Experiences of Turkish preschool teachers for including children with autism spectrum disorders: Challenges faced and methods used (original) (raw)
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Proceedings of INTCESS 2023- 10th International Conference on Education and Education of Social Sciences
One of the priority goals of future education is inclusive education. When creating inclusive educational environments, it is important to ensure that every child would have the opportunity to receive quality education together with his peers in the local community closest to him, in the educational institution closest to his home. This obliges schools to constantly monitor the quality factors of education and improve their readiness to accept all learners regardless of any individual characteristics, obstacles or arising difficulties, and to strive to ensure the effective education of pupils. Research shows that in many countries, including Lithuania, general education schools experience a number of difficulties in educating children with autism spectrum disorder (hereinafter referred to as ASD). It is appropriate to conduct research on good practices in inclusive education based on the subjective perceptions and attitudes of different participants. The purpose of the study is to r...
Teachers’ Perceptions of Including Children with Autism in a Preschool
Asian Social Science, 2013
Inclusive education supports the vision of the United Nations (UN) in upholding the fundamental rights of children with special needs towards education. In Malaysia, the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 recognized the rights of children and persons with disabilities in regards to education. However, the implementation of inclusive education for children with autism in Malaysia has been problematic, especially in preschool. Therefore, this study investigated teachers' perceptions of including children with autism in a mainstream preschool. The objectives of this study were: 1) to determine the attitudes of teachers towards inclusive education 2) to identify the knowledge and skills of pre-school teachers regarding inclusive education 3) to identify the barriers and challenges in implementing inclusive education in pre-school 4) to investigate the reasons behind the non-acceptance of preschool teachers on having children with autism in their classes. Data were collected using a structured interview. Three pre-school teachers in Selangor agreed to participate in this study. The interviews were transcribed text verbatim and information was analyzed by identifying relevant themes. The findings showed that the teachers were not prepared to teach children with autism in their class because they did not know the characteristics of children with autism and did not understand the importance of inclusive education. In conclusion, the practice of inclusive education in pre-school is yet to be implemented successfully due to some constraints experienced by teachers and lack of support in the environment.
Sabiedrība, integrācija, izglītība, 2020
The objective of the study presented in this article is to reveal supporting factors for primary school teachers in ensuring inclusive education for children with autism spectrum disorders (hereinafter the ASD). Qualitative research was chosen for the study. In the study, the method of a semi-structured written reflection was used. The obtained data was analysed by applying the content analysis method. Qualitative content analysis was carried out in accordance with the inductive, study data based and categories composed logic.16 primary school teachers participated in the study. The study data revealed that the school's inclusive culture and organization of inclusive education by the teacher at the classroom level had a significant importance for ensuring inclusive education for children with ASD. The school's openness to children diversity, implementation and cherishing of inclusive education values, favourable physical and psychosocial environment, ensuring support for learners, their parents, teachers and education support professionals, financial resources which allow for attracting necessary human and material resources, skilled teachers and professionals, the school's collaborating community and the school's collaboration with other institutions to ensure the quality of inclusive education were considered the key factors for the school's inclusive culture. The teacher's positive attitude to all the learners, child-oriented approach, favourable and inclusive educational and social environment created in the classroom, the teacher's close collaboration with learner's parents, other teachers and education support professionals, and continuous improvement of qualification were indicated as factors of the key importance for creation of an inclusive educational environment at the classroom level by teachers.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2018
Background: Iranian children with disabilities invariably attend special schools and many may be excluded from education entirely. Information on preschool education is limited but probably mirrors the situation in schools. There is a lack of information in terms of parental preferences for schooling and teachers' experiences of inclusion in Iran. Method: Two feasibility studies were undertaken; one with 89 parents of children with autism or intellectual disabilities, and another with the head teachers of two private kindergartens. Results: Two-thirds of parents favored inclusive schools; most parents whose children had autism or were verbally proficient were in favor of their child attending ordinary schools, even if their child had been placed in a specialist preschool facility. The head teachers justified inclusion in terms of children's rights but identified three main challenges: coping with the diverse level of functioning, the need for special devices and training of teachers, and challenging the negative reactions of parents of non-disabled children. Conclusions: Further exploration of the views of those who have experienced inclusion would further challenge existing practices. Moreover, the training and preparation of teachers is key to reforming schools. However, wider social values and beliefs towards disabilities also need to change.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a label given to a neurological condition that causes people to act and think differently from neurotypical people. While there are New Zealand/Aotearoa studies reporting on children with ASD in more formal educational, compulsory settings, little is known about including children with ASD in mainstream early childhood settings. In this article the research focuses on investigating children with ASD who are included within three mainstream early childhood settings within one region of New Zealand/ Aotearoa, using case study methodology. The data collected included observations of teachers interacting with the child with ASD, semi-structured interviews with the key teacher, centre manager and the family/whānau of the child as well as collecting documents supporting the child within the centre. The findings indicate that all three ECE settings mostly included the child, while addressing some of their learning needs. However, it also highlighted the ne...
