ATTITUDE OF TEACHERS TOWARDS PUPILS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD) IN SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the attitude of teachers towards pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in selected primary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. The relationship between teacher’s attitude and their gender and age were also investigated. The study employed descriptive survey research design and was guided by three research questions and two hypotheses. The population consisted of all the teachers in seven mainstream schools for pupils with ASD and two special education schools for children disabilities including ASD in Rivers State. Using block sampling technique, the total population was one hundred and twenty-one teachers. Instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled Teachers Attitude Scale (TAS). Data obtained from these questionnaires were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions while chi-square statistic, analyzed at 0.05 level of significance, was used for testing the hypotheses. Cramer’s V test was used as a post-test to determine the strength of the associations found using chi-square. Results of findings showed that the attitude of teachers towards pupils in these schools were positive, with female teachers showing more propensity to exhibiting positive attitudes than male teachers. Teacher’s gender had significant influence on teacher’s attitude towards these children but teacher’s age did not have significant influence on teacher’s attitude towards pupils with ASD. Article visualizations: