KAZAKHSTANI PRESCHOOL TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS USING TABLETS IN TEACHING CHILDREN WITH ASD

Recently, due to the growing number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the problem of teaching children with autism has become one of the most urgent worldwide. Research has shown that the use of tablets in teaching children with ASD can have a positive impact on the development of communication, social, and academic skills of children with ASD. The purpose of this study is to explore Kazakhstani early childhood teachers’ attitudes towards using tablets in teaching preschoolers with ASD and examine factors that influence teachers’ attitudes towards using tablets in teaching preschoolers with ASD. A self-administered questionnaire was used as the method of data collection. The data was collected online using the Qualtrics platform. In total, 122 preschool teachers with experience teaching children with autism participated in this research. The study was found that preschool teachers hold positive attitudes toward using tablets in teaching young learners with ASD. The results of this study indicated that teachers’ attitudes are not affected by teachers’ level of technology proficiency and tablet experience and there is no relationship between tablet related anxiety, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of tablets, and teachers’ attitudes to using tablets in teaching children with ASD. However, a positive correlation was found between tablet self-efficacy and teachers’ attitudes towards using tablets in teaching preschoolers with ASD. Keywords: Kazakhstan, autism, technology, tablets, attitudes, preschoo