Introduction
I had an emerging belief that we do not do enough for our autistic trainees, and consider their barriers to learning in enough detail, and therefore, we may hinder their progress on the course.
As Sajid Javid the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently stated in the new Autism Strategy; ‘Although we’ve come so far over the last decade, there must be no limit to the ambitions of autistic people; they should have the same opportunities as everyone else in society.’ (HM Government, 2021).
Appreciative Inquiry – stages and the actions considered
Appreciative inquiry is an approach used to stimulate organisational change. Wiloughby and Tosey (2007) use this approach to develop their own school improvement and outline how they draw together ‘an entire school community in a process of collaborative school review’ which is what I aimed to consider within our provision, with the focus of training for autistic trainees on an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) course.
Appreciative inquiry focuses on drawing on the positives that are already happening within an organisation and then the dream outcomes. Ludema et al (2001) as cited in Wiloughby and Tosey (2007) highlight that organisations normally focus on the negatives; what is wrong within an organisation and look at a deficit model. Whereas appreciative inquiry focuses on positive and affirmative approaches.
Hammond (2013) clearly outlines the stages and actions of an appreciative inquiry approach as being:
· Define the purpose or goal
· Discover the best of what is
· Dream what might be
· Design how it can be
· Deliver what it will be
· Start again
Wiloughby and Tosey (2007) apply this appreciative inquiry model as a process to lead their own school through change and improvement. They define this an emergent practice, in which you move from the discovery phase, through the dream phase, then on to the design phase and concludes at the delivery phase.
When applying this model to my own setting, I firstly considered the current situation and defined the purpose of the study;
Define: Overarching themes/aims (ideal statements), proposed focus of the development plan:
· To be an autism friendly teacher training provider
· To change existing perceptions of centre and school working with autistic trainees
· For autistic trainees to gain greater successes on the course through a better training experience and opportunity to pass
· To develop staff knowledge and skills both at the centre and in schools relating to autism in the workplace, leading to staff confidence
Therefore, creating an effective learning environment for autistic trainee teachers.
Discovery phase
Wiloughby and Tosey (2007) link the discovery and dream phases, gathering thoughts about the provision at its best, then following on from this, consider the dream summit, visualising the provision in years to come. To me, this made sense, and when gathering information in the discovery phase, I also needed to gather stakeholder thoughts on the dream phase and the possibilities to come.
I gathered information from key stakeholders to determine what was working well. I sent out a questionnaire to centre-based staff (using open questions), which included the programme leaders, training and assessment tutors, administrators, and also to school-based mentors. I also had detailed discussions with two autistic trainees, one past trainee, and one current trainee face to face via zoom and the University Autistic Support Leader. I conducted thematic analysis on the data collected.
From this discovery phase I identified that key staff and trainees thought that personal 1:1 support was good and there was always someone to contact. However, this related to the dream phase, and that the 1:1 support needed to be more focused, and around identified areas of support.
I used the questionnaire as an opportunity to seek feedback from stakeholders of how we could improve further. Questions were asked such as: If we were meeting the needs of trainees with autism, how would we know? What would be different? What would staff notice had changed? What would a trainee notice had changed? All stakeholders related this to success on the course, seeing success such as passing the course with greater confidence, finding the course easier to manage, and a greater understanding of the needs of the trainee and strategies to support them within a challenging ITT context.
I gathered information from stakeholders to determine what this might look like to achieve in practical terms – the design phase. I looked at how we could reach these goals through gathering further information from Occupational Health on individual strategies, the need for staff training, and the need to change staff perceptions on what could be achieved.
Some of the key findings from the discovery phase
A current issue with provision related to preconceived ideas on potential outcomes for autistic trainees. One stakeholder even went as far as stating it is a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ in which they wondered whether we are almost setting up autistic trainees to fail, or not do as well as they potentially could. Therefore, we needed to break down some of these barriers to learning that are created by staff. In discussion with the Human Resources (HR) lead, we discovered that training was not as good as we would have hoped for staff around the area Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and Neurodiversity in general. Interestingly, McMahon-Coleman and Draisma (2016) argue for discipline matches and mismatches (for autistic students) within Higher Education (HE). They argue that a mis-match can occur when a student chooses a course that does not match with their strengths. This then places the student’s progress in danger. I would state that some staff within our provision believe that teaching is an inappropriate career choice for autistic individuals. However, I would argue that there are many facets to the spectrum and some trainees will be able to achieve their goal of becoming a teacher and to be successful. Harris (2003) argues that a change in practice involves more than new skills and knowledge, but addressing and changing attitudes and beliefs. I agree with Lindahl (2011) that a cultural shift is needed here and therefore, this is a key element for development.
