Factors affecting teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Teachers' attitudes towards education of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play a significant part in successfulness of the inclusive education. The goal of the present study was to examine the attitudes of teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) towards inclusion of students with ASD in general education classes. The sample for this study comprised 105 elementary school teachers (75 females, 30 males) from different parts of BIH. We examined the attitudes in relation to teachers' age, gender, education level, experience in work with children with ASD, self-efficacy, and additional training on ASD. The findings of this study indicate mainly positive attitudes of teachers towards inclusion of students with ASD. However, at the same time, results reveal a sense of non-competence of teachers in providing educational and behavioral support to students with ASD. Teachers who had ASD trainings and who felt competent to work with children with ASD had significantly more favorable attitudes than teachers without such trainings and without a sense of teaching competence. Gender, age, and education level had no significant effect on the teachers' attitudes. Results of this study clearly indicate the need for additional teacher training regarding the education of children with ASD.

Exploring factors that full-service school teachers believe disable their self-efficacy to teach in an inclusive education system

“…A key disabling factor identified in this study is that the participants' feelings of incompetence to address all learners' needs makes them believe that they are failing the learners and are consequently the barrier to the learners' successful learning. Other research studies (Wood and Olivier, 2010;Memisevic et al, 2021;Van Mieghem et al, 2022), conducted with teachers also identified feelings of fear, frustration, negativity and failure about their own ability to deal with disabilities which they then believed lead to lower academic standards. Thus, giving urgent attention to teachers in FSS's feelings of incompetence is critical as it can lead to a decreased capacity to perform, reduced efficiency, as well as poor health, mental and physical wellbeing and ultimately to a low sense of self-efficacy (Shulman, 2013;El-Sayed et al, 2014;Lynch, 2019).…”

“…Yet, regardless of all the support and training South African teachers have already received regarding inclusive education, they still seem to feel disempowered and ineffective in the implementation of inclusive education (Engelbrecht et al, 2017;Nel, 2020;Walton and Engelbrecht, 2022). This results in negative attitudes, demotivation, a lack of self-control and a low sense of selfefficacy disabling them to teach effectively in an inclusive classroom (Bandura, 2006;Memisevic et al, 2021;Van Mieghem et al, 2022). In the South African context teachers have to deal with complex socio-, economic-, political-, cultural-and language situations both in and out of the classroom.…”

Interactions Between Teachers and Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Secondary Education: Fundamental, yet Under-Researched

“…Therefore, some teachers may feel unprepared or not confident enough to meet these students' educational needs. For instance, a recent study found that 62.9% of the teacher participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed or strongly agreed that it was unfair to be asked to teach children with ASD in their mainstream school (Memisevic et al, 2021). Furthermore, 54.3% of these teachers believed that only teachers with special education training were able to help students with ASD in class (Memisevic et al, 2021).…”

“…For instance, a recent study found that 62.9% of the teacher participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed or strongly agreed that it was unfair to be asked to teach children with ASD in their mainstream school (Memisevic et al, 2021). Furthermore, 54.3% of these teachers believed that only teachers with special education training were able to help students with ASD in class (Memisevic et al, 2021). It is therefore not surprising that teachers report less closeness and more conflicts in their relationships with students with ASD (Blacher et al, 2014;Prino et al, 2016).…”

Evaluation of teachers' knowledge and attitudes regarding the school inclusion of autistic children: Validation of a brief assessment toolkit

“…Teachers' attitudes and knowledge are of better quality among specialized teachers, those who have received training in autism, and those who have already been in contact with autistic students (Desombre et al, 2019; Jury, Perrin, Rohmer, & Desombre, 2021; Memisevic et al, 2021; Park et al, 2010; Sanz‐Cervera et al, 2017; Shetty & Rai, 2014). Despite the importance of considering both teachers' knowledge and attitudes towards autism and inclusion, there are few tools with good psychometric qualities to assess these two concepts among a French‐speaking audience.…”