A Model of Practice for Building Teacher Capacity in Educating Young School-age Children on the Autism Spectrum: User Perspectives

ABSTRACT

The increasing number of children on the autism spectrum entering mainstream schools requires classroom teachers with the knowledge and skills to create supportive and inclusive environments in which these students can thrive. This paper reports the perspectives offered by 33 teachers who volunteered to trial an Early Years Model of Practice (EY-MoP) designed to provide information and guidance on foundational practices supportive of students on the spectrum. All teachers worked in Australian primary schools and had at least one student on the spectrum in their early years classrooms. In pre-and post-trial interviews, teachers shared their impressions of, and experiences with, the EY-MoP. In general, they endorsed the model as a resource outlining foundational practices for working with students on the spectrum. Insights shared pointed to the positive impact that this kind of comprehensive, foundational resource can have on teaching practice both in everyday planning and as a reflective tool. Responses also indicated that the model enhanced teachers’ knowledge and confidence in supporting students on the spectrum. Taken together, these teacher data provide preliminary evidence for the viability of the EY-MoP as a resource to support both beginning and experienced teachers in their work with young children on the spectrum.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism
• inclusive education
• mainstream classroom
• model of practice
• teacher perceptions
• teachers

Acknowledgments

The authors thank schools, teachers, and university colleagues who partnered with us to make this research possible. We also appreciate the contributions made by the broader Autism CRC Project 2.037 team.

This research is supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) under Project No. 2.037. The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Autism CRC, established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) [Project 2.037RS].