Can school teachers' willingness to teach ASD-inclusion classes be increased via special education training? Uncovering mediating mechanisms.
Deep training boosts teacher willingness to run inclusive rooms through higher self-efficacy, but you need extra attitude lessons to change hearts.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kisbu-Sakarya et al. (2021) asked if intensive teacher training can make mainstream teachers willing to teach classes that include students with autism.
The team ran a special-education course. It covered autism-friendly teaching moves, evidence-based practices, and ways to run an inclusive room.
They tracked teachers’ autism self-efficacy, attitudes, and willingness before and after the course.
What they found
Willingness to teach ASD-inclusive classes went up. The jump was driven by higher autism self-efficacy, not by warmer attitudes.
Attitudes stayed flat even though teachers now felt more skilled.
How this fits with other research
The 2025 review by Petersson-Bloom et al. pools 57 studies and says hands-on, long training plus boss support is what lifts teacher self-efficacy. Yasemin’s course matches that recipe.
Griffith et al. (2012) looks like a clash: a brief workshop lifted knowledge yet cut staff willingness to help. The gap is dosage—one short talk can scare people, while weeks of practice build comfort.
Yokota et al. (2025) extends the story to university students. A full semester course shifted explicit attitudes toward autism, something the teacher course did not. The difference is content: Susumu’s class added attitude modules; Yasemin’s did not.
Why it matters
If you want general-ed teachers to accept autism placements, give them long, practice-rich training and watch their self-efficacy rise. Do not expect attitudes to budge unless you add direct attitude work. Pair Yasemin’s skill block with Susumu-style attitude lessons for the full package.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Changing teacher willingness to teach inclusive classes is critical in achieving optimal outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying the effects of a teacher training in special education strategies for students with ASD on mainstream school teachers' behavioral intentions toward inclusive education. Specifically, the role of attitudes and autism self-efficacy were explored as mediators in this process. The sample comprised 763 mainstream school teachers from eleven cities in Northeastern Turkey who participated in an intensive training that included special education strategies for students with ASD, evidence-based special education applications, and inclusive education practices. Statistical mediation analyses revealed that the training increased teachers' willingness to teach inclusive classes and intention to implement special education techniques in the regular education classroom through increasing their autism self-efficacy. However, though attitudes toward inclusive education was a significant predictor of both willingness to teach inclusive classes and intent to use special education techniques, the training did not improve attitudes. Based on these findings, additional strategies or components to change attitudes toward inclusive education were recommended to be integrated into the teacher training programs on special education strategies for inclusive education.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.103941