Teachers’ knowledge about autism spectrum disorder: The case of Turkey

Year 2018, Volume: 7 Issue: 4, 169 - 185, 31.10.2018

Salih Rakap Serife Balikci Sinan Kalkan

https://doi.org/10.19128/turje.388398

Cited By: 8

Abstract

Teachers’ knowledge and perceptions about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is found to be a critical component for the identification and education of children with ASD. This study examined Turkish general education teachers’ knowledge and perceptions about ASD. A total of 478 general education teachers across four school types participated in the study. Data were collected using an online survey package. Results showed Turkish general education teachers across all school types and grade levels had limited knowledge and perceptions of autism. Findings show that there is an urgent need to develop professional development or certification programs to train teachers to work with children with ASD. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Keywords

Autism, General education teachers, Knowledge, Perception, Treatment

Öğretmenlerin otizm spektrum bozukluğu hakkında bilgileri: Türkiye örneği

Abstract

Öğretmenlerin otizm spektrum bozukluğu (OSB) hakkındaki bilgi ve algıları bu çocukların tanılanmaları ve eğitimleri için kritik öneme sahiptir. Bu çalışmada, anaokulu, ilkokul, ortaokul ve lise kademelerinde görev yapan öğretmenlerin OSB hakkındaki bilgi ve algıları incelenmiştir. Çalışmaya bu dört eğitim kademesinde görev yapan 478 genel eğitim öğretmeni katılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları farklı eğitim düzeyinde görev yapan öğretmenlerin OSB hakkında sınırlı bilgiye sahip olduklarını ve öğretmenlerin bilgi düzeylerinin çalıştıkları eğitim kademelerine göre farklılık gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Bulgular, OSBli çocuklara çalışan ve çalışma olasılığı olan öğretmenler için acil bir şekilde mesleki gelişim programlarının geliştirilmesi ve uygulanması gerektiğini göstermektedir. Makalenin sonunda gelecekte yapılacak araştırma ve uygulamalar için öneriler sunulmuştur.

