“Now We All Share the Same Knowledge Base”-Evaluating Professional Development Targeting Preschool Staff’s Understanding of Autism and Inclusion Skills

This study investigates the effect of a professional development programme aimed at kindergarten staff’s understanding of autism and inclusion. The research questions addressed are: 1) How does professional development change the attitudes and practices of kindergarten employees? 2) How can professional development explain perceived changes in attitudes and practices? 3) How do autistic children and their parents experience these changes?

The results suggest that professional development, attitudes and inclusive practices related to autism improved – as experienced by professionals and parents – but not as clearly among the autistic children. The researchers conclude that professional and educational development will likely improve kindergarten staff’s knowledge and skills regarding autism, which can be beneficial for creating inclusive education and enhancing equality and learning outcomes for autistic children.

The data collection included pre- and post-intervention questionnaires to assess the kindergarten staff’s understanding of autism and their inclusion skills, audio recordings of seminars to capture the learning process, as well as semi-structured interviews with kindergarten staff, parents and coordinators to understand experiences, changes in attitude and implementation challenges. A total of 20 kindergarten employees from the intervention group and 15 employees from the control group participated. The children involved in the study were between three and six years old.

Petersson-Bloom, L., & Bölte, S. (2022). “Now We All Share the Same Knowledge Base”-Evaluating Professional Development Targeting Preschool Staff’s Understanding of Autism and Inclusion Skills. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 7, p. 846960). Frontiers Media SA.

Online year: 2021

Issue year: 2022

Review year: 2022