Turkish teachers' social judgements on autism spectrum-based exclusion in primary schools

Abstract

Inclusive education has become a primary educational goal in many countries that aim to end the exclusion of students with different needs. However, we still know little about the perspectives of teachers regarding the exclusion of students with different needs. Given that background, the present study used semi‐structured clinical interviews to investigate Turkish pre‐service (N = 31, mean age = 20.02 years) and in‐service (N = 23, mean age = 40.88 years) teachers' judgements and justifications related to peer exclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and teachers' failure to include. Findings revealed that the context of exclusion has a significant effect on whether the teachers judged typically developing students' exclusion of their peers with ASD as acceptable. Teachers evaluated peer exclusion in the academic context as less acceptable than exclusion in the play context, citing more moral concerns. Further findings and implications for teacher education are discussed.