ERIC Number: EJ1252726
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-May
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0938-8982
EISSN: N/A
Keyboarding Difficulties: Frequency and Characteristics among Higher Education Students with Handwriting Difficulties
Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, v35 n2 p82-88 May 2020
Word processing is often considered an alternative writing mode or test accommodation for students with specific learning disorders who have handwriting difficulties (HD). Therefore, it is important for researchers and educators to understand the difficulties these students may encounter while using this technology. We examined the frequency of keyboarding difficulties (KD; i.e., slow keyboarding) among higher education students with HD, and the underlying functions (language, fine-motor, and attention) of these disabilities compared to students with only HD. Of the 50 students with HD, 24 percent were found to have KD. This group had significantly lower scores in phonological and orthographic skills, but not in fine-motor and attention functions, compared to students with HD alone. These results support models suggesting that handwriting and keyboarding share linguistic processes. They also suggest that for students with lower linguistic functions, word processing via keyboarding may not be an effective writing mode, and that these students may require tailored accommodation.
Descriptors: Keyboarding (Data Entry), Writing Difficulties, Incidence, Student Characteristics, Handwriting, College Students, Students with Disabilities, Attention, Language Skills, Psychomotor Skills, Word Processing, Academic Accommodations (Disabilities)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A