Inclusive or Segregated Classroom: A Question of Educating Children With Autism

Main Article Content

Pareyaasiri Witoonchart
Yun Ju Huang

Abstract

Background: Education for children with autism in Thailand has three basic options; inclusive classroom, segregated classroom, and no school at all. Since children with autism is one of many types of disabilities that mandated in the law to have basic education that provided by the local schools, however, it seemed that children with autism is one group of disabilities that was mostly excluded from appropriate education.


Objective: The purpose of this multiple-participant case study was to explore the factors that impetus parents and/or caregivers of children with autism in choosing the right education approach for their children.


Methods: Using a qualitative approach, two types of data were collected. The open-ended interviews with focus groups with parents whose children attend each type of schools was conducted. The interview questions and topics used during the focus groups are designed to provide insight into what the parents and/or caregiver think about their choice of the school selected. Second, the formal and informal observation note that took in schools. Finally, the data were analyzed by using Nvivo program which was designed to organize and manage unstructured of qualitative data.


Results: The results were lead to understand the question about educating children with autism in four main area: 1) educational historical determinism which referred to agendas that related to educating children with autism; but still had not yet fully implemented; 2) government marginalization of the need of education for children with autism which referred to unclear legislation about how to make the law related in educating these children plausible; 3) parental and societal: lack of understanding of educating children with special needs which referred to the misconception about these children learning ability; and 4) educational: unbalanced and unequipped special education professionals and the crucial reality consideration which referred to the questionable skills of teachers in teaching these specific group of children.


Conclusions: This study provided information with a reasonably good understanding of the indication of the academic and behavioral expectations for children with autism who attend the school which leaded to the conclusion of the appropriate school for these children with autism.


 


 


 

Article Details

How to Cite
1.
Witoonchart P, Ju Huang Y. Inclusive or Segregated Classroom: A Question of Educating Children With Autism. Rama Med J [Internet]. 2018 Jun. 21 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];41(2):54-66. Available from: https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/ramajournal/article/view/125166
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Original Articles

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