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Sep 21, 2022 · School factors that facilitate or hinder the ability of teaching assistants to effectively support pupils with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in mainstream secondary schools. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs , 11(3), 153–161.
- A Scoping Review
More naturalistic approaches to technology use in autism...
- A Psychometric Measure of Communication Challenges Generated From The Self-Reports of Autistic People
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- A Scoping Review
- Study Selection
- Synthesis of The Results
- Teachers’ Themes
- Teachers’ Training and Education
- Help from Other Professionals and Parents
- Getting to Know The Student
- Teachers’ Practice
- Teachers’ Emotions
- Students’ Themes
- School Environment
Our search in EBSCOhost COMPLETE (including ERIC, MEDLINE, and PsycInfo) yielded 726 articles. Our search in Web of Science resulted in 13 additional articles. After removing duplicates in Endnote, 664 papers were exported to Rayyan and manually screened by title and abstract. Based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria, 604 papers were excluded....
Through our analysis of the eight included studies, we identified several teacher-related themes and student-related themes in teacher-student interactions.
From a teachers’ perspective (Table 2), five themes concerning their interactions with students with ASD emerged: (1) teachers’ training and education, (2) help from other professionals and parents, (3) getting to know the student, (4) teachers’ practice, and (5) teachers’ emotions. Further sub-themes were identified for some of the teacher-related...
Knowledge of ASD
While having knowledge of ASD is not specifically related to the teacher-student interaction, secondary school teachers in the reviewed studies believed this helped to improve their interaction with this particular group of students. For instance, Able et al. (2015), argued that with this knowledge “teachers would be better equipped to fully include the student in the school and classroom culture” (p. 53), as this allowed teachers to learn more about the characteristics of individuals with AS...
Hands-on Practice During Pre-Service Education
Teachers in Able et al.’s (2015) study acknowledged how their pre-service education was mostly theoretical. Opportunities to obtain more practical knowledge, for example, by having one-on-one interactions with students with ASD, were largely missing (Able et al., 2015). According to teachers within this study, pre-service education should go beyond providing theoretical knowledge, but guide them through the application of this knowledge to gain more experience in interactingwith students with...
Time for training
Teachers from one study acknowledged the positive effect courses and workshops had on their understanding of ASD and their teaching skills. However, they also emphasized they did not have enough time for professional development (Danker et al., 2019).
Consultation with Other Teachers and School Staff
Teachers who previously taught the student with ASD were seen as a good source of consultation for the current teacher (Able et al., 2015), since previous teachers might have an idea on what works when interacting with the student with ASD. One of the teachers in the study of Danker et al. (2019) mentioned: “…the opportunity to go into another teacher’s classroom and see how they’re doing it…I think the more exposure you get to other people doing it gives you ideas, and you get to reflect” (p...
Parents as a Source of Information
Parents could also be great allies for middle school teachers, especially if parents provide them with strategies that they know would work during the interaction with their children (Danker et al., 2019). A teacher from Able et al.’s (2015) study sums this up with the following statement: “parents know their children more than anybody else and when parents can provide helpful tips about what makes their child tick or not, that is so helpful” (p. 52).
Presence of a TA in the Classroom
Emam and Farrell (2009) stressed that teaching assistants (TAs) have an important role in inclusive education: they are a source of safety for students with ASD, they deal with challenging behaviors, they provide support during classroom tasks, and they make sure the students finish their work. On the other hand, all these tasks might fuel the (wrong) impression that the student is the TA’s responsibility, and not the teacher’s (Emam & Farrell, 2009).
Teachers in the reviewed studies indicated the need to get to know their students during their teacher-student interactions. This helps teachers to become aware of the student’s strengths, which they can focus on to increase their sense of accomplishment (Danker et al., 2019). For middle and high school teachers, some “helpful hints” from parents o...
Getting the Student Engaged
To give students with ASD the opportunity to have an active participation in all classroom and school activities seemed important for the teachers in our review. As one teacher expressed, this “just shows that they [the students with ASD] are an important part of the school” (Danker et al., 2019, p. 2930). In order to get the student with ASD engaged, teachers should take into account students’ interests during these interactions, give them the opportunity to learn by doing (hands-on activiti...
