Learning difficulties in textbooks and didactic materials in Portugal

Abstract

This article presents the most relevant findings from a study carried out at the Department of Didactics and School Planning of the University of Santiago de Compostela for the purpose of determining whether primary school textbooks widely used in Portuguese schools provide adequate proposals and resources for students with learning difficulties. The study methodology consisted of a content analysis. For this purpose, we elaborated a guide-tool for identifying the strategies and resources contained within textbooks and didactic materials. The guide includes a total of 10 dimensions or analysis blocks that correspond to the study’s main points of inquiry. A total of 21 textbooks were assessed, of which 18 included a handbook for using “note cards”. Before presenting how the evaluation guide-tool was elaborated and the research findings, we will briefly describe the main aspects that should characterize attention to learning difficulties in textbooks and curricular materials as we see it. Our findings show that the materials analysed are limited in terms of strategies and resources for fostering attention to students with learning difficulties. The activities and proposals presented in these materials do little to help teachers address this group of students and do not provide alternatives for adapting work proposals. The study also provides some recommendations regarding the measures to be taken by institutions and professionals involved in the process of designing and using school textbooks.