34 TEACHER EFFICACY: SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF GENERAL EDUCATION CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TEACHERS TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS J’Aime C. Balogh, Ed.D. Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2024, VOL. 8, ISSUE 1 dbu.edu/doctoral/edd Introduction The State of Texas is a recent leader in states implementing special education reform for students with dyslexia and its related disorders in the general education classroom. Since 1990, students with dyslexia and related disorders were included in the original and subsequent updates of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), yet many were excluded from identification and services under the law (IDEA, 20 U.S.C. § 1400, 2004). By law, specific learning disabilities and other health impairments, such as dyslexia and related disorders, require access to general education classrooms (Irwin et al., 2023). An estimated 32% of students who receive special education or related services in public schools are identified with the specific learning disability of dyslexia or a related disorder (U.S. Department of Education, 2023a; Irwin et al., 2023). Recent changes to the State of Texas’ educational policies and procedures align special education legislation for students with dyslexia and related disorders to the established federal guidelines for students with disabilities under IDEA (2004). Introduction to the Problem Specific learning disabilities (SLD) involve a disruption in the basic understanding and use of written or spoken language demonstrating difficulty in the skills of reading, listening, thinking, writing, speaking, and calculating numbers (Irwin et al., 2023). These skills are the foundation of any classroom. As the number of students identified with a SLD and served by special education rises, teachers face the difficulty of meeting the needs of all students in the general education classroom. Now more than ever, teachers need access to pre-service and in-service training for teaching students with the specific learning disability of dyslexia and related disorders in the general education classroom (Irwin et. al., 2023). Today, approximately 1/3 of the students in American classrooms have a diagnosis of dyslexia and a related disorder, yet the bulk of teachers leading instruction in classrooms lack the specific training to provide specialized instruction (U.S. Department of Education, 2023a; Merlin, 2021). A lack of requirements for state teaching certification agencies and educator preparation programs leaves aspiring teachers with a lack of pre-service training and education (Guardino, 2018). Therefore, general education teachers report entering the workforce with a lack of preparation for teaching students with specific learning disabilities, with 51% of private school teachers reporting they have no pre-service specialized learning at all (Galiastos et al., 2019; Mcleskey, 2018; Merlin, 2021). The gap in specialized training may be even greater for teachers employed by private Christian schools as requirements for certification or employment are less strict than the public education system (Merlin, 2021). Though many public-school teachers and private Christian school teachers might believe themselves unqualified or struggle to meet the needs of students with dyslexia and related disorders, for the current study, only Christian school teachers were studied. While public schools report 15% of its students receive special education services, private schools report serving 7.6% of students who qualify under IDEA, underscoring the need for both public and
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