Keywords: comprehension; fluency; reading; SOBAT®-II; special education; specific learning disabilities; test
development
Introduction
As a high-incidence disability, SLD consist of the largest category of special education in the United States of
America (USA). Students with SLD constitute 38.6% of all students with disabilities from age 6 through 21
(U.S. Department of Education, 2018). Approximately 5% of all school-aged children are diagnosed with SLD
(Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2006). Cognitive/intellectual disabilities are considered as a part of SLD in South
Africa, and 15.7% of learners with disabilities have been diagnosed with intellectual/learning difficulties (Nel &
Grosser, 2016). Moreover, in the Turkish educational system, in addition to the increase in the number of
students receiving special education services, the importance given to the special education field has also
increased in recent years (Melekoğlu, 2014). When the statistics of the Ministry of National Education (Turkish:
Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı [MEB]) for the last 5 years are analysed, the results show that there was an increase of
45% in the number of special education students in formal education. According to the MEB data, 242,716
students received special education services in formal education in the 2013–2014 academic year, while this
number increased to 353,610 in the 2017–2018 academic year (MEB, 2014a, 2018). SLD is a special education
category that has become prominent in Turkey in recent years, and awareness among educators and families has
started to increase (Melekoğlu, 2018).
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), SLD means a disorder in one or
more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written,
that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical
calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Moreover, SLD does not include learning problems that are primarily the
result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, or environmental,
cultural, or economic disadvantage (IDEA, 2015). A similar definition of SLD exists in the Special Education
Services Regulation in Turkey: SLD is a difficulty in listening, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, attention,
concentration or performing mathematical operations that appear in one or more of the information-gathering
processes required to understand and use the written or spoken language (MEB, 2006). However, the definition
and understanding of learning disabilities are extremely complicated in South Africa. Although the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
indicates specific criteria to diagnose SLD, several factors including central nervous system, genetics, medical
and health risk factors, socio-economic factors and pedagogical factors may be important to be diagnosed with
learning disabilities in South Africa (Nel & Grosser, 2016).
2
Melekoğlu, Erden, Çakıroğlu
Educating
learners with disabilities in
inclusive environments is the primary approach in
South Africa, and Education White Paper 6 that
guides the implementation of inclusive education
practices was published (Department of Education,
2001). Based on this policy document, learners
with SLD need to be supported in inclusive
classrooms (Nel & Grosser, 2016). A similar
approach is valid in Turkey, and all of the students
with SLD continue their formal education in
inclusive environments. The number of children
diagnosed with SLD by the Guidance and Research
Centers (RAM) seems to be increasing in Turkey.
In the 2011–2012 academic year, while 4,888
students with SLD were receiving education in
inclusive classrooms (MEB, 2014b), this number
increased by 89.3% to 9,253 in the 2016–2017
academic year (MEB, 2017). However, due to the
lacking identification process of students with
SLD, the actual number could be higher in Turkey.
Researchers indicate that many students with SLD,
but who have not been officially diagnosed,
continue their education in schools (Cakiroglu &
Melekoglu, 2014).
Literature Review
In terms of diagnosis of learners with SLD, a
transdisciplinary collaborative approach is widely
accepted in South Africa, and all stakeholders,
including
teachers,
parents,
and
health
professionals work actively and in coordination
during the process (Nel & Grosser, 2016).
Although the systematic approach is widely
accepted for the diagnosis of students with SLD,
Güzel Özmen (2008) states that SLD is an official
special education category in Turkey, but problems
exist in diagnosis and provision of necessary
special education services for these students. Also,
necessary accommodations are not provided in
general education settings, and teachers could not
access guidance on the education of these children.
Özyürek (2005, 2009) also states that although the
diagnosis of SLD has been frequently observed in
Turkey, problems emerged in the differential
diagnosis and identification of SLD. Moreover, the
teaching accommodations required for students
with SLD are not ensured in Turkish schools.
Studies reveal that the majority of teachers in
inclusive classrooms in Turkey do not make any
adaptations for students with special needs in their
classes, and those teachers do not use teaching
strategies, such as peer-assisted teaching, that can
positively impact class participation and academic
achievement in inclusive classrooms (Sucuoğlu,
Demirtaşlı & Güner, 2009). In addition, the
majority (81.5%) of teachers working in inclusive
classrooms in Turkey stated that they were against
inclusive education and that students with special
needs should be educated in separate classrooms or
schools (Melekoğlu, 2014). Therefore, the majority
of students with SLD may encounter negative
teacher attitudes and do not receive academic
accommodations and effective interventions in
Turkey. Similarly, teachers in South Africa have
not been trained to teach learners with disabilities
in an inclusive environment, and therefore, those
teachers may manifest negative attitudes towards
learners with SLD in regular education (Donohue
& Bornman, 2014).
The main areas where students with SLD
experience failure and difficulty are academic areas
such as reading, writing, and mathematics. The
degree and type of difficulties in these areas may
be different for each individual. Some individuals
have difficulties in reading only, others may have
difficulty in mathematics or writing, and still others
may have difficulty in all areas. However, studies
show that students who have difficulty in
mathematics and writing also have difficulty in
reading (Nel & Grosser, 2016; Pierangelo &
Giuliani, 2006; Zimmerman & Smit, 2014). Among
the SLD subgroups, the most frequently observed
and researched group is the group with reading
difficulties. It is reported that approximately 80%
of all cases of SLD are those with reading
difficulties and such reading difficulties are
observed in 5 to 17.5% of the population (Shaywitz
& Shaywitz, 2005). In other words, four out of five
children diagnosed with SLD have difficulty in
reading. Similar problems in reading are observed
among learners in South Africa. The quality of
general
education
is
low
and
academic
performances of learners, especially in reading and
mathematics on standardised tests are low
(Donohue & Bornman, 2014).
The most basic and ultimate purpose of
reading is to derive meaning from the text.
Acquiring and developing this important skill
involve some complex processes and skills (Snow,
2002). One important aspect of the reading skill is
fluency. Many studies emphasise the effect of
reading fluency on achievement in reading
comprehension (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp & Jenkins,
2001; Jenkins, Fuchs, Van den Broek, Espin &
Deno, 2003; Kim, Park & Wagner, 2014; Kim,
Wagner & Lopez, 2012). Although reading skill
has many different dimensions such as word
recognition, reading fluency, vocabulary and
comprehension, the majority of reading problems
are observed in accuracy and rate, which are
defined as reading fluency. Problems in these areas
may
negatively
affect
the
comprehension
dimension as the main purpose of reading (National
Reading Panel, 2000).
According to a model developed by Stanovich
(1980), the most important problems of students
with poor reading skills are difficulties in
recognising and decoding words. According to this
model, students use a large part of their cognitive
capacity and attention to analyse words because
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