Arab Educational Information Network

The study’s main focus was on the attitude of teachers on the inclusion policy of students with autism in general classrooms in Saudi Arabia. The researcher focused on the attitude of teachers as the theoretical construct. The study assessed teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion policy when handling students with autism based on teachers’ demographic data. The study involved a sample size of 454 eligible teachers of different degrees, levels of experience, different ages, males, and females. The sample was selected through simple random sampling to reduce selection bias. Data collection involved the use of surveys containing 28 statements requiring the respondents to rate each statement using the ORI, Opinions Relative to Integration Survey using the 4-points Likert scale, and 7 items on demographic information. Data analysis involved the use of descriptive statistical design where the SPSS was used to finding the central tendency, the distribution, and the standard deviation to answer the research questions. T-tests were involved in finding the correlation between gender and teacher attitudes, and the position of special or general education teacher and teacher attitudes. The findings held that the years of experience depict positive correlations towards autism inclusion. Therefore, the years of training influence the teacher’s attitude on the inclusion of students with autism in a general class setting. The study will inform Saudi Arabia policymakers when designing policies for students with special needs like autism. Future studies should focus on the effects and issues of inclusion in Saudi Arabian public schools to help bridge the knowledge gap and create increasing awareness on students with autism. (Published abstract)