| A dearth of information exists about the needs and behaviors of students with learning disabilities in college settings. Students with language-based learning disabilities experience a mismatch between their areas of strength and weakness and the demands of the college system. Examining these students' experiences is a likely way to identify unusual paths to success, or at least to graduation. Looking at students most mismatched with the system also provides a way to identify problems or areas of weakness in the system that are less apparent, but still present, for other students.; I followed a sample of nine college students with language-based learning disabilities over time, in courses that required heavy reading. My study is qualitative, longitudinal, and prospective, with attention both to context and to individual differences between students. I collected data from a variety of sources, including interview, observation, and collection of artifacts. Through appropriate methodological design, I was able to witness student development and document systemic factors that had an impact on levels of student success.; Students in the study earned a range of grades in the courses on which we focused. Working with two other researchers, I developed a model of success for students in the sample. The model consists of two parts: components, and interactions between the components.; Components of the model are derived from the data. They include the student, the course, the student's living environment, and supports available to the student. Interactions between components are classified as specific processes. These processes are adapted from five systems archetypes in Senge's 1990 work with organizations. They are Reinforcing Cycles, Delays, Limits to Growth, Shifting the Burden, and Eroding Goals.; Characteristics of the components vary widely. Each of the latter four processes is associated with lower levels of success for the students in the sample whose abilities and characteristics were not well matched or compensated for by components in the larger environment.; The model maintains attention to individual differences, development over time, and context while explaining complex interactions in the data set. This work demonstrates the need for additional systemic approaches in future research. |
