Students with dyslexia and bilingual students: teachers’ beliefs and attitudes on meeting their needs

This study explores how teachers perceive the distinct educational needs of bilingual students and students with dyslexia in formal education. Bilingual students with a migrant background often face learning difficulties due to challenges in academic language skills. In the Greek context, it has been observed that teachers may misinterpret these difficulties as dyslexia, which results in bilingual students being expelled from mainstream classes and (mis)placed in specialised education classes intended for students with learning disorders. The current research investigates teachers’ awareness and understanding of this phenomenon, specifically focusing on the tendency to misidentify language-related challenges in bilingual students as dyslexia. The study reports on 123 secondary school teachers’ beliefs and attitudes regarding the relationship between bilingualism and dyslexia. Based on our findings, the teachers generally refer bilingual students with a migrant background to special education settings without proper substantiation because of their own inefficiency in handling bilingualism in the classroom. The findings suggest the necessity of reorienting relevant educational policies and offering adequate training to teachers on both bilingualism and dyslexia.