Analysis of Factors Affecting Academic Career: Clustering of University Students with Dyslexia in Italy

This study was designed to explore learning experiences of university students with dyslexia and factors that could contribute to their success in the university career. Indeed, whereas great efforts have been made to diagnose dyslexia and to mitigate its effects at primary and secondary school, little has been done at the university level in particular in the italian context. In this paper we used bivariate association tests and cluster analysis, in order to identify the most suitable compensatory tools and support strategies that can facilitate the students’ performance. Data were obtained by voluntary participation of university students with dyslexia to an ad-hoc implemented questionnaire Results of our study reveal the importance of an earlier diagnosis and treatment for dyslexia with specific programs, in particular the support from association of dyslexic students has been shown as the most important one. Moreover, from the cluster analysis we identified six groups of students by defining specific support tools and learning strategies for each group. The findings have to be considered as the starting point for the implementation of artificial intelligence-based platform. In fact, the creation of dyslexia profiles can allow us to identify student-specific tools for supporting the academic career of dyslexic students.