What makes a good teacher? Comparing the perspectives of students on the autism spectrum and staff
What makes a good teacher? Comparing the perspectives of students on the autism spectrum and staff
Involving students on the autism spectrum in decision-making about their education is good practice for inclusion and mandated by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice in England. This article reports on two linked studies investigating the perspectives of 12 secondary mainstream students on the autism spectrum aged 11-15 years, and their teachers (n=10), about teaching and support. Students and teachers agreed that staff members were more likely to focus on the needs of the class rather than the needs of the individual student, which could be very difficult to navigate successfully. In addition, students emphasised the importance of feeling understood and supported in school. However, differences in sensory perceptions and communication meant that students sometimes felt misunderstood by staff, leading to feelings of hurt and frustration. This suggests it is important to understand the needs of individual students on the autism spectrum, and adapt teaching and pastoral strategies accordingly, in order to promote an appropriately inclusive educational environment.
Autism, activity-centred interviews secondary, education, mainstream, photo elicitation, school, teachers
610-624
Hummerstone, Harriet Kate Mairead
b0598f68-43d2-4f72-9dbc-45d593fd68bd
Parsons, Sarah
5af3382f-cda3-489c-a336-9604f3c04d7d
31 July 2021
Hummerstone, Harriet Kate Mairead
b0598f68-43d2-4f72-9dbc-45d593fd68bd
Parsons, Sarah
5af3382f-cda3-489c-a336-9604f3c04d7d
Hummerstone, Harriet Kate Mairead and Parsons, Sarah
(2021)
What makes a good teacher? Comparing the perspectives of students on the autism spectrum and staff.
European Journal of Special Needs Education, 36 (4), .
(doi:10.1080/08856257.2020.1783800).
Abstract
Involving students on the autism spectrum in decision-making about their education is good practice for inclusion and mandated by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice in England. This article reports on two linked studies investigating the perspectives of 12 secondary mainstream students on the autism spectrum aged 11-15 years, and their teachers (n=10), about teaching and support. Students and teachers agreed that staff members were more likely to focus on the needs of the class rather than the needs of the individual student, which could be very difficult to navigate successfully. In addition, students emphasised the importance of feeling understood and supported in school. However, differences in sensory perceptions and communication meant that students sometimes felt misunderstood by staff, leading to feelings of hurt and frustration. This suggests it is important to understand the needs of individual students on the autism spectrum, and adapt teaching and pastoral strategies accordingly, in order to promote an appropriately inclusive educational environment.
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Hummerstone & Parsons What makes a good teacher Author Accepted EJSNE 10th June 2020
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Accepted/In Press date: 10 June 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 June 2020
Published date: 31 July 2021
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Funding Information:
With many thanks to the students and staff who participated in the studies, and for both schools and additional staff who enabled this to happen. Thanks also to Professor Kyriaki Messiou for her support and guidance throughout this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Autism, activity-centred interviews secondary, education, mainstream, photo elicitation, school, teachers
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 441631
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/441631
ISSN: 0885-6257
PURE UUID: 137a93af-ddaa-44c5-9e40-3397d4c941a3
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Date deposited: 23 Jun 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:39
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Harriet Kate Mairead Hummerstone
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