Estereotipos y autoestereotipos de las personas con dificultades de aprendizaje

Resumen

The objective of this research is to find out whether prejudices and stereotypes on Learning Disabilities are rooted in our society or not. Objectives of the research: To analyse which phenomenon between stereotypes or auto-stereotypes is more deeply rooted. To evaluate the self-esteem of students with Learning Disabilities. To compare the self-esteem of the students having such problems with ones that haven’t. To understand how the social background can influence self-esteem. To get to know the socio-demographic aspects of students having Learning Disabilities showing a lower average self-esteem. To get to know the socio-demografic aspect of students without learning disabilities having prejudices towards those who have such problems instead. To get to know whether the socio-cultural aspects are relevant aspects for both self-esteem and prejudices. The survey was a Likert-like test based on multidimensionality, the TMA of Bracken (published for the first time in USA in 1992 and than revised, corrected and expanded in 2003), and was undertaken by students from Messina aged between 10-19. This survey was conducted in October-November 2016 in the adhering schools thanks to the aid of representatives and schoolteachers who care about this cause. Tests have been developed by using statistical software SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science), 20.0. The research has found out that: Even if students with Learning Disabilities have a higher negative perception of themselves than other peers, relevant differences between the two groups have not arisen. Stereotypes and auto-stereotypes do not really existing, and where they are, the social background doesn’t play a key role. It would be interesting for a future survey to investigate how teachers cohabit with students having such difficulties and how they look after their scholastic needs. At the same time, it would be important to figure out if, and how the schools have enough knowledge and expertise about this issue.