Abstract 

We report research findings from a unique tri-national project whose focus is the experiences, needs and strengths of autistic teachers in Poland, the UK and the US, with important implications for understanding how to facilitate inclusive school environments for both pupils and staff.

While it has long been established that school can be a difficult environment for autistic children and young people, and that their participation, overall inclusion and outcomes can be poor (Speaker 1, 2019), minimal attention has been paid to the perspectives of autistic educators. This is despite the existent research into autistic academics in the UK (Martin, 2020) and internationally (Jones, 2022), teachers with dyslexia in further and higher education settings in Finland and England (Burns and Bell, 2010), and schoolteachers with range of disabilities in the US (Valle et al., 2004), Israel (Tal-Alon and Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2019), Ireland (Keane et al., 2018), Poland (Bogusz, 2019) and countries beyond the global north (Singal and Ware, 2021). Indeed, while the focus of education research in the autism context has been almost uniquely on pupils, studies into autism and employment pay little attention to the school sector and the insights that could be derived from autistic teachers (Speaker 1 et al., 2022).

In this joint presentation with the Polish and UK study leads, we share research findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews with autistic teachers in Poland (n = 10) and the UK (n = 21). We also provide additional insights from the US context in relation to teacher education, and draw out some parallels with the experiences of autistic children and young people in schools.

In summary, we found that in both Poland and the UK, autistic teachers can experience a) severe sensory impacts in the school environment b) communication and social differences and difficulties with colleagues, senior leaders and parents c) a lack of support and understanding from managers d) anxiety about revealing an autism diagnosis at work, particularly if autistic pupils are discussed in a derogatory manner e) difficulties with the training and recruitment processes in the school sector and e) difficulties with change (which intersects with agency). In Poland, particular issues are experienced with a heavy administrative burden, that can constitute a further professional barrier for autistic teachers.

More positively, we found that in Poland, autistic teachers consider they a) have a unique method of working which is more structured than approaches used by their non-autistic colleagues and b) have particular skills in creative activities. We also found that in the UK, autistic teachers consider they can a) communicate well with pupils, especially those who are autistic or otherwise neurodivergent b) sometimes have positive experiences of sharing their autism diagnosis with colleagues, pupils and parents c) be a role-model for autistic pupils and d) facilitate inclusion in school.

We set out some of the unique differences between the national contexts in order to underscore the need for culturally specific understandings in this area. This applies in particular to teacher education, for which there are different systems in Poland, the UK and the US. In addition, we discuss the implications of our findings for autistic children and autistic teachers from Ukraine, given the particular role Poland plays in relation to the current conflict and the direct experiences of Speaker 2 in this area.

We argue that understanding better how to value and support autistic teachers will enable progress to be made in the inclusion of autistic children and young people in schools. We will therefore make specific recommendations for future improvements in this area, drawn from our research.

Drawn from a qualitative, iterative project, in which one phase of study influences the next, this study is predicated on the understanding that autistic people are the best informants on issues that concern them (Crane et al., 2021), and is guided by principles of disability rights, social justice and inclusion (Della Fina and Cera, 2015). Informed by a neurodiversity and social model of disability framework, our study proceeds on the basis that autism is a natural part of human diversity (Kapp, 2020). The findings in this paper are drawn from n = 21 participants in the UK and n = 10 participants in the Lubelskie, Podkarpackie, Lesser Poland and Silesian voivodships of Poland. Recruitment in the UK was via an online survey, co-developed with a committee of autistic teachers, which had preceded the current phase of the study, and via an autistic teacher network in Poland. In Poland, the same interview schedule was used as in the UK, translated into Polish. Ethical review was conducted via the Ethical Review Committees of the researchers’ universities. Data collection in the US is ongoing, therefore we share contextual findings only. In the Polish sample, interviews were conducted remotely via Microsoft Teams (n = 4) or in-person (n = 6) at a specialist autism clinic. There were 3 females and 7 males, all with a clinical diagnosis of autism. Participants had worked in schools from 4 to 17 years, and were between 29 and 54 years old (median age = 34 years). They worked in both mainstream (n = 9) and special schools (n = 1). In the UK sample, there were n = 11 one-to-one interviews and n = 10 by email, the former conducted by an autistic member of the research team. There were 19 females and 2 males. 17 had received a clinical diagnosis of autism, 1 self-identified as autistic, 3 were seeking or awaiting diagnosis. Participants had been working in schools from 1 to 28 years and ranged in age from 25 to 56 years (median age = 41 years). They worked in mainstream schools (n = 14), special schools (n = 2), both (n = 2) or mainstream schools with an autism or disability base (n = 3). Data were analysed through thematic analysis (Ryan and Bernard 2003) and the overall analytical method was influenced by “values” coding, apposite for data that reflect participants’ “values, attitudes, and beliefs” (Saldaña, 2016, p.131). Thus, themes were “emic”; those derived from insiders, rather than outsiders.

Autistic people are subject to greater job insecurity and higher rates of unemployment and underemployment than the general population (Maslahati et al., 2021). However, notwithstanding various initiatives to tackle this circumstance, there has been a failure to address the specific nature of school environment as a work setting. Meanwhile, autistic children and young people can have poor experiences in and outcomes from school. Our study suggests that autistic teachers in Poland and the UK can face multiple barriers across all stages of the lifecycle of a teacher, including training, recruitment and career-progression, as well as job satisfaction and well-being. The issues we describe, which also impact on autistic children in school, can result in exhaustion and burnout, mental health difficulties and multifarious forms of exclusion. As a consequence, autistic teachers might not seek career advancement or step back from senior roles, reduce their working hours, or indeed drop out of the profession altogether (Speaker 1 and x, 2021). However, our study also suggests that when autistic teachers are suitably supported, their strengths and aptitudes are much more likely to be manifest, which in turn can provide benefits for the whole school community. A key factor is being able to be open about being autistic i.e. it must be safe for autistic teachers to do so. Addressing the barriers faced by autistic teachers is not only an issue of disability rights, but of supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in schools. Valuable insights within a European context and beyond, which are contextually and culturally specific, can be provided by autistic teachers in how to support a diversity of learners and other marginalised groups, including those who have experienced trauma in Ukraine. Inclusion in school can only succeed if it operates across the whole school community.

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