Dyslexia awareness amongst University of Malta students

Abstract

This dissertation addressed University of Malta students’ attitudes, knowledge and beliefs surrounding the construct of dyslexia. Despite that fact that dyslexia is the most common Learning Disability in the 21st century, literature concludes that many are still unaware or misinformed about this profile. This research was dedicated to raising awareness, improving understanding and addressing negative attitudes in the area of dyslexia with the utmost aim to further the understanding of dyslexia and lessen the presence of confusion and misconceptions. 184 University of Malta students participated in the research. An online survey was utilized, querying the degree of local university students’ knowledge and acceptance towards dyslexia. This study further explored the level of awareness of students within the Faculty of Education in order to identify whether this cohort is more knowledgeable about dyslexia. While respondents exhibited a reasonable degree of awareness and information about dyslexia, those coming from the Education Faculty were more informed. A number of misconceptions from all respondent was evidenced. In general, the results stipulate that more awareness and education are essential in the area of dyslexia in order to increase community inclusion and increase knowledge on Dyslexia.