Professional Development Preferences and Needs of Vocational Education Teachers Working with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study aims to determine the professional development preferences and support needs of teachers involved in the vocational education of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For this purpose, teachers working in special education vocational schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education (MoNE), who teach vocational courses for students with ASD, were included in the study. This study, conducted to determine the professional development preferences and needs of vocational education teachers working with students with ASD, is descriptive research based on a quantitative paradigm. The findings showed that teachers needed support in their teaching processes in behavior management, communication, social skills teaching, individualization, adaptation, and material preparation. This shows that vocational education teachers have difficulties not only in transferring academic content but also in creating an effective learning environment in the classroom. It is evident that the needs of vocational education teachers vary. Since behavioral problems are frequently observed in students with ASD, teachers' ability to manage these problems effectively plays a critical role in terms of both maintaining order in the classroom and increasing students' social adaptation. To address the diverse support needs of vocational education teachers, in-service training programs can be designed as flexible and practical modules, offering solutions to the challenges they encounter in real classroom settings. Programs can be developed to enable experienced special education teachers to mentor novice or less experienced colleagues, aiming to enhance teachers' ability to cope with the challenges they face in the field.