Foundation phase educators' perceptions of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at private and public schools.
Date
2010-06-28T06:05:34Z
Authors
Kern, Anwynne
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Abstract
This study investigated foundation phase educators’ perceptions of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The educators’ views on the causes, appropriate interventions and incidence rates of ADHD were examined. A sample of 140 foundation phase educators from mainstream private and public schools participated in the study. The educators completed a self-developed questionnaire that had been piloted by the researcher. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data, in conjunction with t-tests to ascertain the differences in responses between public and private school educators. Thematic content analysis was used to identify the main categories and themes that emerged form the open-ended questions. The results revealed that the educators had a limited understanding of ADHD, in terms of what it is as well as its causes. In addition, it emerged that the educators preferred medication as the intervention method despite being aware of additional intervention methods. A comparison of the private and public school educators’ results indicated no significant difference in the educators’ perceptions regarding the cause, interventions or incidence rate of ADHD. These findings are discussed in relation to empirical studies and suggestions for future research are presented.
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Keywords
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Perceptions of ADHD, Perceived incidence rate of ADHD at private and public schools