Primary School Teachers' Perception of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in China

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often the most frequently determined conduct disorder in school aged children. For this reason, current study examined the primary school teachers' knowledge and misconceptions of ADHD in China. Results indicated that teachers' greatest area of knowledge dealt with identifying the symptoms/diagnosis of ADHD. There was a significant correlation between teachers' knowledge scores and the past ADHD training. The findings also showed that associations between the knowledge scores and the number of courses taken, years of teaching experience, or the level of education were not significant. This study suggests that teacher preparation programs in institutions of higher education have not been successful in the implementation and application of strategies of ADHD diagnosis. This research can be helpful as a possible source of ADHD diagnosis information for local teachers and school administrators.