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) self-reported dyslexia knowledge sources. The purpose of this research is to provide a baseline understanding of how and where PSTs’ understandings of dyslexia originate to inform teacher educators about sources of misconceptions and to support PSTs’ conceptual growth about dyslexia. Seventy-six PSTs in the United States completed written responses to online learning module questions about dyslexia knowledge sources. Sources of PSTs’ dyslexia knowledge were identified via thematic coding, to include popular media, friends or acquaintances, college coursework, and family. Findings indicate PSTs’ dyslexia knowledge as stemming from sources that perpetuate misconceptions of dyslexia. Discussion centers on the implications of identifying PSTs’ initial knowledge sources for teacher preparation research and practice by guiding PSTs’ conceptual growth regarding dyslexia.

    Keywords: Dyslexia, Preservice teachers, Online Learning, teacher knowledge, teacher preparation

    Received: 22 Jul 2024; Accepted: 09 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chambre and Anderson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Susan J Chambre, Kean University, Union, United States

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