Pre-Service and Active Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education for Autistic Students: Understanding the Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Autism Knowledge

Pre-service and active 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, increased self-efficacy, and more knowledge. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if pre-service and active teachers' (N = 197) experiences in their teacher education program were associated with attitudes about teaching autistic students in general education. This study also examined whether participants’ self-efficacy toward teaching students with autism and/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 pre-service teacher program of study development and future research examining teacher attitudes.