I think that Lloyd has raised an extremely important question. I would also argue that to work effectively in HE it is important to know how HE works...not only practically and pedagogically but also in terms of the larger picture about how knowledge is generated and where their work fits in relation to this. When dyslexic students operate best with 'the bigger picture' approach, they value discussions about why academic practices are as they are ( the values and power issues underpinning these) and feel liberated to find out how intellectual structures work. Supporting dyslexic students is not just a matter of multi sensory teaching ( as if such is context free?)
Within adult and FE I have also found that the bigger picture is important for students to reframe the deficit model

If qualifications and experience do not provide the tutor with this 'bigger picture' then they will not prepare staff for work in HE at all levels. If they focus exclusively on the individual deficit model of dyslexia then they are not appropriate.

As far as I am aware, there are few courses and qualifications which embrace all of this and so many of the best staff working in the field have gathered the required background knowledge and understanding from a range of sources: research projects,dissertations,modules etc.Lloyd is right to pose the question about what should count as 'qualified'.

Margaret Herrington
PS there is a small new publication available from the DFES about dyslexia support...
Working With Dyslexic Students in HE. Concepts and Methods in Learning Support
based on a small piece of qualitative research. Five dyslexia support tutors and myself have tried to start the debate with a preliminary summary of what is done in HE. It is aimed at staff in FE to show them something of what happens in HE and I would be really grateful for any feedback
Copies are available from
DFES Publications
Prolog
PObox 5050 Sherwood Park
Annesley
Nottingham
NG15 ODJ
email    [log in to unmask]




>>> [log in to unmask] 03/01/05 2:41 PM >>>
Yes, thank you....it is the lack of the combination of skills and
experience.  The RSA diploma may 'prove' that a person has skills (e.g.,
the skill of putting together a portfolio of evidence)but it does not
guarantee that the diploma holder has appropriate experience.




-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Petrie, Joel
Sent: 01 March 2005 14:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: 'qualified dyslexia support tutor'

I think many of the skills employed by dyslexia tutors across the
post-16 sector are very similar (study skills etc).  Multisensory
language teaching isn't nearly so widely used as enabling software -
someone with good IT skills is really important too.
 
Is the real probem here the shortage generally of tutors with the skills
/ experience to meet the increasing numbers of learners with SpLDs in
receipt of DSA?
 
Joel 

________________________________

From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. on
behalf of Lloyd G. Richardson
Sent: Tue 01/03/2005 14:19
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: 'qualified dyslexia support tutor'



Thanks for the response.

 

Employing a diploma holder without HE experience (it was 10 years ago)
reflected my own desperation to find someone to provide support to a
dyslexic student who was struggling (so the choice was between not very
good support or no support at all) as well as the politics of the HEI at
which I then worked (it ran the RSA Dip. Course).

 

The question is, as I put it, how do other HEIs define the term
'qualified dyslexia support tutor'?  In other words, is a person without
HE experience really qualified to help someone who is undergoing that
experience?

 

 

 

 

 

________________________________

From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Hill
Sent: 01 March 2005 14:10
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: 'qualified dyslexia support tutor'

 

Hi

I'm curious about the question that you are really asking here.  

If you chose to employ someone with no experience of working in HE, then
surely that's your fault (unless you are prepared to provide further
training)? Perhaps you should examine your interview procedures rather
than inferring that the RSA Diploma is a sub-standard qualification.  

I'd expect a more informed and rigorous approach from someone sporting a
PhD.

Regards

Peter Hill

(RSA Diploma and a few other bits of paper)

Lloyd G. Richardson wrote: 

Hi to anyone who is interested.

 

I am curious about how other HEIs define the term 'qualified dyslexia
support tutor'.  (I have seen it used several times in job
advertisements, etc.)

 

I have previously employed a person with an RSA Diploma to provide
one-to-one support.  While she was knowledgeable about SpLD, she didn't
have a clue when it came to advising students about course work at
under-graduate level (her previous experience was school and FE based).

 

I have come across other support tutors who have obtained 'dyslexia
qualifications' but who lacked HE experience and did not have degrees
themselves.  The question here is how 'qualified' is a support tutor who
has an RSA Diploma (or some other bit of paper that asserts their
apparent competence as a 'dyslexia expert') but who has never been
awarded a degree (so has no insider knowledge of HE level work) or who
has no experience of supporting students at university?

 

So, I would be grateful to know how some of you define the term
'qualified dyslexia support tutor'.

 

 

Lloyd Richardson  PhD, MA(Ed), BA, Dip Sp.Ed., Dip RD, Cert Ed. (but
never RSA Diploma)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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