Dyscalculia in further and higher education

Dyscalculia is one of the newer challenges that face practitioners and researchers, particularly in the post 16 sectors. The focus of this paper is therefore be Further and Higher Education. Dyscalculia is a specific learning difference, which affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills and an intuitive grasp of numbers. Consideration is given to this and other current definitions, together with a theoretical perspective. The paper also considers the prevalence of dyscalculia, as well as the difficulties dyscalculic students’ experience, both in academic life and more generally. The paper highlights DysCalculiUM, a new first-line screening tool for dyscalculia focusing on the understanding of mathematics. The system provides an on-line delivery of the screening tool to identify students at risk with minimal staff input. A Profiler identifies students requiring further investigation. This may take the form of an in-depth interview and referral for further testing. The final section of the paper considers subsequent one-to-one support for students. A case study of a dyscalculic student in Higher Education working with tables of information, percentages and graphs, serves to illustrate some of the ways in which dyscalculic students can be supported on a one-to-one basis.