Towards inclusive education of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The impact of teachers’ autism-specific professional development on their confidence in their professional competences

Authors

    Joanna Kossewska , Anna Bombińska-Domżał , Tamara Cierpiałowska , Elżbieta Lubińska-Kościółek , Sylwia Niemiec , Małgorzata Płoszaj , David R. Preece

Published:

2022-01-09

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2021.36.15

How to Cite

Kossewska, J., Bombińska-Domżał, A., Cierpiałowska, T., Lubińska-Kościółek, E., Niemiec, S., Płoszaj, M., & Preece, D. R. (2022). Towards inclusive education of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The impact of teachers’ autism-specific professional development on their confidence in their professional competences. International Journal of Special Education, 36(2), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2021.36.15

Abstract

Due to the shortage of autism-specific professional development, the international ASD-EAST project was implemented. This article presents the findings of a quantitative survey undertaken among Polish teachers (in two school settings: special, N=60; mainstream/inclusive, N=30) who attended ASD-EAST workshops. The aim was to identify the post-autism-specific professional development increase of teachers’ knowledge concerning the characteristics of students with ASD and teachers’ subjective confidence regarding their professional competencies. The results showed that the training opportunity was considered by teachers to be important and effective. The results provide grounds for concluding that the programme may be recommended for practical use in order to train teachers who will work with students with ASD

Keywords:

Autism Spectrum Disorders, autism-specific professional development, educational research, inclusive education

Issue

Volume 36, Number: 2, Year 2021 of International Journal of Special Education