Early Childhood Educator Attitudes Towards Inclusion of Autistic Students: A Systematic Literature Review

• In Event: Research in Progress Roundtable Session 3
  In Invited Roundtable: Research on Students with Disabilities: Race, Inclusion, and Sense of Belonging (Table 11)

Abstract

There is a significant gap between how professionals discuss the need for inclusive education and the actual enactment of inclusion. Autistic students, in particular, spend much of their day outside the general education classroom, contradicting the call for inclusion by their teachers' professional organizations. This systematic literature review looks at early childhood educators' attitudes towards inclusive education for Autistic students. Initial coding hints at teachers' expectations for student masking as well as framing the general education room as a site for Autistic "normalization". Understanding early childhood educators’ attitudes can inform future research to increase Autistic student access to an equitable and affirming education.

Author

• Christina Ihnen, University of Wisconsin - Madison