Exploring Bhutanese teachers’ knowledge and use of strategies for the inclusion of students on the autism spectrum

ABSTRACT

Despite the increasing number of students on the autism spectrum attending regular schools worldwide, research on the knowledge and use of teaching strategies to support the inclusion of students on the autism spectrum in the South Asian region remains scarce. The current study was informed by Florian and Spratt’s Inclusive Pedagogy Framework and utilised an exploratory sequential mixed-method design to investigate Bhutanese teachers’ knowledge and use of pedagogical strategies for the inclusion of students on the autism spectrum. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews (n = 16), classroom observations (n = 7) and online surveys (n = 106). The analysis revealed that although teachers reported their knowledge of effective inclusive strategies, they made limited use of them in their practice, which resulted in the micro-exclusion of students on the autism spectrum despite their physical placement in regular classrooms/schools. Recommendations for enhancing Bhutanese teachers’ skills and capacity to implement effective strategies for including students on the autism spectrum are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism spectrum
• inclusive pedagogy framework
• teachers
• South Asia
• knowledge
• mixed methods

Acknowledgements

This study is part of a doctoral research project and the data presented in this paper represent a portion of a larger dataset. The first author acknowledges Queensland University of Technology for their scholarship award for doctoral study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A segregated classroom setting attached to a mainstream school where a child with disability attends for the full or part of the day.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

D. Dukpa

D. Dukpa is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and an Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.

S. Carrington

S. Carrington is a Professor in The Centre for Inclusive Education (C4IE) and a member of the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

S. Mavropoulou

S. Mavropoulou is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education and Study Area Coordinator for the area of Inclusive Education (Master of Education) in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia.