Understanding teachers' perspectives on students with epilepsy in Germany: A survey examining knowledge, experience, and affective, cognitive, and behavioral attitudes to inform teacher training.

Abstract

The comprehensive teacher survey (N = 210 teachers), conducted in Germany, focused on a broad range of student needs (medical, instructional, and emotional), and captured teachers' knowledge about epilepsy and experiences with students with epilepsy (SWE), alongside multiple attitudes towards SWE. Results reveal gaps in teachers' understanding of appropriate responses to seizures, exemplified by 33 % believing an object should be put into the mouth during a seizure. Misconceptions about the risks of physical activity for SWE are prevalent among teachers (6.3-10.6 %). Misbeliefs and misconceptions about learning difficulties and deviant behavior of SWE are rare (0.5-3.4 %) and only a small subset of teachers (2.9 %) recommends special education schooling for SWE. The results highlight mixed feelings and thoughts (affective and cognitive attitudes), including negative emotions (45.5 %-66.7 %) and insecurities (25.1-50.5 %) about supervising SWE during activities. Some teachers (7.7-20.4 %) are inclined, with safety concerns in mind, to exclude SWE from activities (behavioral intention). Not all teachers exhibit sufficient confidence in seizure first aid (10.5-31.4 %), seizure-specific classroom management (27.3-47.8 %), and emotional support skills (10-28 %). These different attitude traits were identified through exploratory factor analysis. Knowledge about epilepsy and experiences with SWE are linked to favorable attitudes towards SWE, with correlations ranging from -0.27 to 0.19 for knowledge and from -0.37 to 0.26 for experiences (negative correlations with negative emotions and insecurities, and positive correlations with confidence in skills). Equipping teachers to handle both the medical and psychosocial aspects of epilepsy is crucial for ensuring the well-being of SWE at school.