Preliminary Analysis of the “Survey of Educators’ Knowledge and Value of Research-Based Practices for Students With Autism”

Because of the increased prevalence of autism and current legislation mandates, public schools are increasingly responsible for educating students with autism. The current literature describes a variety of instructional methods that have been successful in educating these students. However, many educators are not exposed to this information. To determine educators’ needs in this area, the knowledge they possess and the information they value regarding these methods must be determined. The purpose of this study was to develop a survey that measures educators’ knowledge of research-based practices for instructing students with autism and the value they place on information regarding these practices and then conduct a preliminary analysis of the survey’s psychometric properties. The results indicated that the survey possesses excellent reliability and good construct validity. It is expected that this survey can be used by school districts as a needs assessment that will support the provision of continuing education and professional development in the area of instructional methods for students with autism.