Lockdown Drills and Children with Autism: Early Childhood Educators’ Confidence, Experiences, and Perceptions

• In Event: Obscured Truths and Tensions of ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) Professionals: That Which an Obedient Professional Conceals

Abstract

Objectives

Lockdown drills are a mandated practice across schools in the United States and place a tremendous amount of responsibility on educators’ shoulders that is beyond the scope of their training and typical requirements of their position in the classroom. Current mandated protocols are broad, with no guidance for educators to differentiate for younger age groups or children with disabilities (Glass, 2017) including young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The objective of this study was to understand current lockdown drill preparation efforts for children with ASD in early childhood classrooms and practitioners’ (i.e., teachers, teacher assistants) self-efficacy to teach lockdown drills compared to other skills.

Theoretical Framework

Confidence is crucial in high-stress and challenging situations (Bandura & Walters, 1977), like lockdown drills or active shooter scenarios. Current published evidence asserts great variability in lockdown drill preparation efforts across the United States (Brock et. al., 2016). Therefore, not all practitioners may have experience participating in lockdown drills or receive the same training. Educational practices are often evaluated based on child outcomes alone, leaving out the perspectives of the practitioners implementing them (Reichenberg & Löfgren, 2019). Involving practitioners' perspectives in the evaluation process leads to implementation with improved fidelity and children’s acquisition of outcomes (Kaufman et. al., 2013; Robinson, 2011). This study draws from social learning theory and social validity constructs together to guide future practices and recommendations.

Methods

This study utilized an exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods design. Teachers and paraprofessionals (n=53) completed a quantitative online survey on their self-efficacy to teach lockdown drills and similar skills to young children with ASD, their training, and current practices. Descriptive, comparative, and correlational statistics were used to analyze survey data. These results were triangulated with interview data, which were coded using inductive and thematic analysis. The constant comparative method was used (Patton, 2015, p.54) to winnow down an initial set of nine codes with 85 subcodes to four final themes.

Results

Survey analyses indicated varied training on how to teach drills to the children in their classroom and low rates of confidence to do so. Higher rates of confidence were correlated with more drill practice. Interview analyses supported findings from the survey and included the following themes: variability in training and practice experiences, the weight of responsibilities put on practitioners' shoulders, the desire for more training, aspects of current lockdown drill protocols that make them difficult for children with ASD, and the need for individualized interventions.

Significance

Practitioners in this study represented a variety of classroom settings, regions across the United States, and had varying levels of experience suggesting they could be representative of many educators working in early childhood settings. Results from this study revealed the lived experiences of implementing lockdown drills in early childhood settings. Educators are tasked with an enormous responsibility, have low levels of confidence, and desire more guidance to prepare all children to participate in these mandated drills. Analyses from this study are a first step for further exploration. Recommendations for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.

Author

• Melissa A Jackson, Hunter College - CUNY