Exploring How General Education Elementary Teachers Who Have Had Experience Teaching Students with ASD Successfully Support Students Instructionally and Environmentally: A Qualitative Interview Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This basic qualitative interview study explored the perceptions and experiences of elementary general education teachers regarding their capacity to integrate successful support of students with ASD into their curriculum. The study aimed to gather data on perceptions and the factors that influenced those perceptions. It analyzed teachers’ attitudes and experiences to identify factors that contributed to their sensemaking.

One specific question guided this inquiry:

1. Given general education teachers’ perceptions, how does the general education teachers successfully support students with ASD in the classroom instructionally and environmentally?

The results indicated that through the iterative cycle of sensemaking teachers interpreted successful support of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through prior experiences, refining their understanding via social interactions, and internalized learning that strengthened their self-efficacy. This process demonstrated that teachers entered from multiple entry points depending on experience and the refinement of their practice as they engaged with students with ASD, leading to a great sense of competence in implementing the successful support of students with ASD in the general education classroom. This qualitative interview study emphasized the need to design professional learning and teacher training that recognizes teachers’ varying levels of experience, which allows adequate time for implementation of successful supports, and fosters teacher confidence. Future implications for sensemaking around successful supports include providing intentional instructional and environmental support through academic/instructional supports, building positive relationships, teacher collaboration, social/emotional needs, and teacher preparedness.