Diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have risen dramatically in the last 10 years, with recent estimates at one in every 100 children within Australia. This has resulted in considerable increases in the number of students with ASD entering mainstream education. Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion have been recognised as a key indicator for students’ successful inclusion. The main factors posited for determining teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities, consists of the amount of specialist training received and the length of specific ASD teaching experience. Utilising the Autism Attitude Scale for Teachers for the first time in Australia, we examined 107 primary school teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of students with ASD within their classrooms. The resulting scores were then analysed to examine the correlations, if any existed, between the amount of specialised training and years of ASD‐specific teaching on teachers’ attitude scores. While teachers’ attitudes were found to be highly positive, contrary to previous studies, low correlation coefficients were reported between their attitudes and ASD‐specific teaching experience, and their attitudes and the number of ASD‐specific professional development courses they attended. Findings of this study are discussed in the context of the sample population and explore the notion of a sociological and philosophical shift, attributed to the positive promotion efforts of the inclusive education movement, as one possible reason for the divergence in the findings from past research in the field.

Candidate wellbeing is recognised as a continual challenge for doctoral programs, with government mandates requiring an institutional response. This paper explores the experiences of candidates undertaking intensive writing sessions ('Write-Ins') and their influence on their wellbeing. Exploratory findings demonstrate opportunities for Write-In models to contribute positively to 'Spaces of Wellbeing'. Spaces of Wellbeing theory (Fleuret & Atkinson, 2007) highlights four dimensions of space that influence wellbeing: capability, security, integrative and therapeutic spaces. Findings show the Write-Ins contributed positively to wellbeing by offering space for candidates to enhance writing productivity, to work to their own pace, to connect with others, and to work flexibly.

At the time of writing, the largest state in Australia is once more in full lockdown because of surging cases from the new variant strain of COVID-19. During the last lockdown in early 2020, we conducted a study analyzing the efficacy of mapping best-practice face-to-face university teaching into the online space. This article reports on the results of a survey from the perspective of student belonging. Isolation was the most prevalent theme recorded by students despite not being one of the research questions asked. The importance of adopting the model in online university courses in the current/post-COVID-19 world is presented.

Inclusive education in Australia has resulted in a concerted push for the differentiation of pedagogical teaching approaches by educators across Kindergarten to Year 12 (K-12) learning environments.  Such approaches have been shown to meet a diverse range of learner needs found in today's classrooms.  While progress is evident at the primary and secondary levels of education, implementing effective inclusive practices in higher education appears stagnant. Utilising the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in a fully online pre-service teacher training unit, multiple means of representation of the learning content and multiple means of engagement were explicitly incorporated into the online unit design.  This approach aimed to proactively support the engagement of all students in an online teaching and learning environment.  This study provides preliminary evidence that the application of UDL principles resulted in higher levels of student engagement and lower rates of student attrition.

Many teachers are sporadic in using evidencebased practice (EBP) concerning students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Numerous reasons have been posited for this. However, no single study has worked to understand the relative importance of identified criteria in the EBP decision-making processes of teachers. Through the development of a new survey tool, the Evidence-Based Practice Innovation Survey (EBPIAS), an exploration of the decision-making process of Australian teachers in their adoption and cessation of EBP was undertaken. Teachers rated the perception that an EBP would meet the needs of their students as the most important criteria in determining their use of EBP. Conversely, the judgement that an EBP did not meet the needs of their student was the most important criteria in their decision to cease use. In comparing the relevant importance of identified criteria, teachers rated the perception of training as the second-lowest consideration in their decision to adopt and cease using EBP. Consequently, there may need to be greater promotion of, or information concerning, the training required by teachers for effective implementation supporting a more balanced and holistic approach in assessing criteria impacting the adoption of EBP by teachers in the first instance, potentially lowering cessation rates.