Term of Award
Fall 2017
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (open access)
Department
Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading
Committee Chair
Delores Liston
Committee Member 1
Julie Garlen
Committee Member 2
Kymberly Harris
Committee Member 3
Regina Rahimi
Committee Member 3 Email
regina.rahimi@armstrong.edu
Abstract
People learn about the world through popular culture. Popular culture media representations of autism can be found in TV, film, literature, Internet media, advertisements, and more. This study employed a quantitative correlational design to survey 273 Georgia educators regarding their perceptions of autism, including knowledge about autism, best practices for teaching students labeled as having autism, perceived positivity and accuracy of popular media representations of autism, as well as participant identification with popular media representations of autism and personal characteristics (i.e., age, sex, level of education, type of degree, years of teaching experience, professional and personal experiences). Six major findings emerged from this study. First, there is no relationship between media usage and knowledge of autism or knowledge of best practices. Second, factors contributing to more knowledge of best practices include more teaching experience, specialized training, and working in inclusive or varied settings. Third, the majority of educators did not associate autism with negative traits, nor did they align with early theories of autism. Fourth, educators noted communication and functional skills to be the most important focus of education. Fifth, educators believed that students with autism should be educated with their non-disabled peers as much as possible. Finally, the majority of educators learned about autism through personal experiences or professional development, not popular culture media. Results suggest that field experiences working with students labeled as having autism and integrated critical disability models should be incorporated into educator preparation and professional development.
Recommended Citation
Keener, V. (2017). Puzzled representations: Popular media and how educators come to know autism. (Doctoral dissertation).
Research Data and Supplementary Material
Yes
Included in
Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Special Education Administration Commons, Special Education and Teaching Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
