Knowledge and Attitudes of Early Childhood Preservice Teachers Regarding the Inclusion of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Limited research exists on what preservice teachers know and believe about children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their inclusion in general education classrooms, especially in early childhood education. In this preliminary study, knowledge and attitudes of 15 early childhood preservice teachers at a large southeastern university were surveyed using a modified version of the Autism Inclusion Questionnaire (Segall, 2008 Segall, M. 2008. Inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder: Educator experience, knowledge, and attitudes. Unpublished master's thesis, Athens, GA: University of Georgia. [Google Scholar]); four of these participants also engaged in subsequent in-depth interviews. Results indicated preservice teachers lacked knowledge and held basic misconceptions about ASD and the needs of children with ASD in inclusive classrooms. While participants wanted to learn more in this area and were generally supportive of inclusion, they had mixed attitudes about inclusion of children with more severe disabilities and their own future roles in an inclusive classroom. Implications for both collegiate and noncollegiate preparation and in-service training of early childhood educators are discussed.