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Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum

Received: 8 February 2021    Accepted: 18 February 2021    Published: 4 March 2021
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Abstract

The current scoping study conducted in Greece aimed to explore the training needs and attitudes held by educationalists on inclusive education for pupils with autism. Whilst educational policies and practice advocate for inclusive education for children with autism, actual provision is segregated between mainstream, special schools and multi-disciplinary therapy centers. These centers operate under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and are certified by the Ministry of Education. They collaborate with schools to ensure the seamless inclusion of children with autism into school. Whilst Greek educationalists believe on principle that inclusion is essential in the quest to foster community presence and integration for children with autism, in practice there are barriers to inclusive education; primarily these include the current financial crisis and budget cuts in Education as well as an anxiety on the part of teachers on how best to practice inclusive education, whilst protecting and maintaining the safety of autistic children. This ambivalence stems from insufficient knowledge, skills and experience and has significant implications for children with special needs, their families and for society as a whole. The current study aimed to address this ambivalence by, as an initial step, ensuring that all teachers are granted appropriate training and professional support so that children with autism are given the opportunity to flourish within inclusive educational settings.

Published in International Journal of Elementary Education (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11
Page(s) 1-15
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Training Needs of Greek Teachers, Good Autism Education Practice, Attitudes of Greek Teachers, Inclusive Education

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Katingo Giannoulis, Marios Koukounaras Liagkis, Katerina Laskaridou, Karen Guldberg. (2021). Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum. International Journal of Elementary Education, 10(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11

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    ACS Style

    Katingo Giannoulis; Marios Koukounaras Liagkis; Katerina Laskaridou; Karen Guldberg. Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum. Int. J. Elem. Educ. 2021, 10(1), 1-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11

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    AMA Style

    Katingo Giannoulis, Marios Koukounaras Liagkis, Katerina Laskaridou, Karen Guldberg. Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum. Int J Elem Educ. 2021;10(1):1-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11,
      author = {Katingo Giannoulis and Marios Koukounaras Liagkis and Katerina Laskaridou and Karen Guldberg},
      title = {Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum},
      journal = {International Journal of Elementary Education},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-15},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeedu.20211001.11},
      abstract = {The current scoping study conducted in Greece aimed to explore the training needs and attitudes held by educationalists on inclusive education for pupils with autism. Whilst educational policies and practice advocate for inclusive education for children with autism, actual provision is segregated between mainstream, special schools and multi-disciplinary therapy centers. These centers operate under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and are certified by the Ministry of Education. They collaborate with schools to ensure the seamless inclusion of children with autism into school. Whilst Greek educationalists believe on principle that inclusion is essential in the quest to foster community presence and integration for children with autism, in practice there are barriers to inclusive education; primarily these include the current financial crisis and budget cuts in Education as well as an anxiety on the part of teachers on how best to practice inclusive education, whilst protecting and maintaining the safety of autistic children. This ambivalence stems from insufficient knowledge, skills and experience and has significant implications for children with special needs, their families and for society as a whole. The current study aimed to address this ambivalence by, as an initial step, ensuring that all teachers are granted appropriate training and professional support so that children with autism are given the opportunity to flourish within inclusive educational settings.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AU  - Katingo Giannoulis
    AU  - Marios Koukounaras Liagkis
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    AB  - The current scoping study conducted in Greece aimed to explore the training needs and attitudes held by educationalists on inclusive education for pupils with autism. Whilst educational policies and practice advocate for inclusive education for children with autism, actual provision is segregated between mainstream, special schools and multi-disciplinary therapy centers. These centers operate under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and are certified by the Ministry of Education. They collaborate with schools to ensure the seamless inclusion of children with autism into school. Whilst Greek educationalists believe on principle that inclusion is essential in the quest to foster community presence and integration for children with autism, in practice there are barriers to inclusive education; primarily these include the current financial crisis and budget cuts in Education as well as an anxiety on the part of teachers on how best to practice inclusive education, whilst protecting and maintaining the safety of autistic children. This ambivalence stems from insufficient knowledge, skills and experience and has significant implications for children with special needs, their families and for society as a whole. The current study aimed to address this ambivalence by, as an initial step, ensuring that all teachers are granted appropriate training and professional support so that children with autism are given the opportunity to flourish within inclusive educational settings.
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Author Information
  • Psychology Department, The American College of Greece, Deree College, Athens, Greece

  • School of Theology, Department of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • Laskaridis Foundation, Piraeus, Greece

  • Department of Disability, Inclusion and Special Needs, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

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