Dream phase
The dream phase consisted of asking stakeholders targeted questions around what they would see if they were in an ideal world; it is a solution focused approach which is something I have worked with in the past. The dream phase linked with defining the focus, which is what we are aiming for (as identified in the define section). We want to become an autism friendly ITT provider, and in the dream phase, trainees will be successful, find the training course manageable, and go on to become successful teachers in employment. This is something that we are not always achieving at the moment. If trainees do pass the course, they can then find it difficult to find employment or stay in employment (as identified in the discovery phase), which is something that needs further research (see conclusion).
Design - Create a development plan
The development plan was created and this took account of the defined goal or proposed focus as set out in the introduction, and the findings from the discovery and dream phases.
Specific strategies identified from discussions and questionnaires with stakeholders and autistic trainees were taken forward into the plan. These included; ensuring that there was a quiet space to take time out particularly in between lessons to gather thoughts and reorganise. This also linked in with further consideration to the trainee timetable, including regular gaps between lessons. At the centre, trainees said that they would appreciate a small peer network to support them with group discussion and presentations during training which could cause some anxiety. Having support setting these up, or to arrange to visit other teachers in school to observe practice would be beneficial if they have executive functioning difficulties, as outlined as a difficulty by McMahon and Draisma (2016), which led into a conversation with the University Autism support lead. She described the role of their study support assistants, and I have considered how we can possibly use them, or the format of support that they implement through our own training and assessment tutors. For example, through weekly meetings to support directly with organisation, time management and paperwork, or organising visits to other classrooms. This would link with training with centre based staff. Ideally this role may be better linked with the school mentor, however, I think the time and support needed would not be permissible in a school. The Autism Education Trust (2019a) outline in their progression framework the development of areas to be considered for those with autism. The new framework does account for post-16, and although our trainees are Higher Education learners, there are many relevant areas that still need consideration. For example, a trainee may need further support and guidance with problem solving such as taking action to solve a problem within the new context that they are in, within a professional role such as safeguarding pupils. These are summarised in Autism Education Trust (2019b) and areas that individual trainees need support in could be identified.
Conclusion
I have made the first steps of the ‘Delivery’ phase, beginning implementation of the development plan. Preliminary findings demonstrate the development of further awareness and support for trainees as outlined in the plan, which also challenges the perceptions for staff. Further implementation across a number of trainees is needed to assess the value of the approach and the actions within the plan. I also believe that there is still much more to be considered and researched in general, such as; can we collaborate with other providers, how are they supporting autistic trainees? At a broader level, further research is needed to look at support for autistic teachers and other neurodivergent trainees, once the trainee has left us. How are they supported in schools as teachers? What we need to consider further as part of this inquiry is autism, equality and the workplace. Andrews (2016), draws together stories from autistic workers regarding the issues and challenges they have faced in the workplace, and this is a further piece of research needed in Education settings. I think there is much more to be considered and actioned within our environment that is currently not covered, or addressed well for autistic trainees entering teaching.
References
Andrews, J. (2016) Autism in the Workplace; Untold Stories, Untapped Talent. Ambitious About Autism.
Autism Education Trust (2019a) Progression Framework. Department for Education.
Autism Education Trust (2019b) Progression Framework; Preparing for Adulthood Outcomes. Department for Education.
Booth, J. (2016) Autism Equality in the Workplace; Removing Barriers and Challenging Discrimination. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Fabri, M. Andrews, P. and Pukki, H. (2020) Best Practice for HE Lecturers and Tutors. www.autism-uni.org [date accessed 18/07/21].
Hammond, S.A. (2013) The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry, 3rd edition Plano, Texas: Thin Book Publishing Company.
Harris, A. (2003). Behind the classroom door: the challenge of organizational and pedagogical change. Journal of Educational Change, 4 (4), 369-382.
HM Government (2021). The National Strategy for Autistic Children, Young People and Adults; 2021 to 2026. OGL Government Publications.
Lindahl, R. (2011). The crucial role of assessing the school’s climate and culture in planning for school improvement. Educational Planning, 20 (1), 16-30.
McMahon-Coleman, K. and Draisma, K. (2016) Teaching University Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder; A Guide to developing Academic Capacity and Proficiency. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
National Autistic Society (2021) Employing Autistic People – A Guide for Employers. www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance [date accessed 18/07/21].
Willoughby, G. and Tosey, P. (2007) Imagine `Meadfield'. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 35(4), pp.499-520.
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