Slow learners represent one of the subgroups of students with general learning difficulties. These students have borderline or below-average intellectual abilities but do not have an intellectual disability. Compared to their peers, they experience greater difficulty in meeting academic demands. Their difficulties manifest in the cognitive domain (e.g., attention, memory, executive functions), the academic domain (e.g., reading, writing, mathematics, and acquiring academic content), and the psychosocial domain, which includes emotional, motivational, social, and mental health aspects, and the environmental domain (collaboration with parents and other professionals, the classroom environment). They may experience lower self-esteem, social exclusion, difficulties in social relationships, lower motivation, anxiety, and frustration. Despite experiencing significant difficulties across multiple domains, these students may be overlooked in the classroom and may not always receive appropriate holistic support.
The aim of our study was to examine whether teachers recognise the areas in which these students require support, the forms of support they provide in practice, how teachers’ work experience, participation in additional professional training and perceived self-competence are associated with the provision of holistic support, and which challenges they encounter in providing such support. We were also examined the extent to which the support provided to these students in primary school is holistic.
The study was designed as a non-experimental descriptive study with correlational and comparative elements, incorporating elements of a mixed-methods research approach. Data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to 98 primary school teachers with experience in teaching slow learners in mainstream primary schools in Slovenia, as well as through semi-structured interviews with four special and rehabilitation pedagogues experienced in providing support to slow learners. The data were analysed quantitatively using SPSS and qualitatively through content analysis.
The results showed that teachers and special and rehabilitation pedagogues recognised the diverse needs of slow learners across academic, cognitive, psychosocial, and environmental domains. Needs in the academic and environmental domains were recognised to the greatest extent, while needs in the cognitive and psychosocial domains were recognised to a somewhat lesser, though still relatively high, extent. We found that teachers also provide support to students across all four domains, suggesting that the support provided is holistic to a considerable extent. Support in the environmental domain was rated the highest, with support in the academic and psychosocial domains receiving similarly high ratings, while support in the cognitive domain was rated the lowest. Among the factors examined, work experience, additional professional training, and teachers’ perceived self-competence were positively associated with the provision of support, with associations involving additional professional training being less pronounced. The most prominent challenges included administrative workload, collaboration with parents, the provision of appropriate resources, and adapting instruction to students’ needs.The findings highlight the importance of holistic support for this group of students, while also indicating a need for additional professional training for teachers, greater systemic support, and appropriate conditions for providing support in practice.
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