The Hidden Problem of Dyscalculia in Hong Kong: Impacts, Current Situation And

The hidden problem of dyscalculia in Hong Kong: Impacts, current situation and feasible solutions

Introduction

As Hong Kong is becoming a knowledge-based society, learning difficulties including dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the like gain more attention and are well-researched by professionals. Nonetheless, dyscalculia, a learning difficulty defined as the hindrance in performing arithmetic operations (Chan, 2009), is still under-researched (Bishop, 2010), although Butterworth (2010) stated that a recognizable proportion (about 6.5%) of students suffers from it. Bryant et al. (2011) stated that diagnosis and intervention of dyscalculia should be done in an early stage so that students are more likely to understand mathematics in higher levels.    Since the proportion of students affected is significant and early diagnosis is necessary, government and non-governmental organizations should be more aware of dyscalculia and provide sufficient assistance to them. In this essay, the causes and impacts of dyscalculia on students, the current support in Hong Kong for them, and viable solutions are discussed.

Categorization and Causes of Dyscalculia

Price and Ansari (2013) have identified two types of dyscalculia, primary developmental dyscalculia and secondary developmental dyscalculia, caused by different factors. They defined that the cause of primary developmental dyscalculia is endogenous neurodevelopmental reasons, which lead to an underdevelopment of brain mechanisms for arithmetic procedures. In contrast, they suggested that secondary developmental dyscalculia is caused by external factors, namely inappropriate teaching method, short attention span, and lack of money for academic usage.    Moreover, Butterworth (2008) proposed that mathematics anxiety, the dejection caused by solving mathematical problems, also causes an unsatisfying feedback to students, which discourages students from doing exercise and finally causes secondary developmental dyscalculia.    

Impacts of Dyscalculia

Although dyscalculia results in unsatisfying grades in mathematics only, it severely affects the future life of students without appropriate intervention. Even though students suffering from dyscalculia, an isolated learning disorder, have normal grades and abilities in other academic domains (Willburger, Fussenegger, Moll, Wood, & Landerl, 2008), inability to solve mathematical problems significantly affects their daily life. According to Kucian and von Aster (2014) and Kuhn (2015), lower numeracy leads to a significant and adverse impact on finances, individual productivity and employment, especially for professional careers. Apart from long-term disadvantages, Chan (2009) stated that if effective intervention is not introduced in primary schools, students may have a low self-esteem and become anxious about mathematics, forming a vicious cycle in reluctance of learning mathematics.