Unpacking the implementation climate in general education settings in public schools: a sequential-explanatory mixed-methods study

Abstract

Background: Autism has significantly increased in the United States with 1 in 31 children affected and increasingly included in general education settings as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. While several evidence-based practices (EBPs) effectively support autistic students, organizational-level factors hinder successful implementation in school settings. Implementation climate–implementers’ collective perceptions that their organization prioritizes, rewards, and supports EBP implementation–strongly predicts EBP use. However, little is known about implementation climate within general education settings in public schools. Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was applied. Participants included 361 general education teachers (n = 161), special education teachers (n = 138), and paraeducators (n = 62) across 60 elementary schools. All participants served at least one autistic student included in a general education classroom, with the total number of autistic students served ranging from 1 to 30 (M = 3.75). Participants completed the School Implementation Climate Scale (SICS) and aggregate mean scores for each subscale (i.e., focus on EBP, education support, recognition for EBPs, rewards for EBPs, use of data to support EBPs, existing support to deliver EBPs, integration of EBPs) were calculated. To better understand EBP use, participants were randomly selected (n = 82: 24 general education teachers, 49 special education teachers, 9 paraeducators) to complete 30–40 min semi-structured interviews, with equal distributions of non, low, and high EBP users. Data were collected between 2021–2024. Results: Quantitative analysis via aggregate mean scores on the SICS (Total M = 1.8) subscales revealed that educators rated implementation constructs relatively low. Qualitative findings provide additional insights into implementation challenges such as limited educational and professional development opportunities, insufficient EBP preparation time, lack of resources for autistic children, and minimal recognition and reward for EBP implementation. Conclusions: Findings reveal a suboptimal implementation climate within general education settings in public schools for supporting autistic students. These insights suggest the need to improve the implementation climate to facilitate successful EBP implementation. Recommendations and key areas for future research are discussed. Limitations, including the need to examine the impact of outer contextual factors are described.