Date of Award

1-1-2011

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School/Department

Department of Psychology

Program

Clinical Psychology

Content Description

1 online resource (vi, 60 pages) : illustrations.

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Kristin V Christodulu

Committee Members

Kristin V Christodulu, Melissa L Rinaldi

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis, General Education Teachers, Teachers' Attitudes, Children with autism spectrum disorders, Teachers, Teacher-student relationships

Subject Categories

Psychology

Abstract

Fifty-six general education teachers participated in an online survey designed to determine the extent to which disclosure of a hypothetical student's diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder described in a written vignette impacts: (1) the way in which general education teachers respond to student challenging behaviors, (2) teachers' attitudes and expectations of the portrayed student; and (3) teachers' feelings of self-efficacy. The relationships between teachers' feelings of self-efficacy, their attitudes toward teaching the hypothetical student in the vignette, the ways in which they might respond to student behaviors, and the likelihood that they would choose to access a training resource offered as an incentive were also examined. Results indicated that teachers were significantly more likely to respond to student challenging behaviors with positive behavioral approaches when a diagnosis of autism was disclosed. However, disclosure of an autism label did not significantly impact teachers' likelihood of responding to student behaviors with punitive approaches, teachers' attitudes related to expectations for the student in their classroom, or teachers' sense of self-efficacy. Implications of these findings, study limitations, and applications for future research are discussed.

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