Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Including Autistic Students in General Education
As a special education teacher, and Inclusion specialist, I’m a member of the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET). As part of my membership, I get a weekly digest email of current topics and research. Today, there was a gem of an item - a recent study that surveyed college students who are studying to become teachers on their attitudes about Inclusion. Specifically, the researchers wanted to know how the teachers felt about including autistic students in the general education Inclusion setting when the students are a) one year behind their peers in academics, b) two years behind their peers in academics, or c) more than two years behind their peers in academics.
The research comes from the Fall, 2022 edition of JAASEP. It was written by Mary A. Houser, Ed.D., Tara S. Guerriero, Ph.D., David L. Bolton, Ph.D., and Esther Smidt, Ph.D. The purpose of their study, again, was to examine special education and general education pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward including autistic PK-12 students in the general education classroom from an academic perspective. This study surveyed 160 undergraduate pre-service teachers (special education and general education) from a mid-size, northeastern (USA) state university’s teacher preparation programs using an adapted version of the Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (ATIES). They found significant differences in pre-service teachers’ attitudes when examining the impact of the academic level of the autistic PK-12 student , the academic program of study (e.g. special education vs. general education), and the level of undergraduate progress (i.e. year in undergraduate career).
Their findings are consistent with the existing research that indicates that teachers appear to be more receptive to including students with “mild” disabilities over those with more complex needs. Therefore, it can be determined that pre-service teachers believe that a relatively small academic delay is considered more conducive to success in an Inclusion setting than a more pronounced academic delay.
In further evaluating pre-service teachers’ attitudes, the researchers examined the impact of the academic program of study. The analysis yielded a significant difference between first- and second-year special education and first- and second-year general education pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward Inclusion. It was determined that general education pre-service teachers were more favorable toward Inclusion as compared to first- and second-year special education pre-service teachers. This finding is consistent with the existing research that general education pre-service teachers were more in favor of full inclusion for autistic students than special education pre-service teachers.
In examining the results, it is important to consider possible reasons why special education pre-service teachers demonstrated a less positive attitude than their general education pre-service peers. In this analysis, the researchers examined those pre-service teachers who were at the same level of education (i.e. first- and second-year students). Since this was the first special education course for all the students, their level of higher education instruction related to special education was similar. It is possible that previous life experiences that may have influenced their decisions to enroll in a special education program may have also influenced their attitudes toward the inclusion of autistic students. It may be possible that they have some type of experience that may have led to preconceived notions surrounding the inclusion of autistic students. For example, they may have an autistic sibling or family member that helped to shape their opinions about education. As another example, it’s possible that their interest in special education may have stemmed from educational experiences related to special education (e.g. they may have been a SPED student themselves) that they may have been involved in.
When all pre-service teachers who were first- and second-year students (special education and general education) were asked to consider autistic PK-12 students who were both academically one year below grade level and two or more years below grade level, no significant difference in attitudes was found. Since this is an early course in their curriculum, it was possible that they have not developed discerning attitudes about the issues related to autism in the classroom.
— December 16, 2023 Note —
Some of the materials herein have made it into my books, No Place for Autism? and Holistic Language Instruction. No Place for Autism was released in February 2023 from Lived Places Publishing and is available at Amazon and other major book retailers worldwide. Holistic Language Instruction will be out in 2024.