Attitudes of Australian primary school teachers towards the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

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.

Teacher attitudes towards the inclusion of students with support needs

“…Evidently, the problem is not just a lack of knowledge. It is true that teachers who have participated in training courses on inclusive education are usually more positive towards the concept than those who have not (Ahmmed, Sharma and Deppeler, 2012;Garrad, Rayner and Pedersen, 2018). However, when the impact of inclusion training was studied experimentally, no positive effect was found (Beattie, Anderson and Antonak, 1997).…”

Armenian teachers’ dichotomous perspectives on children with high‐functioning autism

“…The stigmatization of children with autism is an international concern (Al‐Sharbati, Al‐Farsi, Ouhtit, et al., ) leading, in many cases, to the ‘destructive dichotomizing of students’ (Rutherford, , p. 128) that inevitably emerges from attainment‐led teacher education programmes. For example in the Australian context, questions have been raised about the degree to which shifts towards the inclusion of children with ASD are founded in teacher positivity or merely reflect ‘changes in ideological attitudes aligned with current educational standards and expectations’ (Garrad, Rayner and Pedersen, , p. 63).…”

“…Education, then, is arguably ‘one of the most powerful sources to enhance the developmental opportunities for children with autistic spectrum disorders’ (Manti, Scholte and Van Berckelaer‐Onnes, , p. 64), and teachers’ attitudes can prove a crucial influence when individuals with special educational needs, such as autism, are included in mainstream education (Garrad, Rayner, and Pedersen, ; Park and Chitiyo, ).…”

La Preparación de los Maestros para Estimular la Socialización De los Educandos con Autismo en Condiciones de Inclusión

“…Muchas investigaciones apuntan a que la inclusión de las personas con TEA en las escuelas principales contribuye a potenciar su desarrollo personal y social, puesto que para cambiar el curso del autismo hacia una trayectoria más adaptativa y funcional del desarrollo es vital que estos participen en espacios educacionales y culturales que estimulen su socialización (Lindsay et al, 2013;McCurdy & Cole, 2013;Prizant, 2015). En una reciente investigación llevada a cabo por Garrad et al (2018), se subraya que es importante comprender las perspectivas de los maestros que tienen dentro de su encargo social atender a educandos con TEA en aulas principales, como un paso capital para avanzar hacia la inclusión exitosa.…”

“…Con lo dicho hasta aquí, es posible apuntar que la preparación que posean los maestros para trabajar con educandos con TEA, es un aspecto esencial que les permitirá interactuar con sus problemas cognitivos, emocionales y volitivos y encauzar de manera eficiente y eficaz los estímulos educativos necesarios para potenciar su socialización (Anglim et al, 2018;Chen et al, 2017;Soto-Chodiman et al, 2012). Sin embargo, la mayoría de los estudios se centra en el componente actitudinal (Garcés & Zambrano, 2018;Garrad et al, 2018;Low et al, 2018;Srivastava et al, 2017), pero hay relativamente poca investigación centrada en la preparación de los maestros entendiéndola como el resultado global de un proceso que está en constante transformación en un amplio escenario de colaboración grupal (Castillo, 2004). En este sentido, la preparación de los maestros puede determinar sus interacciones diarias con los estudiantes con TEA, así como también con sus padres y provocar un impacto en los mismos (Chung et al, 2015;Lozic, 2014).…”