The possibilities of abductive diagnostic procedures in special education

Abstract

The diagnosis of learning disability is an actual issue but the diagnostic categories are not standardized and that is why the classification is uncertain. For this reason, eliminating the categories would not solve the problem. The focus of our research is to reveal the diagnostic method linked to the phenomenon of learning disability. Implementing abduction in the field of special educational diagnostics may help understand learning disability more thoroughly.11 case studies (expert opinions) were analysed in our research using fuzzy logic and the basic principles of Boolean algebra in order to create a new abductive diagnostic model. The meta-analysis of expert’s opinions was conducted to identify abduction. Our results suggest that the reliability of the diagnostic process can be increased. Interpreting test results based on abduction may also allow to reveal the background factors such as the beliefs of the experts. The presented abduction-diagnostic model may be able to detect the learning or other problems and identify the necessary and sufficient conditions behind the disabilities.