Teachers’ and peers’ perceptions of children with learning disorders: consistency and change

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Abstract
This study examines consistency and change in teachers’ and peers’ perceptions and students’ self‐reports among children with learning disorders. Two groups, 7‐9.75 years old, were compared: 117 children with learning disorders who received remedial teaching in school‐based learning centres and 123 average achievers. Teachers rated children's social skills, behaviour adjustment and academic achievements. In addition, positive and negative nominations of the participants’ peers were obtained, and participants reported their personal perceptions of loneliness, coherence and quality of friendship. These assessments were performed twice ‐at the beginning and the end of the school year. We found that teachers and peers rated children with learning disorders as demonstrating lower social skills, more behavioural difficulties and lower peer acceptance. Self‐perceptions of learning disabled children were characterized by lower coherence, and increased loneliness. Time comparison revealed some change in teacher and peer perceptions, yet findings supported the deficit model in explaining the social competence of children with learning disorders. Regression analyses revealed that students’ learning and behaviour difficulties in addition to the personal experience of loneliness significantly added to the prediction of teachers’ perceptions at the beginning and the end of the year. A systemic model in the form of a web of mental models is suggested as explanatory construct based on the findings, as well as a framework for guiding future research.