This research study investigates the views and attitudes of Cypriot teachers towards the inclusive education policy of pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this research is to conduct a formative assessment regarding teachers’ views on the education of children with ASD, the training of these teachers on the topic of inclusive education and their satisfaction with the implementation of inclusive education. The sample of the study consists of primary school teachers, who teach in three schools with Special Education Units (SEU) and three schools without SEUs, in the Limassol district. The research had two phases. They initially completed a questionnaire and then interviews were undertaken, based on the data derived from the questionnaires.

The educational system in Cyprus is highly centralized with policies and funding, administration and pedagogy centrally developed by the government (Symeonidou, 2002). The existing legislation is a major step towards the integration of children with disabilities in mainstream schools and the alignment of the Cypriot education system with international practice (Angelides, Vrasida and Charalambous, 2004). However, there are still some important ideological controversies that concern the rhetoric of integration and the implementation of segregating practices (Liasidou, 2007a). Numerous researchers stress the importance of the exploration of teachers’ professional background and their attitudes and beliefs regarding inclusive education, for the successful adoption of an inclusive approach to education, as they are the eventual implementers of integration or inclusive practices (Symenidou and Phtiaka, 2009).

The literature review led me identify that the issue of the inclusive education of pupils with special needs in Cyprus, particularly children with ASD, in mainstream education has been addressed only from a legal-administration and organizational aspect. The educational and emotional aspects of the issue have not been addressed for far by the scholarly literature, lacking research and empirical data. Furthermore, it has not addressed, in any consistent way, the link between the problems that impact children with ASD and the creation of an inclusive educational environment especially for them. Most of the research in Cyprus school set up to this day comprised of data collected for special needs in general, inclusion for children with disabilities or perceptions on inclusive education of children with disabilities, and none for ASD specifically. This has led to the need for further investigation of teachers’ perceptions regarding inclusive education of children with ASD, and the present research study.

Therefore, main objective of the current study is to investigate teachers’ perceptions on Inclusive Education, explicitly for children with ASD, in Cyprus, the training of these on the topic of inclusive education and their satisfaction with the implementation of inclusive education.

Hence, for the purposes of this conference I will be presenting the outcomes from the second stage of my research study, consisting of the description and analysis of the data collected from a semi – structured interviews to the educational staff of six schools, of all positions and specializations.

The objective of the final study was to conduct an explanatory case study regarding teachers’ perceptions on the education of children with ASD, the training of these teachers on the topic of inclusive education and their satisfaction with the implementation of inclusive education. To carry out scientific research, a necessary prerequisite was the development of a specific methodology in which this research was conducted (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). The research questions of this study provide the basis for the methodological paradigm chosen. These were (the following): 1. What are the teachers’ views on the education of children with ASD? 2. What is the training of these teachers on the topic of inclusive education for pupils with ASD? 3. Are they satisfied with the implementation of inclusive education regarding pupils with ASD? Two primary schools and one pre-primary school with SEUs and two primary schools and one pre-primary school without SEU’s in the Limassol district were chosen through random sampling. The teachers of these schools constituted the sample of the research study. A mixed methods approach was applied to the research study, resulting in two stages of data collection and analysis. The first stage was completed with the data collection from the questionnaire and the statistical analysis of this data. The analysis of the data collected from the questionnaire provided inconclusive findings, as many of the participants answered by not taking a position either of agreement or disagreement, choosing to remain on the middle ground of “neither agree or disagree”. This was interpreted as either an inability to make a choice because of lack of knowledge on the subject matter, the lack of understanding of the question or a safety strategy due to the fear of openly expressing one’s position because it may be a negative position, even though surveys are anonymous. In either case, the interview process provided the researcher with the opportunity to explore these questions in greater depth. The second qualitative stage of the research was deemed necessary for triangulation purposes to provide a means of validation of the research, by increasing the accuracy and offering valuable information to the researcher. This allows the research data to be analysed in accordance with the research questions and disagreements that arise between evidence from different research methods to be examined in relation to the theoretical framework (Flick, 2007; Gillham, 2000a).

My aim through the second stage of the research was to provide a qualitative explanation of the issues under examination. During the data collection and analysis of the first phase of the research, I analyzed the data and presented the findings from the questionnaire separately from the next phase, which were the analysis of interviews and presentation of the findings from this analysis. The above involves the abandonment of the traditional distinction between the data collection phase and the data analysis phase and the adoption of a strategy based on iterative sampling and analysis, following Pidgeon’s (1996) recommendation that data analysis may (and should, ideally) continue as soon as satisfactory material is collected to work on (rather than waiting until a predefined data set has been found), and this in turn feeds back into the sampling of new data’. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews in the second stage of the present research has revealed crucial and important information about the attitudes of teachers regarding the inclusion of children with ASD in general schools. These attitudes seem to directly influence the education practice, the emphasis and the quality of education that children with ASD receive. The results and conclusions raise questions and issues about the inclusive and segregation practices of children with ASD in general schools, the role and responsibility of teachers, administration and the Ministry itself. The presentation of the results of the second phase of the research is what I will present at the conference.

Angelides, P., Charalambous, C. & Vrasida, C. (2004). Reflections on policy and practice of inclusive education in pre-primary schools in Cyprus, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 18, (2), 211-223. Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education. London: Routledge. Flick, U. (2007). Managing Quality in Qualitative Research, The SAGE Qualitative Research Kit, SAGE Publications. Gillham, B. (2000a). Case Study Research Methods, London: Continuum. Liasidou, A. (2007a). Inclusive education policies and the feasibility of educational change: the case of Cyprus, International Studies in Sociology of Education, 17, (4), 329-347. Pidgeon, N. & Henwood, K. (1996). Grounded theory: practical implementation. In John T.E. Richardson (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research methods for psychology and the social sciences (pp.86-101). Leicester: BPS Books. Symeonidou, S. (2002). A critical consideration of current values on the education of disabled children, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 6, (3), 217-229. Symeonidou, S. & Phtiaka, H. (2009). Using Teachers’ Prior Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs to Develop in-Service Teacher Education Courses for Inclusion. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, (4), 543–550.