Educators' knowledge of and perceptions towards students with autism in Nigeria

Global research about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly important as the disorder occurs across cultures and geographical regions. Literature indicates that there were no studies conducted among Nigerian educators about their knowledge of and perceptions towards ASD. This study surveyed 477 secondary school Nigerian educators to examine the knowledge and perceptions of ASD. The results showed that educators had high levels of awareness in the knowledge domain and low levels of awareness in the perception domain. In addition, results demonstrated a significant positive relationship between educators who received prior training or college education in ASD and their current knowledge of ASD. Furthermore, there was a significant positive relationship between educators who are certified in Applied Behaviour Analysis and the knowledge of ASD. Conversely, the relationship between current educators of students with ASD (who have experience as their only training), and the knowledge of ASD was significantly negatively related. Results are discussed and implications for research and practice are provided.