ABSTRACT

There is general support among teachers for inclusion of children with special educational needs, but many lack the confidence and knowledge to support autistic pupils. This can have an adverse effect on their education. Previous studies have explored the attitudes of teachers towards inclusion, but less is known about the experiences of teachers from contrasting school settings regarding autistic pupils. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve teachers from mainstream and special schools. Questions explored the school provision for autistic pupils, including strategies relating to their learning, friendships, bullying and general inclusion. Thematic analysis identified themes describing teachers’ challenges supporting autistic children, strategies they adopt to facilitate achievement and the influence of factors such as staff training/expertise, educational ideology, attitudes and the physical environment. Overall, it is argued that, besides the structural differences between mainstream and special schools, there remain a number of additional factors impacting teachers’ sense of self-efficacy. These are discussed in relation to recent research perspectives advocating an inclusive educational pedagogy.

摘要

教师普遍支持将有特殊教育需要的儿童纳入其中，但许多教师缺乏支持自闭症学生的信心和知识。这会对他们的教育产生不利影响。以前的研究探讨了教师对包容的态度，但对来自不同学校环境的教师对自闭症学生的体验知之甚少。对来自主流和特殊学校的 12 名教师进行了半结构化访谈。问题探讨了自闭症学生的学校规定，包括与他们的学习、友谊、欺凌和一般包容有关的策略。主题分析确定了描述教师在支持自闭症儿童方面面临的挑战的主题，他们为促进成就而采取的策略以及员工培训/专业知识、教育理念、态度和物理环境等因素的影响。总体而言，有人认为，除了主流学校和特殊学校之间的结构差异外，还有许多其他因素会影响教师的自我效能感。这些讨论与最近提倡包容性教育教学法的研究观点有关。