Response to Intervention (RTI) is a popular if controversial initiative developed largely in the USA, but which is, as yet, little known in general education in Australia. However, this may change given the increased attention to accountability in recent times. The national NAPLAN and international PISA assessments are leading to pressure being…

Active participation in university tutorials seems to be commonly argued as one of the learning difficulties of non-English-speaking background (NESB) Asian students enrolled in Western English-speaking universities. These students are often portrayed as being passive in class and this is commonly attributed to their background culture. Using…

Without a carefully designed plan for the provision of students with English as an additional language (EAL), educators may feel overwhelmed by the complexities of teaching such students. Educators may attribute poorer academic outcomes of some students with EAL to learning difficulties without first considering how they might adapt their teaching…

There are many environmental and personal factors that contribute to reading success. Reading comprehension is a complex interaction of language, sensory perception, memory, and motivational aspects. However, most existing assessment tools have not adequately reflected the complex nature of reading comprehension. Good assessment requires a…

This article advocates an approach to supporting students who experience difficulties in learning, irrespective of nosology, particularly in the key areas of literacy and numeracy. In the state of Queensland, Australia, a distinction has been made between students' experiencing learning difficulties and those who have learning disabilities (LD).…

Recently in Australia, another media skirmish erupted over the problem currently called "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder". This particular event was precipitated by the comments of a respected District Court judge. His claim that doctors are creating a generation of violent juvenile offenders by prescribing Ritalin to young…

Explains how the Open Training and Education Network in New South Wales (Australia) has addressed the issue of designing learning materials for learners in vocational and pre-vocational areas with physical, intellectual, vision, hearing, psychological, or neurological disabilities and learning difficulties, such as low literacy and numeracy…

The messages teachers convey to their students through their use of language can often go unconsidered, yet such practices can have a significant impact on students and their schooling, and in the creation of learning difficulties. In this paper we employ a discursive and ideological approach to analysing teachers' language practices and suggest…

The common perception on the part of higher education institutions, academic staff, and scholarship donors, that English language skill level is the cause of the academic difficulties (problems in adjustment, longer completion times required) of international graduate students is examined, drawing on experience at the Australian National…

Following a literature review on Rett's Syndrome, a case study is presented of a 15-year-old girl with normal development during the first months of life followed by manifestation of behavior abnormalities and deterioration of intellectual level. The child's medical history and the mother's description of the girl's development are included.…

The main aims of this project were the identification of learning difficulties in 107 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, using six months of direct instruction in the Distar program. (BW)