Autism Educators' Perceptions of Preparedness: A Mixed-Methods Study

• In Event: 29.072 - Using Mixed-Methods Approaches in Teacher Education and Special Education Research

Abstract

Objectives
In this paper, findings from a mixed methods study examining teacher preparedness to educate students with autism are reported. Research questions included:

• To what extent do special education teachers feel prepared to teach students with autism?

• To what extent does type of training act as a moderator for feelings of preparedness to teach students with autism?

• How do autism teachers commute specialized knowledge to specialized pedagogy?

Theoretical Framework
This study utilizes adaptive expertise as conceptualized by Hammerness & colleagues (2010) which suggested that, in preparation to teach, teachers must shift preconceived notions of learning, enact knowledge, and respond fluidly to complexities as they arise in the classroom. It is a useful framework for examining autism teacher preparedness, given that students with autism have highly unique educational needs, requiring teachers to make frequent pedagogical shifts.

Methods and Data Sources
This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach (Creswell, 2014). The quantitative component included a researcher-created survey (α = .892) of special education teachers (n=70) designed to determine whether type of preparation was related to feelings of preparedness to teach students with autism. The qualitative component included follow-up interviews with ten teachers, in two groups: those with standard, non-categorical licensure (n=5) and those with specialized training beyond standard licensure (n=5). Interviews focused on how teachers’ autism content knowledge becomes practice. Data were collected and analyzed sequentially. Quantitative analyses included descriptive and inferential statistics and analysis of variance. Qualitative analyses employed Seidman’s (2006) method for interview data analysis.

Results
Results suggested that autism teachers utilize specialized knowledge to identify, select and implement interventions according to students’ unique needs, and that a specific transformation takes place involving transactions between knowledge and pedagogy. The quality of this transformation is dependent on type of preparation. Participants with specialized autism training reported feeling more prepared than counterparts with standard teacher licensure. An explanatory sequential design helped to explain teachers’ fluid transactions in this process that were not initially clear from the quantitative results alone. Qualitative methods provided an opportunity to mine data about the transformation that takes place at the intersection of specialized autism knowledge and pedagogy.

Scholarly Significance
Three significant factors form the basis of need for this research: prevalence of autism as one in 66 (Centers for Disease Control, 2014) and resulting increase in students with autism in schools; the critical need to ensure that the teacher workforce is adequately prepared to teach students with autism; and the current shortage of teachers qualified to educate students with autism. This study emphasized the need for autism teachers to have specialized knowledge and ways of teaching according to students’ unique learning profiles. Mixed methods design was essential for mining the process by which autism teachers transform their specialized knowledge into specialized practice. Results will assist teacher educators in designing more effective teacher preparation for autism teachers, and promote the use of mixed methods in further research.

Author

• Elizabeth Stringer Keefe, Stonehill College