Keywords

Otizm, Genel eğitim öğretmenleri, Bilgi, Algı, Müdahale

References

• Al-Sharbati, M. M., Al-Farsi, Y. M., Ouhtit, A., Waly, M. I., Al-Shafaee, M., Al-Farsi, O., ... & Al-Adawi, S. (2013). Awareness about autism among school teachers in Oman: A cross-sectional study. Autism, 19(1), 6-13.
• American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual (4th ed.). Washington, DC: APA Press.
• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
• Arif, M. M., Niazy, A., Hassan, B., & Ahmed, F. (2013). Awareness of autism in primary school teachers. Autism Research and Treatment, 1-5.
• Autism Society of America. (2015). Causes. Retrieved from: http://www.autism-society.org/what-is/causes/ on October 3, 2018.
• Autism Society of America. (2016). Diagnosis. Retrieved from: http://www.autism-society.org/what-is/diagnosis/ on October 3, 2018.
• Baio, J. (2014). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years – autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2010. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 63(3), 1-21. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6302.pdf on October 3, 2018.
• Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological), 57(1), 289-300.
• Braunsberger, K., Wybenga, H., & Gates, R. (2007). A comparison of reliability between telephone and web-based surveys. Journal of Business Research, 60(7), 758-764.
• Cakiroglu, O., & Melekoglu, M. A. (2014). Statistical trends and developments within inclusive education in Turkey. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(8), 798-808.
• Cascella, P. W., & Colella, C. S. (2004). Knowledge of autism spectrum disorders among Connecticut school speech-language pathologists. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(4), 245-252.
• Elsabbagh, M., Divan, G., Koh, Y. J., Kim, Y. S., Kauchali, S., Marcín, C., ... & Yasamy, M. T. (2012). Global prevalence of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Autism Research, 5(3), 160-179.
• Eren, R. B., & Brucker, P. O. (2011). Practicing evidence-based practices. In B. Reichow, P. Doehring, D. V. Cicchetti, & F. R. Volkmar (Eds.), Evidence-based practices and treatments for children with autism (pp. 309-341). New York, NY: Springer.
• Finke, E. H., Finke, E. H., McNaughton, D. B., & Drager, K. D. (2009). “All children can and should have the opportunity to learn”: General education teachers' perspectives on ıncluding children with autism spectrum disorder who require AAC. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 25(2), 110-122.
• Guthrie, W., Swineford, L. B., Nottke, C., & Wetherby, A. M. (2013). Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder: stability and change in clinical diagnosis and symptom presentation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(5), 582-590.
• Hart, J. E., & More, C. M. (2013). Investigating the impact of technology on pre-service teacher knowledge of autism spectrum disorder. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 48(4) 504-513.
• Hartley-McAndrew, M., Doody, K. R., & Mertz, J. (2014). Knowledge of autism spectrum disorders in potential first-contact professionals. North American Journal of Medicine and Science, 7(3), 97-102.
• Heidgerken, A. D., Geffken, G., Modi, A., & Frakey, L. (2005). A survey of autism knowledge in a health care setting. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35(3), 323-330.
• Helps, S., Newsom-Davis, I. C., & Callias, M. (1999). Autism: The teacher’s view. Autism, 3(3), 287-298.
• Imran, N., Chaudry, M. R., Azeem, M. W., Bhatti, M. R., Choudhary, Z. I., & Cheema, M. A. (2011). A survey of autism knowledge and attitudes among the healthcare professionals in Lahore, Pakistan. BMC Pediatrics, 11(1), 107-113.
• James, L. W., Pizur-Barnekow, K. A., & Schefkind, S. (2014). Online survey examining practitioners’ perceived preparedness in the early identification of autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(1), 13-20.
• Khanna, R., & Jariwala, K. (2012). Awareness and knowledge of autism among pharmacists. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 8(5), 464-471.
• Kim, Y. S., Leventhal, B. L., Koh, Y. J., Fombonne, E., Laska, E., Lim, E. C., ... & Song, D. H. (2011). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in a total population sample. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168(9), 904-912.
• Koegel, R. L., & Koegel, L. K. E. (1995). Teaching children with autism: Strategies for initiating positive interactions and improving learning opportunities. Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes Publishing.
• Koegel, L. K., Koegel, R. L., Ashbaugh, K., & Bradshaw, J. (2014). The importance of early identification and intervention for children with or at risk for autism spectrum disorders. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,16(1), 50-56.
• Lane, K. L., Carter, E. W., Common, E., & Jordan, A. (2012). Teacher expectations for student performance: Lessons learned and implications for research and practice. Classroom Behavior, Contexts, and Interventions, 25, 95-129.
• Lefever, S., Dal, M., & Matthiasdottir, A. (2007). Online data collection in academic research: advantages and limitations. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 574-582.
• Lindner, J. R., Murphy, T. H., & Briers, G. E. (2001). Handling nonresponse in social science research. Journal of Agricultural Education, 42(4), 43-53.
• Mavropoulou, S., & Padeliadu, S. (2000). Greek teachers’ perceptions of autism and implications for educational practice: A preliminary analysis. Autism, 4(2), 173-183.
• Mesibov, G. B., Shea, V., & Shopler, E. (2004). The TEACCH approach to autism spectrum disorders. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
• Mitchell, G. E., & Locke, K. D. (2015). Lay beliefs about autism spectrum disorder among the general public and childcare providers. Autism, 19(5), 553-561.
• National Autism Center. (2015). Findings and conclusions: National standards project, phase 2. Randolph, MA.
• Ozcelik, A. A., Soysal, S., Arhan, E., Demir, E., Gucuyener, K., & Serdaroglu, A. (2015). Autism spectrum disorder management practices and level of knowledge among general pediatricians. Gazi Medical Journal, 26(4), 158-162.
• Park, M., Chitiyo, M., & Choi, Y. S. (2010). Examining pre‐service teachers' attitudes towards children with autism in the USA. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 10(2), 107-114.
• Probst, P., & Leppert, T. (2008). Brief report: Outcomes of a teacher training program for autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(9), 1791-1796.
• Rakap, S. (Ed.). (2017). Türkiye’de otizm spektrum bozukluğu ve özel eğitim [Autism spectrum disorder and special education in Turkey]. Istanbul: Tohum Autism Foundation.
• Rakap, S., Balikci, S., Parlak-Rakap, A., & Kalkan, S. (2016). An analysis of Turkish pre-service teachers’ knowledge of autism spectrum disorder. SAGE Open, 6(3), 1-11.
• Rakap, S., Jones, H. A., & Emery, A. K. (2015). Evaluation of a web-based professional development program (Project ACE) for teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders. Teacher Education and Special Education, 38(3), 221-239.
• Reichow, B., Hume, K., Barton, E. E., & Boyd, B. A. (2018). Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 5, CD009260-CD009260.
• Schwartz, H., & Drager, K. D. (2008). Training and knowledge in autism among speech-language pathologists: A survey. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 39(1), 66-77.
• Shah, K. (2001). What do medical students know about autism? Autism, 5(2), 127-133.
• Shaw, E., & Hatton, D. (Eds.). (2009). Screening and early identification of autism spectrum disorders (Queries: An Occasional Paper Compiling States’ Approaches to Current Topics). Chapel Hill: FPG Child Development Institute, National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, The University of North Carolina.
• Sindelar, P. T., Brownell, M. T., & Billingsley, B. (2010). Special education teacher education research: Current status and future directions. Teacher Education and Special Education, 33(1), 8-24.
• Stone, W. L. (1987). Cross-disciplinary perspectives on autism. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 12(4), 615-630.
• Syriopoulou-Delli, C. K., Cassimos, D. C., Tripsianis, G. I., & Polychronopoulou, S. A. (2012). Teachers’ perceptions regarding the management of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(5), 755-768.
• Team, R. C. (2016). R: A language and environment for statistical computing [Computer software]. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
• Tipton, L. A., & Blacher, J. (2014). Brief report: Autism awareness: Views from a campus community. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(2), 477-483.
• Vakil, S., Welton, E., O’Connor, B., & Kline, L. S. (2009). Inclusion means everyone! The role of the early childhood educator when including young children with autism in the classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(4), 321.
• Volkmar, F. R., Rogers, S., Paul, R., & Pelphrey, K.A. (2014). Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Yasar, P., & Cronin, K. A. (2014). Perspectives of college of education students in Turkey on autism spectrum disorders. International Journal of Special Education, 29(1), 61-75.
• Yumak, N., & Akgul, E. M. (2010). Investigating elementary school administrators’ and teachers’ perceptions on children with autism. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 910-914.