WAFT

Objectives:
A first study is being conducted in France to specify the effect of including students with autism on teachers’ experiences. To this end, we are comparing three inclusion groups (ASD, ADD/ADHD, CD) and a control group (teachers with no students with disabilities). The project’s second objective is to extend the international comparison of the ENSETSA study to Switzerland. A second study will highlight the differences between the experiences of French teachers and those of Quebec and Swiss teachers working with students with autism or ADHD. Finally, it appears that after passing through elementary and secondary education, around 50% of people with autism would have intellectual functioning within the norm (Baio et al., 2018), enabling them to pursue higher education. Nevertheless, the pursuit of education is not without its challenges. The aim is, therefore, to explore the experiences of autistic students at universities in France. To this end, as part of a third qualitative study, semi-structured research interviews are being conducted with French students with ASD. These interviews will investigate positive and negative experiences of inclusion, needs, and expectations in terms of inclusion, academic adaptation, and training, as well as practices towards autistic students and inclusion.

Funding: IdEX Université Paris Cité « Recherche en émergence 2021 »

Research collaborators: Émilie Boujut (Cergy Paris Université), Jonathan Bluteau (Université du Québec à Montréal), Marie-Michèle Dufour (Université de Montréal), Marie-Aimée Lamarche (Université de Montréal), Nicolas Meylan (Haute École Pédagogique de Vaud), Nathalie Poirier (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Publication related to research:

• McPeake, E., Lamore K, Boujut, É., Khoury, J., Pellenq, C., Plumet M.-H., Cappe, É. (2023). « I still need others »: A thematic analysis of Autistic student’s experience of university in France. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102172 (PsycInfo, SJR Q2, Impact Factor 2.5) Access to publication on HAL

Objectives:
This study aimed to (1) investigate the psychosocial factors (antecedents and transactional processes) that influence teachers’ adjustment to the stress of schooling students with autism, (2) deepen knowledge about their specific needs, and (3) compare the adjustment of French and Quebec teachers insofar as the context of school inclusion for children with autism in France and Quebec is different. The results revealed differences between French and Quebec teachers, with a better adjustment for the Quebec samples. Moreover, the lower the French teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, the more they implemented emotion-focused coping strategies, which predicted higher burnout in all three dimensions. In addition, the lower the teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, the more they perceived a stressful situation as a threat or a loss, perceptions that generate higher emotional exhaustion. The results also indicate that French teachers of typical children have higher levels of burnout than teachers of autistic children. Finally, specialized teachers perceive their experience as challenging, can rely on help from colleagues, use more problem-focused coping strategies and social support-seeking, and are less emotionally exhausted than mainstream classroom teachers.

Funding: Ministère de l’Education Nationale et Fonds Québécois de Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FQRSC)

Research collaborators: Émilie Boujut (Cergy Paris Université), Nathalie Poirier (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Publication related to research:

• Cappe, É., Poirier, N., Engelberg, A., & Boujut, É. (2021). Comparison of teachers in France and in Quebec working with autistic students: self-efficacy, stress, social support, coping and burnout. Teaching and Teacher Education, 98, 103244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103244 (SCImago-SCOPUS, SJR Q1, Impact Factor 3.272)
• Boujut, É., Poirier, N., & Cappe, É. (2020). Stress et burnout des enseignants travaillant auprès d’élèves ayant un TSA. Une étude exploratoire menée en France et au Québec. Éducation, Santé et Sociétés, 6(2), 61-78. https://doi.org/10.17184/eac.3513
• Boujut, É., & Cappe, É. (2019). Accompagner les enfants ayant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme : présentation d’un programme de recherche sur le vécu des professionnels. In C. Derguy & É. Cappe (Eds.), Familles et trouble du spectre de l’autisme (p. 283-293). Paris, France : Dunod.
• Boujut, É., Popa-Roch, M., Palomares, É.-A., Dean, A., & Cappe, É. (2017). Self-efficacy and burnout in teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 36, 8-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2017.01.002 (PsycInfo, SJR Q1, Impact Factor 2.881)
• Boujut, É., Pralong, A., & Cappe, É. (2017). Bien-être à l’école et situations de handicap : le cas des élèves présentant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme. In B. Courty & J.F. Dupeyron (Eds.), Le bien-être des écoliers (p. 95-117). Pessac, France : Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux.
• Cappe, É., Bolduc, M., Poirier, N., Popa-Roch, M., & Boujut, É. (2017). Teaching autistic students across various educational settings: The factors involved in burnout. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 498-508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.07.014 (SCImago-SCOPUS, SJR Q1, Impact Factor 3.272)
• Boujut, É., & Cappe, É. (2016). Scolarisation des élèves autistes : Comparaison du vécu des enseignants en milieux ordinaires et spécialisés. Éducation & Formations, 92, 137-152
• Boujut, É., Dean, A., Grousselle, A., & Cappe, É. (2016). Comparative study of teachers in regular schools and teachers in specialized education schools in France, working with students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: stress, social support, coping strategies and burnout. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(9), 2874-2889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2833-2(PsycInfo, SJR Q1, Impact Factor 5.671)
• Cappe, É., & Boujut, É. (2016). L’approche écosystémique pour une meilleure compréhension des défis de l’inclusion scolaire des élèves ayant un Trouble du Spectre de l’Autisme. Approche Neuropsychologique des Apprentissages chez l’enfant, 143, 391-401. (PsycInfo, SJR Q4, Impact Factor 0.146)
• Cappe, É., Smock, N., & Boujut, É. (2016). Scolarisation des enfants ayant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme et expérience des enseignants : sentiment d’auto-efficacité, stress perçu et soutien social perçu. L’Évolution psychiatrique, 81, 73-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evopsy.2015.05.006 (PsycInfo, SJR Q3, Impact Factor 0.368)

Objectives:
This study aimed to (1) investigate burnout among professionals in special education working with individuals with autism and (2) identify the role played by specific psychosocial antecedents (context, self-efficacy, empathy) and transactional processes (perceived stress and social support, coping strategies). Participants completed several questionnaires to assess these variables. Eighty-two professionals participated in the study, including 40 educators (monitor-educators and specialists) and 42 carers in private practice, all of whom were undergoing training in psychology and had a Master’s degree in psychology. The results revealed differences in the depersonalization dimension of burnout between educators and qualified support workers. In addition, they showed that a sense of self-efficacy predicted feelings of accomplishment and that the experience of accompanying an autistic person perceived as a threat and a loss predicts emotional exhaustion, whereas the experience perceived as a challenge is a protective factor against feelings of inefficacy. Finally, emotion-focused coping is a factor involved in vulnerability to emotional exhaustion.

Research collaborator: Émilie Boujut (Cergy Paris Université)

Clinical partners: Cabinet ESPAS-Sup

Publication related to research:

• Cappe, É., Rougé, M.-C., & Boujut, É. (2015). Burnout des professionnels de l’éducation spécialisée intervenant auprès d’individus ayant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme : rôle des antécédents psychosociaux et des processus transactionnels. Psychologie du travail et des organisations, 21, 125-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1420-2530(16)30013-9 (SCImago-SCOPUS, SJR Q4, Impact Factor 0.580)