View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Teacher-Student Interactions of Autistic Adolescents: Relationships between Teacher Autonomy Support, Structure, Involvement and Student Engagement.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Teacher-Student Interactions of Autistic Adolescents: Relationships between Teacher Autonomy Support, Structure, Involvement and Student Engagement.
Authors: Esqueda Villegas, Fernanda (AUTHOR), van der Steen, Steffie (AUTHOR), van Dijk, Marijn (AUTHOR), Esqueda Villegas, David Alejandro (AUTHOR), Minnaert, Alexander (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders. Jul2026, Vol. 56 Issue 7, p2606-2624. 19p.
Subjects: Professional autonomy, High schools, School environment, Research funding, Autism, Scientific observation, Students with disabilities, Mainstreaming in special education, Classification of mental disorders, Teachers, Teacher-student relationships, Asperger's syndrome, Social support, Stakeholder analysis, Interpersonal relations, Psychosocial factors, Adolescence
Geographic Terms: Mexico, Netherlands
Abstract: The extent to which autistic students are provided with autonomy-support, structure and involvement during the teacher-student interaction has been under-researched. Few studies have focused on autistic secondary school students and even fewer have used observations to analyze their interactions. In this research, we aimed to understand the interaction dynamics between autistic students and their teachers in the Netherlands and Mexico; two countries committed to inclusive education. Six teacher-student dyads from five mainstream secondary schools in the Netherlands and seven teacher-student dyads from one school in Mexico participated. We used a fine-grained observational method to describe the classroom interactions, systematically coded from the lens of Self-Determination Theory. To study the interaction as a whole and co-occurring teacher and student behaviors (rather than breaking it down into separate parts), we used State Space Grids. Teacher-student interactions varied widely. In general, Dutch and Mexican teachers provided much structure in the classroom, which (in many cases) coincided with the active engagement of autistic students. At the same time, autistic students in both countries received little autonomy-support. However, when these students received autonomy-support, they responded with more engagement. In contrast, both engaged and disengaged student behaviors occurred when the teacher showed involvement. The desired patterns of interaction were not observed in all teacher-student pairs. Our findings indicate that teachers in both countries are missing opportunities to be autonomy-supportive. This contextual factor was minimally observed in the teacher-student interactions, particularly when compared to the levels of structure and involvement provided during lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 195184712
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Teacher-Student Interactions of Autistic Adolescents: Relationships between Teacher Autonomy Support, Structure, Involvement and Student Engagement.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Esqueda+Villegas%2C+Fernanda%22">Esqueda Villegas, Fernanda</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22van+der+Steen%2C+Steffie%22">van der Steen, Steffie</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22van+Dijk%2C+Marijn%22">van Dijk, Marijn</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Esqueda+Villegas%2C+David+Alejandro%22">Esqueda Villegas, David Alejandro</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Minnaert%2C+Alexander%22">Minnaert, Alexander</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Autism+%26+Developmental+Disorders%22">Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders</searchLink>. Jul2026, Vol. 56 Issue 7, p2606-2624. 19p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+autonomy%22">Professional autonomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+schools%22">High schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+environment%22">School environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autism%22">Autism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scientific+observation%22">Scientific observation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Students+with+disabilities%22">Students with disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mainstreaming+in+special+education%22">Mainstreaming in special education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Classification+of+mental+disorders%22">Classification of mental disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teachers%22">Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher-student+relationships%22">Teacher-student relationships</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Asperger's+syndrome%22">Asperger's syndrome</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+support%22">Social support</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stakeholder+analysis%22">Stakeholder analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+relations%22">Interpersonal relations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychosocial+factors%22">Psychosocial factors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescence%22">Adolescence</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mexico%22">Mexico</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Netherlands%22">Netherlands</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The extent to which autistic students are provided with autonomy-support, structure and involvement during the teacher-student interaction has been under-researched. Few studies have focused on autistic secondary school students and even fewer have used observations to analyze their interactions. In this research, we aimed to understand the interaction dynamics between autistic students and their teachers in the Netherlands and Mexico; two countries committed to inclusive education. Six teacher-student dyads from five mainstream secondary schools in the Netherlands and seven teacher-student dyads from one school in Mexico participated. We used a fine-grained observational method to describe the classroom interactions, systematically coded from the lens of Self-Determination Theory. To study the interaction as a whole and co-occurring teacher and student behaviors (rather than breaking it down into separate parts), we used State Space Grids. Teacher-student interactions varied widely. In general, Dutch and Mexican teachers provided much structure in the classroom, which (in many cases) coincided with the active engagement of autistic students. At the same time, autistic students in both countries received little autonomy-support. However, when these students received autonomy-support, they responded with more engagement. In contrast, both engaged and disengaged student behaviors occurred when the teacher showed involvement. The desired patterns of interaction were not observed in all teacher-student pairs. Our findings indicate that teachers in both countries are missing opportunities to be autonomy-supportive. This contextual factor was minimally observed in the teacher-student interactions, particularly when compared to the levels of structure and involvement provided during lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=195184712
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10803-025-06723-0
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 2606
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Professional autonomy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: High schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School environment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Autism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scientific observation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Students with disabilities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mainstreaming in special education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Classification of mental disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher-student relationships
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Asperger's syndrome
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social support
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stakeholder analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychosocial factors
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adolescence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mexico
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Netherlands
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Teacher-Student Interactions of Autistic Adolescents: Relationships between Teacher Autonomy Support, Structure, Involvement and Student Engagement.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Esqueda Villegas, Fernanda
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: van der Steen, Steffie
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: van Dijk, Marijn
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Esqueda Villegas, David Alejandro
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Minnaert, Alexander
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 01623257
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 56
            – Type: issue
              Value: 7
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders
              Type: main
ResultId 1