Multidisciplinary model of teacher training: Empowering teachers to identify dyslexia in an integrated school setup

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to train teachers using a multidisciplinary approach and to document the effect of this training on their awareness regarding dyslexia, knowledge of dyslexia, and the identification of children with dyslexia. Materials and Method: The study included 100 primary school teachers (23 males and 77 females) having Kannada as their mother tongue and English as their second language. A questionnaire in Kannada was developed by the investigators to collect the responses before and after the teacher training from the primary school teachers about knowledge of dyslexia. The questionnaire was developed based on the Dyslexia Assessment for Languages in India (DALI). Results: The mean responses of the participants were higher during post-training compared to pre-training conditions. The standard deviation values were higher during pre-training compared to post-training conditions. Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the ratings of pre-training and post-training conditions. Therefore, it was inferred that training teachers to identify the characteristics of dyslexia significantly improved the knowledge of the teachers on general facts and myths about dyslexia, signs, and symptoms exhibited by children with dyslexia. Conclusions: The findings of the present study revealed that a structured multidisciplinary model of teacher training programs focusing on the knowledge and skills to identify possible dyslexic children can be very effective to prepare the teachers to identify and manage these children in a school setup where professional help is limited.