Research Newsletter - Issue 110: Spotlight
The right support: research examining the needs of students in specific circumstances, and the support teachers need
January 2026
This edition of the Research Spotlight features three DCU research projects examining support for students with learning difficulties. Students who are both gifted and have learning disabilities are struggling to challenge themselves in academic environments. Children learning English while navigating special educational needs are “falling through the cracks.” Teachers passionate about helping dyslexic students lack the knowledge to do so effectively.
The Twice Exceptional Paradox
Twice-exceptional learners are students with gifts and talents who also have one or more learning disabilities. This can present a unique educational paradox, as students’ cognitive abilities can mask their learning challenges, while learning disabilities may also obscure their giftedness, leaving them often misunderstood and underserved within educational settings. While recognition of twice exceptionality has greatly increased in international gifted education literature, research in Ireland remains limited.
Dr Orla Dunne (School of Inclusive & Special Education)
The figures demonstrate a stark situation: 59.9% of twice-exceptional students in the study have autism spectrum disorder, 31.9% have ADHD, and many juggle multiple diagnoses. Yet parents reported significantly higher dissatisfaction with gifted education services than with special education—hardly surprising when most children received no gifted services at all. "My child doesn't receive this at his school, so it would be great if he were challenged more," one parent shared. "He tells me he is bored at school and doesn't like it."
Dr Leanne Hinch (School of Inclusive & Special Education)
The consequences extend beyond academic challenges. Recent research shows gifted Irish children face higher rates of cyberbullying than their peers, with twice-exceptional students reporting significantly lower life satisfaction. When schools focus exclusively on deficits while ignoring strengths, these students internalise a damaging message: you need fixing, not nurturing.
EAL Students with Dyslexia
Meanwhile, another vulnerable population is navigating challenges in educational environments. EAL (English as an Additional Language) pupils with special educational needs face a combination of challenges — and Ireland's education system isn't equipped to help them.
Dr Anne Rowan
Dr Anne Rowan (School of Policy and Practice), Prof Martin Brown (School of Policy & Practice) and Prof Joe O’Hara’s (School of Policy & Practice) SEALSEN report examined post-primary schools across both the Republic and Northern Ireland, revealing a troubling pattern. Teachers rely heavily on "gut feeling" observations rather than appropriate assessment tools. Standardised tests designed for native English speakers consistently fail these students, creating what researchers describe as a "Catch-22 scenario."
Prof Martin Brown
Without language-appropriate diagnostic instruments, pupils aren't assessed. Without assessment, their needs remain invisible and unsupported. The study found that 100% of respondents in the Republic identified language barriers as the primary obstacle to parental involvement. Cultural differences in understanding special educational needs compound the problem. In some cultures, acknowledging a child's learning difference carries significant stigma, leaving families isolated and afraid to seek help.
Prof Joe O'Hara
"There's still a huge stigma, especially for some cultures with any sort of special educational need," one teacher observed. "And a lot of it was denied."
Technology offers some promise—translation apps, visual learning software, and multilingual classroom assistants show potential—but adoption remains patchy and under-resourced. Meanwhile, dedicated teachers improvise creative solutions without systemic support, leaving provision wildly inconsistent across schools.
The Knowledge Gap
Elsewhere, Dr Paula Lehane (School of Inclusive and Special Education) has partnered with Dyslexia Ireland to examine Irish teachers’ knowledge of dyslexia, and their preparedness to teach students with the learning disability. Surveying 130 primary teachers, she discovered that while Irish educators understand more about dyslexia than their international counterparts, dangerous misconceptions persist.
Dr Paula Lehane
73% of Irish teachers correctly recognised that phonemic awareness and phonics instruction are crucial for dyslexic learners—significantly better than the mere 29% of American teachers who understood this.
However, over half falsely believed that coloured lenses (55%) and dyslexia-specific fonts (52%) represent research-based approaches. A striking 67% advocated teaching picture cues as compensatory strategies—an approach unsupported by evidence. Many teachers described misconceptions only challenged through classroom experience.
Even more revealing: only 1% of teachers identified their initial teacher education as a significant source of dyslexia knowledge. Instead, 75% learned primarily through working with dyslexic students—a trial-by-fire approach that leaves newly qualified teachers unfairly underprepared.
Lack of specific policy
Together, these studies expose areas where there is a need for specific policy frameworks, as there are gaps and policy hasn't kept pace with classroom realities. In the Republic, there's no specific guidance targeting the intersection of EAL and special needs, no defined Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) roles, and no protocols for newcomer pupils with disabilities.
When asked to rate government policy effectiveness, 45.5% of teachers in the twice-exceptional study considered current approaches ineffective. For the study on EAL students with special needs, 41.2% of respondents in Northern Ireland rated government policies as poor. "I don't think policy has kept up with the exponential growth of SEN needs in school populations at present," one Northern Ireland teacher observed.
The teacher supply crisis exacerbates everything. With reduced access to Special Education Teachers, mainstream classroom teachers find themselves "pushed to the pin of their collar," supporting complex needs without adequate training, resources, or systemic backing.
Charting a Path Forward
For twice-exceptional students, researchers recommend comprehensive Student Support Plans that explicitly integrate both giftedness and disability needs. They advocate for policy reform recognising exceptional ability within Ireland's special educational needs framework. Develop evidence-based resources specifically for older learners, who currently lack age-appropriate challenge materials.
For EAL pupils with special needs, the solution demands cultural responsivity and systemic integration. Schools need multilingual assessment tools, first-language evaluation options, and structured collaboration between EAL specialists and SENCOs before formal assessments begin. Translation services must become standard, not exceptional. Cultural mediators should bridge gaps between families and schools.
For dyslexia support, Dr Lehane and Dyslexia Ireland have worked to create freely available online resources at supportingdyslexicstudents.com—interactive books debunking myths, explaining Structured Literacy principles, and showcasing authentic Irish classroom practice.
Critically, all three studies emphasise that professional development must shift from the teacher as unit to the school as unit. When individual educators pursue training on their "own steam," expertise remains fragmented and inconsistent.