What makes a good teacher? Comparing the perspectives of students on the autism spectrum and staff

ABSTRACT

Involving students on the autism spectrum in decision-making about their education is good practice for inclusion and mandated by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice in England. This article reports on two linked studies investigating the perspectives of 12 secondary mainstream students on the autism spectrum aged 11–15 years, and their teachers (n = 10), about teaching and support. Students and teachers agreed that staff members were more likely to focus on the needs of the class rather than the needs of the individual student, which could be very difficult to navigate successfully. In addition, students emphasised the importance of feeling understood and supported in school. However, differences in sensory perceptions and communication meant that students sometimes felt misunderstood by staff, leading to feelings of hurt and frustration. This suggests it is important to understand the needs of individual students on the autism spectrum, and adapt teaching and pastoral strategies accordingly, in order to promote an appropriately inclusive educational environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism
• education
• photo elicitation
• activity-centred interviews secondary
• teachers
• mainstream
• school

Acknowledgments

With many thanks to the students and staff who participated in the studies, and for both schools and additional staff who enabled this to happen. Thanks also to Professor Kyriaki Messiou for her support and guidance throughout this research.

Disclosure statement

All authors declare no conflict of interests.

Notes

1. The phrase ‘on the autism spectrum’ is used throughout this paper to reflect the view that ‘ … beyond the autism diagnosis – and its negative as well as positive associations – there is a unique person whose human rights should be respected.’ (Vivanti 2020, 692)

2. The students selected their own pseudonyms and their responses have been reported using gender neutral pronouns to limit the chances of identification. The staff members expressed no preference, and therefore their pseudonyms were chosen at random.