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ABSTRACT
This narrative research study explores English foreign language teachers experiences with neurodiverse students (those with dyslexia, ADHD and autism) at the tertiary level in Japan and their reported levels of self -efficacy for inclusive practice. Banduras (1977) theory of self -efficacy, which examines teachers mastery of experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion and emotional states, was used as a framework for interpreting teachers interview data. Findings indicate that E nglish language teachers at the tertiary level in Japan lack training for working with neurodiverse students, their self -efficacy for creating inclusive classrooms is relatively low, and they lack communication with other institutionally - based professionals who could support them. The practical implications of this study are that English-as - a -foreign-language teachers in the Japanese context should be afforded additional training. They require the establishment of direct communication with counselling/special needs offices on campus, and issues related to the stigma of neurological differences need to be addressed to facilitate discussions between teachers and students about curricular accommodations or modifications.
KEYWORDS
Neurodiversity, inclusion, self -efficacy, Japanese higher education.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the Japanese context, an increasing number of neurodivergent students are attending postsecondary schools (Kayama & Haight, 2013). As a result, more special needs students are required to take basic English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) courses as part of their graduation requirements. This narrative research study explores English foreign language teachers experiences with neurodiverse students and their reported levels of self-efficacy for inclusive practice in Japanese higher education. Several previous studies have examined Japanese teachers attitudes and self-efficacy towards inclusive practice and found that while Japanese educators are especially concerned about their neurodiverse students, their self-efficacy for inclusive education is low and they report receiving little centralised support for developing inclusive practices (Forlin, Kawai, & Higuchi, 2015; Song, 2016; Yada & Savolainen, 2017). However, no research conducted to date examines EFL teachers experiences working with neurodiverse students at the tertiary level or sense of self-efficacy for working with these students. This article attempts to fill this gap. It provides readers with an overview of inclusive education policy and practice with an emphasis on how the Japanese education system is somewhat behind the rest of the developed world. It also provides an explanation of the concept of neurodiversity and...