The Impact of Differentiated Instruction on Developing Reading Comprehension Among Students with Reading Difficulties from the Perspective of Special Education Teachers

The study aimed to identify the impact of differentiated instruction on developing reading comprehension among students with reading difficulties from the perspective of special education teachers. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical method and utilized a questionnaire consisting of (29) items distributed across three main domains: the impact of differentiated instruction on understanding words, sentences, and paragraphs; its impact on linguistic and communication skills; and its impact on motivation and reading engagement. The study was conducted on a randomly selected sample of (208) special education teachers working in private elementary schools in Riyadh during the academic year 1446 AH - 2024 AD. The results revealed that the overall mean score for the impact of differentiated instruction on developing reading comprehension was at a moderate level (3.338). The highest impact was observed in the domain of motivation and reading engagement (3.816), followed by linguistic and communication skills (3.303), and finally, understanding words, sentences, and paragraphs (2.895). The findings also indicated no statistically significant differences attributed to the variables of academic qualification and years of experience. However, there were statistically significant differences related to the number of training courses in the domain of understanding words, sentences, and paragraphs, highlighting the role of professional development in enhancing this aspect. The study recommends strengthening the implementation of differentiated instruction strategies and providing training programs for teachers to support the development of reading comprehension among students with learning difficulties.
Keywords: Differentiated instruction, reading comprehension, learning difficulties, special education teachers.