Teachers and parents’ perception about learning difficulties in mathematics: a case study

Abstract

In this study, a description of the situation for elementary school 4th grade students who have difficulty in learning mathematics was made. The research was designed as a case study. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews with the teachers of students with learning difficulties in mathematics were made and they were asked to fill out a checklist involving expressions about their students learning difficulty in mathematics. Semi-structured interviews were also held with the families of these students. Content analysis was used to analyze the data obtained from the interviews. While the checklist was being analyzed, the frequency of marking of items by teachers was checked. According to the findings obtained, it was seen that elementary school teachers described mathematics learning difficulty as general problems in perception, learning and processing. Teachers also stated that the parents of these students are unconcerned, their communication with the teacher is weak and they ignore the problems with their children. Parents also stated that their children have difficulty in mathematics subjects such as operations, problem solving, mind calculation and multiplication table, the fact that they do not understand what they are told and they try to learn by memorizing. As a result of the research, it was seen that elementary school teachers are aware of mathematics learning difficulty but they struggle in detailed diagnosis of the difficulties of the students and need support in designing the learning process of these students. Moreover, it was understood that parents cannot describe their children's difficulties in detail and they are inadequate to support these students.