The spring phase of the pandemic made the education of adolescents
with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) challenging. In the present
study, which included 122 adolescents with SpLD (50% from Slovenia,
50% from Germany), we investigated how Slovenian and German adolescents
with SpLD perceived and solved some of the challenges of distance
learning. The study data were collected with two online questionnaires
(in Slovenian and German, respectively). Slovenian adolescents were
statistically significantly more likely than German adolescents to mention
problems with attention, the importance of multisensory learning,
and the importance of being able to choose the time to learn, as well as
psychosomatic problems. Slovenian adolescents had more experiences
with praise from teachers during the pandemic and they also mentioned
more issues with the transition to distance learning and the use of information
and communication technology. Younger adolescents had more
parental help. Male adolescents were more likely to report that they did
not have the right spatial conditions for learning. German adolescents
spent more time chatting on social media and experienced less support
for learning. Female adolescents were more likely to express fear of the
pandemic and a lack of learning support, while male adolescents across
the sample missed their peers more. Most of the respondents came from
families in which the pandemic did not cause serious material and spatial
problems, but German adolescents were statistically significantly
less likely to feel these consequences. According to the respondents, the
spatial and material conditions were similar in both countries.
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