Unlocking Inclusion : Exploring Teachers’ Adaptive Strategies in Assessing Students with Autism

Sammanfattning: The present study focuses on exploring the strategies and adaptations employed by English teachers in assessing students with autism. The study seeks to investigate both the types of strategies and adaptations employed, as well as the degree to which they are utilized. The research methodology employed is quantitative in nature, utilizing a descriptive analysis approach. For data collection, an internet-based survey was developed and administered to collect responses from a total of 50 English teachers. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis using the SPSS software, with the goal of identifying frequencies and underlying patterns within the data. The findings of the study indicate that communicative adaptations are predominantly favored by teachers, while supplementary digital aids are underutilized. Notably, primary school teachers were found to employ a wider range of adaptations during assessments compared to their counterparts in upper secondary schools across various variables. Adaptations requiring substantial teacher involvement, resource allocation, and pedagogical modifications were notably less common among upper secondary school teachers. Furthermore, gender was observed to influence the provision of specific digital aids, with female teachers showing a greater inclination towards their use compared to male teachers. Moreover, teaching experience demonstrated a relationship with the utilization of adaptations, as more experienced teachers reported employing adaptations to a greater extent during assessments, whereas novice teachers reported using adaptations less frequently. The author acknowledges the need for further research with a larger sample size to validate and expand upon these findings.