Dyslexia in Higher Education: a systematic review of interventions used to promote learning

Introduction and Background: A report by HEFCE (2015) observed that a notable number of learners with dyslexia expressed concern at the levels of support they received, and that individual support plans provided to their departments were not implemented fully.
Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of any published inventions used to promote learning for learners with dyslexia on HE programmes.
Study Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for inclusion studies had to evaluate interventions aimed at improving outcomes for students with dyslexia.
Methods: Potentially relevant studies were searched for and retrieved from: Education Resources Information Centre; British Education Index; Education Research Complete; EPPI-Centre library; Psych Info; Social Sciences Citation Index; Cochrane Library and Campbell Collaboration database.
Data Extraction and Quality Appraisal: Data was extracted from the studies using specially developed data extraction templates, one for studies of experimental/quasi-experimental design and one for systematic reviews. The included studies were quality appraised for internal validity, external validity and relevance.
Synthesis: A thematic narrative synthesis was carried out on the studies’ data.
Results: One review and eight single studies of experimental/quasi-experimental design were included in the synthesis.
Limitations: Evidence from the included studies was limited in terms of the number and rigour of studies. This impeded the review’s ability to establish strong evidential conclusions.
Conclusions: There is a scarcity of high quality, experimental research that tests the effectiveness of dyslexia support interventions in HE. Pockets of good practice exist which may prove useful but these require further investigation.