Life skills self-efficacy in students with specific learning difficulties in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper reports the life skills self-efficacy among junior secondary students (S.1 – S.3) with specific learning difficulties in reading and writing (SpLD) (dyslexia), in Hong Kong. A sample of 133 students with SpLD completed the Life Skills Development Self-Efficacy Inventory. This instrument has four scales covering skills in areas of academic, personal, social, and career and talent development. Previous international studies have suggested that students with SpLD exhibit more difficulties in these areas when compared to non-SpLD students―but results from the present study indicated that participants in Hong Kong possessed reasonably positive views of their self-efficacy in the four domains. Their level of overall self-efficacy was comparable to that of a local normative group, although a few subtle differences were identified. The implications of the findings are discussed.