The purpose of this research is to facilitate the development and understanding of inclusive education for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia. The study is located within Riyadh, a city in Saudi Arabia. The culture and religion of Saudi society are central themes in this study. ASD is a complex disorder due to its characteristics, which include a lack of social skills, communication difficulties, and behaviour problems. A range of qualitative methods were adopted; interviews with twenty general education teachers (GT) and special education teachers (SET) as well as participant observation in five schools. The research seeks to identify the attitudes and practices of primary school teachers in terms of their support for children in mainstream schools. The study shows that teachers are mostly supportive and have positive attitudes toward the inclusive education of learners with ASD. The study shows barriers to inclusive education, for example, lack of time, overcrowded classrooms, curriculum, attitudes, lack of training, teaching methods and school environments and the extent to which mainstream school buildings and classrooms are suitable for inclusion of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in general and, more specifically, for students with ASD. Another factor that emerged from the study to support inclusive education was peer tutoring. All the teachers involved in the study are qualified in education but they need additional training and knowledge about inclusion and ASD. Finally, the study provides some practical recommendations as well as some ideas for future research and other activities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:721919 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Alzaidi, Faten Abdulhadi |
| Contributors | Neary, Mike |
| Publisher | University of Lincoln |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/28651/ |
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