The Attitudes of School Principals Toward the Inclusion of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder in General Education Setting: Virginia Superintendent's Region 7

Abstract

The placement of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the inclusive general education setting has become a challenging task for public school principals. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify and measure the attitudes of principals and assistant principals toward the inclusion of students with ASD in a rural region of Virginia. One hundred and twenty five participants across Superintendents Region seven of Virginia completed the Principals Autism Inclusion Survey (PAIS). Data were collected and analyzed using descriptive, correlational, and multivariate analysis of variance. The overall results conclude that principals have a very neutral attitude toward students with ASD. However, they do tend to favor a more inclusive placement for these students within their schools. Additionally, the challenges faced by principals in rural schools do not seem to impact their attitude toward the students with ASD in their buildings.