Pedagogika
The article presents the results of a qualitative study revealing the challenges faced by primary school teachers in ensuring inclusive education for children with autism spectrum disorders (hereinafter ASD) in mainstream classrooms. Teachers face the following challenges: problem behaviour of children with ASD, difficulty in engaging children with ASD in the classroom community and common activities, difficulties in collaborating with other teachers, education support professionals, and parents.
Context of The Inclusion of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in Early Childhood Education
International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 2021
The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a Neurodevelopment Disorder which involves a few deficits pertaining to social and communication skills, as well as repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Brazilian law nº 12.764 of 2012 guarantees and protects the rights of those with ASD. This study’s main objective is to describe the process of inclusion of children with ASD in public institutions of Early Childhood Education in the city of São Luís, Maranhão state, based on the perception of family members and the staff from said institutions. An exploratory descriptive research with a qualitative approach was conducted in two Early Childhood Education institutions with attending ASD children. Participants were 4 family members of children with ASD and 16 staff members who worked with the ASD children in the institutions. After receiving the consolidated opinion from the Ethics Committee (CEP/CONEP/UFMA, Nº 2.891.951), data were collected through semi structured interviews consisting of two s...
Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
Background: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication, behavior, and social interaction. Autism"s estimated prevalence among children was about a 15% percent increase in incidence .Positive teacher attitudes are a vital indicator of the successful education of autistic children. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge and opinions of elementary school teachers toward integrating autistic children in their regular classrooms. Methodology: a descriptive cross-sectional correlational survey research design was used to include 79 elementary school teachers recruited conveniently from two schools located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Two reliable and valid tools were used including autism knowledge and opinion scale in addition to behavioral strategies used by the teachers when they are handling autistic children. Findings: The mean age of respondents were 29.2 years, 86.1% having a bachelor's degree, and only 41.8% having training and experience with ASD. Most respondents 82, 3% had poor knowledge, compared with only 2.5% had good knowledge. Only 40.5% had positive opinions about ASD integration. Additionally, there is no significant association between the demographic background of the respondents, their knowledge and opinions except for their teaching experiences at P≥0.05. Conclusion: The present study concluded and highlighted the inadequate knowledge level of ASD and unfavorable opinions of teachers toward integrating autistic children due to lack of training and attending workshops to improve their qualifications. Therefore, more efforts are required to further enhance the understanding of autism among all teachers who handling those students who are urgently needed.
Are we ready for an inclusive classroom?: school administrators' and teachers' perceptions of autism
Autism is defined as a pervasive developmental disorder which affects a child's communication, social interaction and behaviors. For some individuals oral communication is never established, because they can either not talk or refuse to talk. Education is the only proved way to help individuals with autism to cope with the social world around them; therefore besides their families, there need to be schools, administrators and teachers to help these individuals. The biggest problem about the education of individuals with autism is the lack of awareness in schools and in society at all. This paper includes a research study which investigates elementary school administrators' and teachers' perceptions on children with autism and their ways of handling the problems schooling. Results, based on data collected from one hundred seventeen administrators and teachers, indicate the present situation in the Anatolian side of Istanbul, Turkey. Although administrators and teachers both feel themselves insufficient in teaching and dealing with children with autism, they do not ask for help and in-service training about the issue. They argue that the necessity of extra payment need to be done for them if they include a child with autism in their classes.
This research study aims to explore the social representations that kindergarten and first elementary class teachers have regarding the inclusion of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the regular classroom. The data collection tool was a questionnaire based on previous research. The results indicate that the teachers of the present study are willing to include students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in their regular class and try to address the related difficulties. The age of the educators and their educational level do not affect their views on the inclusion of children with autism into the regular class. However, their views are influenced by their years of experience, as well as by their previous experience of working with children with autism. - Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorders, teachers, social representations, inclusion, regular class.