Secondary School Teachers' Beliefs, Attitudes, and Reactions to Stuttering

Headnote

Purpose: The study identifies teachers' beliefs about and attitudes toward stuttering and explores to what extent these beliefs and attitudes prompt specific teachers' reactions to the stuttering of a student.

Method: Participants were teachers in secondary education in Flanders (Belgium), currently teaching an adolescent who stutters. They were the student's class teacher or instructed a course in which communication is important. Ten semistructured interviews were conducted and analyzed thematically.

Results: Teachers believed that (a) when peers do not react to the stuttering, the lesson is not disrupted by it, and the student who stutters participates in the lesson, stuttering is not necessarily a problem; (b) when attention is paid to it, stuttering can become a problem; (c) they try to react as little as possible to the stuttering; and (d) they seldom talk about the stuttering.

Conclusion: Although teachers reported that they feel confident in how to deal with stuttering, and although it is possible that students who stutter do not feel the need to talk about their stuttering, teachers could consult their students on this matter. This way, they would acknowledge the stuttering and likely encourage the students to approach them when they feel the need.

Given the 5% lifetime incidence of stuttering and the prevalence of 1% in the school population (Bloodstein & Ratner, 2008), it is likely that teachers will encounter a student who stutters in their classroom. Taking into account the physical and emotional changes adolescents go through and the additional stress due to stuttering, it can be expected that the experiences of secondary school students who stutter are affected (Crichton-Smith, 2002; Daniels, Gabel, & Hughes, 2012; Hayhow, Cray, & Enderby, 2002; Hearne, Packman, Onslow, & Quine, 2008). Because teachers are key figures in students' daily life, a supportive and understanding relationship with a teacher could serve a protective function for such students with a heightened risk of experiencing social, emotional, and mental health problems (Murray & Pianta, 2007). Teachers' support and a safe classroom environment are important for students' well-being (Suldo et al., 2009).

It has been shown, however, that teachers do not always feel competent to support the needs of their students. Although they are likely to be concerned about their students, teachers often report feelings of frustration...