Early childhood teachers’ beliefs and practices about the inclusion of children with Autism in Jamaica: An exploration study

Abstract

In view of the need for more cross-sectional studies in different socio-geo-graphical contexts to investigate teachers’ perceptions regarding inclusion, the present study sets to explore early childhood teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in a context where research on this topic is limited; Kingston, Jamai-ca. The target group consisted of nine (N=9) early childhood teachers working with children with Autism in an established pre-primary inclusive setting. Teachers’ qualitative responses, elicited through semi-structured interviews, were analysed through Content Analysis. Results showed that teachers gen-erally uphold positive beliefs towards inclusion. A key theme that emerged from the data is that in-service training and teaching experience positively influence practices and beliefs as well as differentiated instruction. This study makes theoretical and practical educational contributions. The research pro-vides an understanding of inclusion in Jamaica and contributes to the limited body of literature available on Autism in the country. In practice, this study contributes to policy decision-making in the attempt of facilitating greater in-service training within early childhood institution in order to develop the skills of educators and facilitate greater inclusive principles.