Its findings are based on the views of 369 mainstream primary school teachers from all 26 counties, including 207 general educators, 62 special educators, 18 learning support teachers, 28 dual principal-teachers, and 43 autism class teachers. Those who were autism class teachers had the highest knowledge and used EBPs most frequently, while general education (GE) teachers had the lowest knowledge and used EBPs least frequently. "Overall, it would appear that teachers in our study received little training in their ITE, and have differential access to CPD. Support from allied professionals is also central to teachers feeling supported and confident in using autism EBPs. "Based on our findings teachers would also benefit from receiving mentoring or training from special education teachers."

Source: Irish Examiner September 01, 2021 05:26 UTC