Teachers’ Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

Abstract

(1) Teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools influence daily educational practices. Depending on whether these attitudes are favorable or not, inclusive education could be fully or partially reached. This systematic review aims to analyze teachers’ attitudes toward ASD and to determine the variables that moderate them. (2) We conducted a systematic review in WoS, Scopus, and PsycINFO databases, obtaining an amount of 16 studies included in this review. (3) The results revealed inconclusive levels in teachers’ attitudes: Some of the teachers reported positive attitudes, some neutral, and some negative. (4) Among the variables that probably moderate attitudes, we found knowledge, experience, training, and gender. Future research and implications for pre-service and in-service teachers, school administrators, and policy makers are suggested.

Barriers general education teachers face regarding the inclusion of students with autism

“…When students with ASD are included in the GE classroom, their GE teachers are responsible for addressing their needs, just as they are responsible for addressing the needs of their typical peers ( Boyle et al, 2022 ). However, research has found that GE teachers lack the training and professional development to successfully create an inclusive setting ( Gómez-Marí et al, 2021 , 2022 ). Furthermore, teachers themselves have highlighted the need for better collaboration opportunities with special education professionals and more technology to meet the requirements of legislation such as IDEA ( Mulholland and O’Connor, 2016 ).…”

“…Although several studies have found that teachers hold positive attitudes toward students with ASD (e.g., Park and Chitiyo, 2011 ; Boyle et al, 2022 ), other research has found that teachers have negative perceptions of students with ASD, including that these students have low levels of academic achievement and emotional and social development ( Gómez-Marí et al, 2021 , 2022 ). As a result, teachers may be influenced by this prejudice toward students with ASD when such students are present in their classrooms, even if they do not realize it ( Chung et al, 2015 ).…”

El conocimiento del profesorado sobre el Trastorno del Espectro Autista

“…Respecto a su prevalencia, esta ha aumentado con el trascurso de los años (Folostina et al, 2022;Gómez-Marí et al, 2022;Zeidan et al, 2022). 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). Por tanto, la formación inicial y permanente del profesorado resulta imprecisa en materia de discapacidades y educación inclusiva, además de mostrar una falta de experiencia en integración escolar y la incongruencia de las actitudes del profesorado entre la teoría de integrar y la práctica educativa (Falla et al, 2022, Love et al, 2019Pérez-Jorge et al, 2016).…”