Educator Attitudes Towards the Inclusion of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Mainstream Education: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Educator attitudes towards inclusive education impact its success. Attitudes differ depending on the SEN cohort, and so the current systematic review is the first to focus solely on students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Seven databases searched yielded 13 relevant articles. The majority reported positive educator attitudes towards ASD inclusion but with considerable variety in the measures used. There were mixed findings regarding the impact of training and experience on attitudes but, where measured, higher self-efficacy was related to positive attitudes. In summary, educator ASD inclusion attitudes are generally positive but we highlight the need to move towards more homogeneous attitudinal measures. Further research is needed to aggregate data on attitudes towards SEN cohorts other than those with ASD.

The Art of Selection: Understanding Teachers’ Intervention Choices for Preschool Autistic Students

“…Many, but not all, teachers in this study highly valued interventions that can be taught within a natural, least-restrictive environment -a value that aligns closely with recent societal movements toward greater access and inclusion for children with disabilities within public education (Russell et al, 2023). Continued development of both new interventions designed to meet the needs of children within this setting, as well as investigating the translation of present EBPs into this specific context will be critical to provide the targeted instructional support children require without compromising the effectiveness or limiting the feasibility of implementation.…”

Teachers’ Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns About Inclusive Education and Self-Efficacy for Inclusive Practices

“…Even though most teachers believe that students with disabilities and special educational needs can gain significant advantages from inclusion, most teachers express concerns about the effective implementation of inclusive practices (Butakor, Ampadu & Suleiman, 2020) and if inclusion is being applied globally, it's critical to ascertain whether it benefits each cohort equally, and if not, it should be ascertained why not (Russell et al, 2023). Moreover, teachers feel more comfortable when this group of students is placed in special education classes (Zoniou -Sideri & Vlachou, 2006).…”

El conocimiento del profesorado sobre el Trastorno del Espectro Autista

“…Por ello, surge la necesidad de favorecer la inclusión del alumnado con TEA y, de este modo, responder a las NEE en el marco del currículo teniendo en cuenta que cualquier pequeña desviación en la conducta del cuerpo docente puede causar graves perturbaciones en el aprendizaje del alumnado con TEA (Rangel, 2017). Así bien, la mayor parte del profesorado no considera poseer las herramientas necesarias para llevar a cabo la inclusión del alumnado con TEA lo cual afecta a su autoconcepto (Russell et al, 2022). Por tanto, el estudiantado con TEA se encuentra menos incluido dentro de los sistemas educativos, en la mayoría de los casos, debido a las actitudes negativas del profesorado, ya que algunos muestran apatía debido a la complejidad que supone su atención e inclusión en el transcurso educativo, así como por la falta de consenso sobre cómo se debería llevar a cabo la inclusión (Gómez-Marí et al, 2022;Jury et al, 2021;Leifler et al, 2022).…”