Autism Spectrum Disorder: Regular Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusion
Lauren Byrne, M.S. Ed.
Abstract
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (2012), 1 in every 88 children is identified with
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Teachers need to have
positive attitudes towards the inclusion of students with
ASD in order for their inclusion to be successful. This
study examined regular education teachers’ attitudes
towards inclusion relative to their training on ASD.
Teachers also identified barriers and benefits to inclusion.
Implications for educators and school psychologists
working with students with ASD are discussed.
Introduction
Background on Inclusion:
• The theory behind inclusion is that both students with
and without disabilities benefit when they are taught
in the same classroom with high expectation and
positive interactions (Eldar,Talmor & Wolf-Zukerman,
2008).
• According to the 2008 Annual Report to Congress on the
Implementation of IDEA, almost 90% of students with
ASD spend at least some time in the regular education
classroom.
• It is essential for teachers to have positive attitudes
toward the inclusion of students with diverse needs In
order for inclusion to be successful (Finke,
McNaughton, & Drager, 2009).
• The more severe the disability is, the more negative
the teachers’ perception of inclusion (Smith, 2000).
• Teachers with more special education coursework had
a more positive attitude towards inclusion. Also,
teachers with in-service training on inclusion showed
more positive attitudes towards inclusion than teachers
without such training (Stoler, 1992).
Barriers to Including Students with ASD:
• A major barrier for the inclusion of students with ASD
into the regular education classroom is lack of teacher
training and understanding of ASD (Finke, McNaughton,
& Drager, 2009; Scheuermann, Webber, Boutot, &
Goodwin, 2003).
• No published studies were found in the USA that
examined how teachers’ training on autism related to
their attitudes towards the inclusion of children with
autism in their classrooms.
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012
www.PosterPresentations.com
Methods
Participants
100 out of a solicited 291 (34%) regular education
teachers, K-12, from a large, suburban Mid-Western
school district completed a survey online.
Instrumentation
A modified version of The Teachers’ Attitudes Toward
Inclusion Scale (TATIS), created by Ji-Ryun Kim (2011) was
used for the study.
• The TATIS measures attitudes and beliefs that
are critical to the inclusion of students with
disabilities.
• The TATIS was modified to focus specifically on
attitudes on inclusion of students with ASD.
• Original Cronbach Alpha: .905, Revised Scales
Cronbach Alpha: .847
Descriptive Statistics
Gender:
• 74% females, 26% males
Teacher experience:
• M=16 years, SD=8.64
• Range:3 months-40 years
Grade:
• Elementary School (47%)
• Middle School (20%)
• High School (33%)
8% (N=8) of teachers have a degree in special education
The Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusion scale (Range
possible: 18-72)
– M= 48.02, SD=5.16
– Range: 37-59
Mean Inclusion Score (TATIS)
Advisor: Betty V. DeBoer, Ph.D
Teachers’ Inclusion Scores Based on Training
51
50
n=23
49
48
n=27
n=19
Low (2-10)
Medium (11-25)
47
46
45
*
n=24
44
43
None (0-1)
High (26-60)
Amount of ASD training in hours
*significantly different from other groups
There was an overall significant difference in regular
education teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of
students with ASD based on their training [F (3, 89) =3.11,
p=.03]. Post hoc, pairwise comparisons indicated regular
education teachers with no training on ASD (M=45.42)
scored lower on the TATIS scale than did teachers in the
groups with low (M=48.44), p=.035, medium (M=48.58),
p=.044, and high (M=49.70), p=.005, amounts of training.
• These results were consistent with Stoler’s study
(1992), which stated that teachers had more positive
attitudes towards the inclusion of students with
disabilities when they had more special education
training.
• Regular education teachers who have no training with
students with ASD may gain a more positive attitude
towards inclusion if ASD training is provided to them.
• The most commonly reported barriers to including a
student with ASD are behavior problems. Providing
teacher training on behavior management for students
with ASD may increase their skills as well as their
openness to including students with ASD.
Limitations
• Teachers were asked to estimate the total amount of
ASD training they received, which allows for some
subjectivity in the responses obtained.
References
•
Additional Finding
Regular education teachers reported the following were
barriers for including students with ASD into their
classrooms.
• 47% - uncontrollable behavioral outburst that lead
to classroom disruptions.
• 11% - required additional planning time.
• 10% - lack of support staff in their classroom.
Regular education teachers reported the following
benefits to including students with ASD into their regular
education classrooms.
• 40% - inclusion teaches tolerance to regular
education students.
• 19% - inclusion brings a unique
perspective/diversity to the classroom.
• 17% - inclusion allows for peer interactions for
students with ASD.
Results
Conclusions
A 4X1 analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine
the impact of regular education teachers‘ training (none,
low, medium, and high) on attitudes towards the inclusion
of students with ASD.
• Quantitative results indicated that regular education
teachers who have some, medium, and high amounts of
training reported more positive attitudes towards
including students with ASD compared to teachers who
reported not having such training.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012). Autism and
Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/documents/ADDM-2012Community-REport.pdf
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