Social-Emotional Skills and Intrinsic Motivation Among Learners with Autism in Special Education Settings

Abstract

Learning for students with autism involves social-emotional competence and intrinsic motivation, especially when education occurs in special education settings where formal support is often needed. The study was quantitative, secondary data, and focused on the level and pattern of social-emotional skills and intrinsic motivation of learners with autism in the special education school environment. Analysis involved 21 learners and demonstrated chi-square associations with selected background variables for 16 social-emotional skill indicators and 16 intrinsic-motivation indicators. Frequencies, percentages, item means, and aggregate means were summarized using descriptive statistics and existing results from chi-square analysis were determined at the α = .05 level of significance. Calculations indicated that there was a adequate overall level of social-emotional skills with an overall mean of 2.53, with relatively higher levels of task completion, persistence, and learning-related behaviors. Decreased scores on turn-taking, understanding the feelings of peers and solving interpersonal problems without aggression were found. The overall mean for intrinsic motivation was found to be 2.48, which was relatively low, but there was relatively greater effort of learners and interest in selected learning activities. There was no association between the two major constructs and any demographic characteristics measured. The results emphasize the need for personalized education that enhances emotional regulation, interaction with peers, personalization and meaningfulness of the learning procedure for learners with autism.