School Teachers’ Knowledge about Autism in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find out what school teachers know about Autism. In addition, this study attempted to find out if there any significant differences in school teachers' knowledge about Autism depending on teachers' (gender, position, education level, teaching experience, and contact with students with Autism) variables. A total of 391 general and special education teachers from various segregated and inclusive schools within the Jeddah in Saudi Arabia completed study instrument (Autism knowledge Questionnaire) to determine their level of knowledge about Autism. An analysis of the collected data, using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance, indicated that school teachers had an acceptable approaching to weak level of knowledge about Autism disorder. The results also indicated significant differences in the teachers' knowledge about Autism depending on teachers' (position, education level, teaching experience, and contact with students with Autism) favoring special education teachers, more advanced level of education and teaching experience, and those with previous contact with students with Autism.

School's Teachers Knowledge About Autism in Al-Badayacity, Al-Qassim Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…In this cross-sectional study we tried to figure out the level of knowledge of school teachers about Autism which was identified as 48.7%, which Implies weak level of knowledge among them. In contrast to a second research done in Saudi Arabia in Jeddah which was 58% (15). Another researcher from Saudi Arabia tried to explore the burden of ASD in the Gulf area, by studying all published articles in Pubmed and Science direct to review the current state of knowledge of epidemiology on autism in the GCC, and make recommendations for future research (3).…”

“…Our study identified a statistical significant difference between public schools, and private school teachers’ knowledge; However, in contrast to all other researches the mean of public school was more than private school teachers, which could be attributed to unequal sample size (222/26). School type definitely affect level of knowledge, this result was confirmed by (15), where they emphasis on the fact that special education private school teachers had elevated level of knowledge more than public school teachers. Other researchers agreed with this result that public-school teachers were in more need for training programs regarding dealing with autism children (19).…”

An international review of autism knowledge assessment measures

“…Internal consistency scores were the most commonly reported type of reliability (Bakare et al, 2008; Campbell and Barger, 2011; Campbell et al, 1996; Furnham and Buck, 2003; Garg et al, 2014; Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2015; Haimour and Obaidat, 2013; Johnson and Van Hecke, 2015; Kuhn and Carter, 2006; Mavropoulou and Sideridis, 2014; Obeid et al, 2015; Ross and Cuskelly, 2006; Segall and Campbell, 2012, 2014; Talib and Paulson, 2015), with some studies also reporting test–retest reliability (Al-Sharbati et al, 2015; Bakare et al, 2008; Vijayarani, 2014) or inter-rater reliability (Al-Sharbati et al, 2015). Occasionally, studies reported measure construct validity (e.g.…”

Assessing the Knowledge Level of Teachers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder about the Importance of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Strategies in Zarka City

“…Increasing legislative demands placing an emphasis on teacher qualities raise questions about teachers who work with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a result, it has become increasingly necessary to ensure school teachers are adequately prepared and possess requisite knowledge and skills (Haimour & Obaidat, 2013).…”

“…To provide better life opportunities for these individuals, it was necessary to train teachers and develop their skills. Teachers are considered the better persons who can diagnose challenges and identify appropriate strategies to develop their skills (Haimour & Obaidat, 2013).…”