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:

2023-12-29

How to Cite

Kossewska, J., Bombińska-Domżał, A., Cierpiałowska, T., Lubińska-Kościółek, E., Niemiec, S., Płoszaj, M., & Preece, D. R. . (2023). 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). Retrieved from https://internationalsped.com/ijse/article/view/30

Abstract

Due to the shortage of autism-specific professional development, the international ASD-EAST project was implemented[1]. 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 competences. 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

Author Biographies

Anna Bombińska-Domżał, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland

Institute of Special Education

Tamara Cierpiałowska, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland

Institute of Special Education

Elżbieta Lubińska-Kościółek, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland

Institute of Special Education

Sylwia Niemiec, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland

Institute of Special Education

Małgorzata Płoszaj, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland

Institute of Psychology

David R. Preece, University of Northampton, UK

Centre for Education and Research, Faculty of Health, Education and Society,

Issue

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