Exploring the emotional well-being of educators teaching learners with autism
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Date
2008
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Abstract
The purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions of educators who teach
learners with autism, on their own emotional well-being. The eight educators who
participated were from special schools in KwaZulu-Natal. These schools cater for
learners with autism and the participants work hands-on with learners with autism.
The research design and methodology employed is qualitative in nature, and adopts
the phenomenological approach, which incorporates focus group interviews,
individual interviews, and lesson observations of some educators after the interviews.
The following questions were asked at the interviews: 'Tell me about teaching
learners with autism' and 'How does it influence your well-being?' The research
methodology selected elicited rich responses that led to the emergence of three main
themes namely: first, these themes are everyday challenges working with learners
with autism, second, educators' perceptions of the support of other role players and
third, the impact that teaching learners with autism has on the workplace wellness of
the educator. Conclusion and recommendations are presented, as well as
recommendations for future research. Drawing from the themes, a conclusion is made
that teaching learners with autism is stressful, that educators need training and support
to cope with the demands of autism, and to help manage workplace wellness.
Description
Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.
Keywords
Autistic children--Education., Theses--Education.