TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CHILDREN ’S MOTOR COORDINATION DIFFICULTIES IN THE CLASSROOM

Abstract

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) face significant challenges in the classroom setting. Teachers are ideally suited to recognize and refer children with DCD to rehabilitation services. The identification process relies heavily therefore, on an understanding of teachers’ perceptions of children who present with DCD. It has been suggested that teachers’ perceptions of children in the classroom may be influenced by factors such as child gender, child behaviour and the type of motor concern. The present research attempts to determine whether these factors influence teachers’ perceptions of children with DCD. It was found that gender, by itself, did not influence teachers’ perceptions, while child behaviour had a significant influence on teachers’ perceptions. Findings from this research study suggest that teachers may only “care about” or “notice” motor concerns in the absence of disruptive classroom behaviour. The type of motor concern also influenced teachers’ perceptions of children’s motor difficulties, and this was shown to be influenced by child gender. Findings from this study have important implications for rehabilitation professionals managing children with DCD in school settings.