The self-efficacy of primary teachers in supporting the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder

In the context of a trend towards inclusive practice in Irish primary schools, many teachers feel ill-equipped to cope with this new challenge. Scope exists within the Irish education system to transform mainstream schools into autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) friendly environments. Research into te...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEducational psychology in practice Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 73 - 88
Main Authors Anglim, Johanna, Prendeville, Paula, Kinsella, William
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Harlow Routledge 02.01.2018
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Autism
autism spectrum disorder
Autistic children
Barriers
Behavior Problems
Counselor Role
Disability Identification
Educational Environment
Elementary School Teachers
Elementary schools
Foreign Countries
Hermeneutics
Inclusion
interpretative phenomenological analysis
Mainstreaming
Peer Relationship
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Phenomenology
primary teachers
School Psychologists
School Safety
Self Efficacy
Semi Structured Interviews
Student Behavior
Student Needs
Students with disabilities
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Competencies
Teacher Effectiveness
Ireland (Dublin)
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Summary:In the context of a trend towards inclusive practice in Irish primary schools, many teachers feel ill-equipped to cope with this new challenge. Scope exists within the Irish education system to transform mainstream schools into autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) friendly environments. Research into teacher perceptions of inclusion has found that teachers' views impact on how inclusionary practices are implemented. This study utilised semi-structured interviews with six primary school teachers. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Findings from this study suggest that the majority of teachers were apprehensive and lacked confidence at the initial prospect of teaching a child with ASD. The majority of the teachers interviewed also described feelings of uncertainty in managing the behaviour of a child with ASD. These findings were analysed in the context of teachers' perceptions of systemic issues such as lack of access to resources, support and training in ASD-specific approaches.
ISSN:0266-7363
1469-5839
DOI:10.1080/02667363.2017.1391750