Classroom Management
Teachers in the reviewed studies emphasized the struggle to meet the needs of students with ASD while also meeting the needs of their other students (Able et al., 2015; Emam & Farrell, 2009). As one teacher mentioned: “You have to remind yourself many times of the needs of the different pupils you have within the class…because it is easy to forget when you are targeting 30 kids and one of them has got a particular need…” (Emam & Farrell, 2009, p. 414). Thus, classroom management skills could...
Teaching Strategies
The wide variety of characteristics of students with ASD implies that not all students with ASD will benefit equally from the same teaching strategies. Thus, teachers could take advantage of having a repertoire of strategies to work and interact with the student with ASD. In Danker et al.’s (2019) study, several strategies were mentioned: establishing routines, teaching the students how to cope with anxiety, the use of positive reinforcements, and planning hands-on activities. Furthermore, st...
Teachers from our review felt they needed to show empathy, patience, and acceptance of diversity during their interactions with students with ASD (Danker et al., 2019). Unfortunately, one study showed that there is an emotional distance between teachers and students with ASD due to the latter’s typical ASD (social-interaction related or communicati...
From the students’ perspective (Table 3), four themes emerged: (1) school environment, (2) material and social support, (3) didactic strategies and performance, and (4) students’ characteristics. Further sub-themes were identified for each student-related theme. Interestingly, some of the students’ themes were based upon what teachers perceived stu...
Calm and Structured Environment
Students with ASD struggled to cope with the chaotic, unpredictable, and noisy environment of mainstream schools (Goodall, 2019; Saggers, 2015). The noise, in particular, makes some students with ASD want to leave their class (Humphrey & Lewis, 2008). This was also supported by students with ASD from Goodall’s (2019) study, where students indicated that they seek a calm environment to get away from the chaos: “sometimes I just went to the toilet to sit and breath in and out to try and relax a...
Small School/Class Size+
In a couple of studies, a small school size/class size was seen as a positive attribute. According to students with ASD, teachers had a better opportunity to interact with them when schools and classes were smaller: “Cause (…) teachers know you and you can trust them” (Dillon et al., 2016, p. 225). Moreover, small classes felt as a great chance for students with ASD to be themselves and embrace their personal characteristics, as one student from Goodall’s (2019) study expressed: “Smaller clas...
School Belonging+
It was evident from the students’ voices in our review that they had a strong desire to feel “they belong” in the mainstream school environment. Moreover, they felt “privileged” to attend a mainstream school and believed everyone had the right to do so (Humphrey & Lewis, 2008, p. 41). To have a sense of school belonging, it seemed necessary to receive an equal treatment from the school staff and teachers. Unfortunately, some studies showed that students with ASD felt they were being approache...
Feb 27, 2021 · While previous studies have explored the attitudes of teachers towards inclusion, less is known about the experiences of teachers from contrasting school settings regarding autistic pupils, and in particular their self-efficacy in relation to teaching children on the autistic spectrum.
- Anna Cook, Jane Ogden
- 2021
To identify target areas for professional development, this mixed-methods study examined general education teachers’ perceptions of autism and pedagogical practices in early elementary classrooms in the United States. In focus groups, teachers ...
Jun 8, 2019 · Abstract. Although inclusive classrooms provide unique opportunities for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), these students face barriers during the initial transition from...
Jan 19, 2022 · Educator attitudes towards inclusive education impact its success. Attitudes differ depending on the SEN cohort, and so the current systematic review is the first to focus solely on students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Seven databases searched yielded 13 relevant articles.
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Jan 30, 2013 · Teachers had several recommendations for successfully including children with ASD in mainstream classrooms including: (1) advocating for resources and essential training; (2) tailored teaching methods; (3) teamwork within the school; (4) building a rapport with parents and students; and (5) building a climate of acceptance within the classroom ...
