Copyright (c) 2026 Samiullah Hasanzadah; Ahmadzay Mohammad Niazi (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Learning Difficulties and Environmental Factors: The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Maternal Literacy, and Supplementary Education
Corresponding Author(s) : Samiullah Hasanzadah
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities,
Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): July
Abstract
Learning difficulties refer to challenges that students may experience in understanding academic content, completing homework, or applying effective learning strategies. These difficulties may manifest as academic underachievement, reduced self-esteem, and even school dropout. Unlike specific learning disorders, learning difficulties are more strongly associated with environmental factors and are therefore considered controllable. This study aimed to examine the role of these environmental factors by comparing learning difficulties among students with different socioeconomic statuses, access to supplementary education, and maternal literacy. For this purpose, 129 students from Syed Jamaluddin Afghan School were selected using stratified sampling. Data were collected using the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS version 29. The results indicated that overall levels of learning difficulties in the studied population were below the average level (although 16% of the sample exhibited learning difficulties). Furthermore, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, those whose mothers were illiterate, and those who did not attend supplementary courses demonstrated significantly higher levels of learning difficulties. It is recommended that learning difficulties receive greater attention in schools and that efforts be made to reduce them through improving teaching quality, providing remedial classes, and similar interventions.
Keywords
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
References
- American Psychiatric Association (Ed.). (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5-TRTM (Fifth edition, text revision). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
- Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic Status and Child Development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 371–399. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135233
- Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., & Martin, M. J. (2010). Socioeconomic Status, Family Processes, and Individual Development. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 685–704. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00725.x
- Daniel, S. S., Walsh, A. K., Goldston, D. B., Arnold, E. M., Reboussin, B. A., & Wood, F. B. (2006). Suicidality, School Dropout, and Reading Problems Among Adolescents. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(6), 507–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194060390060301
- Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The Influence of Parent Education and Family Income on Child Achievement: The Indirect Role of Parental Expectations and the Home Environment. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.294
- Dubow, E. F., Boxer, P., & Huesmann, L. R. (2009). Long-term Effects of Parents’ Education on Children’s Educational and Occupational Success: Mediation by Family Interactions, Child Aggression, and Teenage Aspirations. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 55(3), 224–249. https://doi.org/10.1353/mpq.0.0030
- Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., & Pachan, M. (2010). A Meta‐Analysis of After‐School Programs That Seek to Promote Personal and Social Skills in Children and Adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45(3–4), 294–309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9300-6
- Evans, G. W., & Schamberg, M. A. (2009). Childhood poverty, chronic stress, and adult working memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16), 6545–6549. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811910106
- Farrell, M. (2012). The effective teacher’s guide to dyslexia and other learning difficulties (learning disabilities): Practical strategies (2nd ed). Routledge.
- Fletcher, J. M., & Vaughn, S. (2009). Response to Intervention: Preventing and Remediating Academic Difficulties. Child Development Perspectives, 3(1), 30–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2008.00072.x
- Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (2006). Introduction to response to intervention: What, why, and how valid is it? Reading Research Quarterly, 41(1), 93–99. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.41.1.4
- Graham, L. J., White, S. L. J., Cologon, K., & Pianta, R. C. (2020). Do teachers’ years of experience make a difference in the quality of teaching? Teaching and Teacher Education, 96, 103190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103190
- Gui, M. D., & Akuba, M. (2023). Analysis of Learning Difficulties in Class V Elementary School Science Material. Journal of Education Method and Learning Strategy, 2(01), 70–78. https://doi.org/10.59653/jemls.v2i01.369
- Ghanji, M. (2015). Psychology of exceptional children based on DSM-5. [in Persian]. Tehran, Iran: Savalan Publications.
- Hackman, D. A., & Farah, M. J. (2009). Socioeconomic status and the developing brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(2), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.003
- Hart, S., Dixon, A., Drummond, M. J., & McIntyre, D. (2007). Learning without Limits. Open University Press.
- Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 740–763. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015362
- Holloway, D., & Kaufman, J. M. (1988/2008). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education (F. Maher, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Roshd Publications
- Hajloo, N., & Rezaie Sharif, A. (2011). Psychometric properties of Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire (CLDQ). Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1(1), 24–43. https://jld.uma.ac.ir/article_88.html?lang=en
- Jimerson, S. R., Burns, M. K., & VanDerHeyden, A. M. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of Response to Intervention: The Science and Practice of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7568-3
- Lauer, P. A., Akiba, M., Wilkerson, S. B., Apthorp, H. S., Snow, D., & Martin-Glenn, M. L. (2006). Out-of-School-Time Programs: A Meta-Analysis of Effects for At-Risk Students. Review of Educational Research, 76(2), 275–313. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543076002275
- Lewis, A., & Norwich, B. (2007). Special Teaching for Special Children? Pedagogies for Inclusion. McGraw-Hill Education.
- Lodge, J. M., Kennedy, G., Lockyer, L., Arguel, A., & Pachman, M. (2018). Understanding Difficulties and Resulting Confusion in Learning: An Integrative Review. Frontiers in Education, 3, 49. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2018.00049
- Malekpour, M., Aghababaei, S., & Abedi, A. (2013). Working memory and learning disabilities. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 59(1), 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1179/2047387711Y.0000000011
- Mortimore, T. (2008). Dyslexia and learning style: A practitioner’s handbook (2nd ed). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470987940
- Norwich, B. (2014). Recognising value tensions that underlie problems in inclusive education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 44(4), 495–510. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2014.963027
- Patall, E. A., Cooper, H., & Allen, A. B. (2010). Extending the School Day or School Year: A Systematic Review of Research (1985–2009). Review of Educational Research, 80(3), 401–436. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310377086
- Pearson, G. H. J. (1952). A Survey of Learning Difficulties in Children. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 7(1), 322–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/00797308.1952.11823166
- Peer, L., & Reid, G. (Eds.). (2021). Special educational needs: A guide for inclusive practice (3rd edition). SAGE.
- Ritter, G. W., Barnett, J. H., Denny, G. S., & Albin, G. R. (2009). The Effectiveness of Volunteer Tutoring Programs for Elementary and Middle School Students: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 3–38. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325690
- Rutter, M. (1994). Fifteen thousand hours: Secondary schools and their effects on children. P. Chapman Pub.
- Sainio, P. J., Eklund, K. M., Ahonen, T. P. S., & Kiuru, N. H. (2019). The Role of Learning Difficulties in Adolescents’ Academic Emotions and Academic Achievement. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 52(4), 287–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219419841567
- Snowling, M. J., & Hulme, C. (2012). Interventions for children’s language and literacy difficulties. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00081.x
- Seif, A.-A. (2018). Modern educational psychology: the psychology of Learning and instruction (7th ed.). [in Persian] Tehran, Iran: Doran Publishing.
- Taher, M. T., & Kheradmand, A. R. (2024). Comparing the Learning Problems of Students in Public and Private Schools in the Fifth District of Kabul City. [in Persian] Journal of Social Sciences - Kabul University, 7(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.62810/jss.v7i1.9
- Westwood, P. (2013). Learning and Learning Difficulties: Approaches to teaching and assessment. Taylor and Francis.
- Westwood, P. S. (2008). What teachers need to know about learning difficulties. ACER Press.
- Willcutt, E. G., Boada, R., Riddle, M. W., Chhabildas, N., DeFries, J. C., & Pennington, B. F. (2011). Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire: Validation of a parent-report screening measure. Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 778–791. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023290
- Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2