THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A TRAINING PROGRAM IN DEVELOPING READING SKILLS AMONG STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

Abstract

Dr. Khaled Ahmad Obeidat* and Dr. Munjed M Najadat

The current study aimed to design a training program to develop reading skills for students with learning Disabilities in Irbid governorate, and to measure its effectiveness. The study was quasi-experimental, and the study tools included a reading skills assessment and the proposed training program. The study population consisted of 130 male students with learning Disabilities in the fourth grade in Irbid governorate. The study sample was purposefully selected and comprised 30 students with learning Disabilities, divided into two groups: an experimental group of 15 students and a control group of 15 students, distributed randomly. Data analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney test to estimate the significance of differences between the two independent samples, and the Wilcoxon test to estimate the significance of differences within the single sample. The results indicated the effectiveness of the training program based on differentiated pedagogy in reading skills, with statistically significant differences at the (α≤0.05) level between the average ranks of the experimental and control groups on the reading skills assessment in favor of the experimental group. In light of the study results, it is recommended to generalized the training program to teachers of students with learning Disabilities and to conduct further studies on different categories of special education.