If you’ve landed on this article, it’s because you’re interested in learning about options for studying a specialization in learning difficulties.
It’s a good decision you’ve made to want to continue your education in education and pedagogy, and there are reasons to affirm it.
Note that in Mexico, only 9.9% of teachers have specialized training or a master’s degree.
That’s why choosing a specialization in learning difficulties is undoubtedly a wise choice due to the multidisciplinary and comprehensive nature of this training, which facilitates your career advancement and improves your pedagogical and methodological skills inside and outside the classroom.
INEGI figures also confirm that half of teachers and pedagogues in Mexico are employed in primary schools. That is, the period in children’s lives when it is most convenient to diagnose and intervene in learning problems, as it is scientifically a stage of life where the maturity of the nervous system and brain development could still be influenced to overcome cognitive impairment.
In Mexico, training in learning difficulties is offered exclusively at the postgraduate level
So, considering these two statistical aspects related to the levels of teachers with master’s degrees and those employed in primary education, dedicating time to train as an expert in learning difficulties is an intelligent decision given the educational context that will result in benefit for you and your students.
Under criteria of inclusion and education for all, the specialization in learning difficulties is a humanistic training that in Mexico is offered almost exclusively at the postgraduate level.
The proposed training for pedagogues, teachers, psychologists, social workers, and other professionals directly linked to education and psychology allows for establishing interventions to improve the quality of life of children, adolescents, and young people in Mexico.
Reality of attention to learning problems in Mexico
The country currently registers one of the highest rates of teachers and has 1.2 million professors, according to INEGI figures.
However, further investigation reveals the need for more training in the discipline of learning problems, given the still prevalent discrimination and exclusion in schools.
In Mexico, almost 30% of people with disabilities aged 15-29 are illiterate. That is, they cannot read or write. This is an alarming figure that highlights the importance of working for vulnerable children in the earliest stages of life.
The specialist in learning difficulties has a direct impact on transforming this reality. Their professional involvement focuses on detecting, working on, and enabling the overcoming of specific learning difficulties in language, reading, writing, and mathematics.
Imagine the number of children who have been excluded from the Mexican school system due to problems such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia. Many of these cases could surely have been avoided by having specialized professionals address these disorders in time. For this reason, this training is encouraged.
In Mexico, teachers have an important role recognized by citizens. It is no coincidence that the primary basic education modality is the fourth most studied career with an employment rate of 99.1% and a concentration of work in educational services.
A primary school teacher in Mexico earns an average of 10,000 pesos. This figure improves by up to 50% when a postgraduate study is completed.
Therefore, the option of pursuing postgraduate studies in Mexico, especially those related to education, pedagogy, and psychology, seems to be a wise decision for your career.
Learning difficulties
These are disorders that hinder the learning process and the acquisition and development of skills necessary for functioning in society.
Generally, these difficulties manifest in early childhood, so the participation of doctors, parents, psychologists, and teachers is important for their detection, prevention, and subsequent intervention.
Sometimes these are temporary difficulties. While in others, they stem from severe neurological or developmental problems and lack of nervous system maturation that can persist throughout life. In both cases, the task of the learning difficulties specialist is to help the child, parents, and other involved individuals in their experience and learning processes to overcome and/or counteract these problems so that the child can learn at their own pace, based on their unique characteristics, without abandoning the natural environment where learning takes place: school and home.
The consensus concept of learning difficulties is that recorded in 1988 by the National Joint Committee, which defines them as “a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities.”
The specialization in learning difficulties is a convenient choice that will allow professionals endowed with particular sensitivity and an interest in research, teaching, and psychology to apply acquired knowledge scientifically and pragmatically for the well-being of individuals.
Academic and methodological approach to training in learning difficulties in Mexico
In a brief review, we observe that programs in Mexico on learning difficulties are concentrated at the third level of studies, with a prevalence of diplomas and specializations over more formal and robust training such as master’s degrees.
Unfortunately, in some of these curricula, a medical and rehabilitation vision of disability still prevails, which prevents an individual-centered approach that considers the social, emotional, and attitudinal aspects of disability.
Universidad ISEP stands out as a higher education institution with over 30 years of experience in clinical training and intervention in the areas of clinical psychology, neurosciences, education, and speech therapy.
Online training and dual degree in learning difficulties in Mexico
You can pursue your Master’s in Intervention in Learning Difficulties without having to stop working or adhere to a rigid course schedule.
From the comfort of your home, under online modalities and 360º Methodology (exclusive to Universidad ISEP), with flexible schedules, multiple technological and human supports, and a program of 27 modules arranged in five knowledge blocks, the Master’s in Intervention in Learning Difficulties aims to develop competencies and skills that you can put into practice immediately in your work experience.
The University is the only one to offer a dual degree (European and Mexican) and also the possibility of aspiring to the Master’s in Therapeutic Psychopedagogy by taking the Master’s in Intervention in Learning Difficulties along with the Special Education course.