The effect of the inservice, "Dyslexia, A View From Within" on teacher attitudes toward students with dyslexia

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitude of teachers toward students with dyslexia as compared to their attitude toward students in general and the effectiveness of the inservice presentation, "Dyslexia, A View From Within," in changing the attitudes of teachers toward students with dyslexia. Literature has shown that the attitude that a teacher has toward a student will determine how that teacher will act toward and react to the student. Improvement in attitude toward students with dyslexia would have a direct positive impact on students with dyslexia. A number of teachers attended a one hour inservice at which "Dyslexia, A View From Within," was presented. A semantic differential attitude measuring instrument was given before and after the inservice program. The results were tabulated and movement in attitude graphically depicted. It was shown that the attitudes of teachers toward students with dyslexia was different than teacher attitude toward students in general. It was also shown that teacher attitude toward students with dyslexia moved in a positive direction after the inservice presentation. Further testing with a larger sample is recommended.