Pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education for autistic students: Understanding the mediating role of self-efficacy and autism knowledge

Abstract

General education teachers overwhelmingly report their lack of preparation to teach autistic students in an inclusive setting. Many factors increase teachers' preparedness, including positive attitudes, self-efficacy, and knowledge. We evaluated whether pre-service teachers' (n = 276) experiences in their training program were associated with attitudes about teaching autistic students. We also examined whether participants’ self-efficacy toward teaching students with autism or their knowledge about autism mediated the relation between experiences and attitudes. Self-efficacy fully mediated the pathway between inclusive education experiences and inclusive teacher attitudes, but autism knowledge did not. Findings have implications for informing changes to teacher preparation programs.