Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Education Program

Advisor(s)

Pei Pei Liu

Second Advisor

Veronica Romero

Abstract

The present study investigates perspectives of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Rural Central Maine and the support measures needed to optimize students’ inclusive education experiences. The research examines views of three primary stakeholders: parents/guardians, teachers (general education and special education), and clinicians. By utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model, I explore the complexity of inclusive education by analyzing how macrosystem beliefs (operationalized through logics) and mesosystem interactions across microsystems influence the educational experience for students with ASD (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Part one of the research consists of a systematic literature review for each stakeholder, incorporating 45 sources across three prominent education databases. Part two involves stakeholders in Central Maine Elementary Schools; each participant answered an online anonymous survey, with an optional semi-structured interview. Logics were compiled in the literature review process and identified in the Central Maine participants’ surveys and interviews. The findings indicate that a truly inclusive education experience requires congruence among all stakeholders, something that, as demonstrated in the research, is challenging to achieve. This congruence would manifest in situations, such as Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, where each stakeholder, with their own set of underlying logics, must compromise and reach a consensus. The study’s findings contribute to a deeper understanding of ASD perspectives and highlight how stakeholders’ different underlying perspectives complicate the implementation of inclusive education practices within rural Central Maine public elementary school communities.

Keywords

Inclusive Education, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Logic

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