Abstract
Reinforcement is one of the widely used practices in today's educational environments. Teachers often use reinforcement as a form of discipline in the classroom, and these reinforcements allow students to learn new ideas, skills, and rules. Reinforcers can be used effectively in teaching of the social and academic skills as well as in reducing or eliminating problem behaviors. Therefore, this study aims at identifying how pre-school teachers in inclusive classes employ secondary reinforcers for the students with special needs. The study is designed as a descriptive research. The participants of the study are four pre-school teachers working in Ankara who teach students with special needs. In this study, the data were collected through the Teacher and Student Information Form and Learned Reinforcement Checklist which was developed by the author. The findings of the study indicate that the participants mostly use social reinforcers. In other words, they all prefer to use social reinforcers such as praise words and applauding for the students with special needs. The findings of the study indicate that the participants employ limited number of activity reinforcers and all teachers participated in the study employed token reinforcers for the students with special needs.
Highlights
Pre-school inclusive education is considered by many specialists and teachers to be one of the most useful practices for children with special needs (Henninger and Gupta, 2014; Odom and McEvoy, 1990).Inclusive education is reported to improve the linguistic development and social capablities of the children with special needs, their early literacy skills(Green, Terry and Gallagher, 2014; Rafferty, Piscitelli and Boettcher, 2003) and their positive social interactions with peers (Hollingsworth and Buysse, 2009)
The findings of the study indicate that the participants mostly use social reinforcers
The findings of the study indicate that the participants employ limited number of activity reinforcers and all teachers participated in the study employed token reinforcers for the students with special needs
Summary
Pre-school inclusive education is considered by many specialists and teachers to be one of the most useful practices for children with special needs (Henninger and Gupta, 2014; Odom and McEvoy, 1990).Inclusive education is reported to improve the linguistic development and social capablities of the children with special needs, their early literacy skills(Green, Terry and Gallagher, 2014; Rafferty, Piscitelli and Boettcher, 2003) and their positive social interactions with peers (Hollingsworth and Buysse, 2009). As in other educational settings, the success of the children with special needs in the inclusive classes is only possible if their teachers employ reinforcement processes and effective reinforcers (Özyürek, 2001; Uysal, 2001). To this end teachers should identify the reinforcers to be used. Reinforcers can be used effectively in teaching of the social and academic skills as well as in reducing or eliminating problem behaviors For this reason, it is significant to analyse how preschool teachers teaching in inclusive classes use reinforcers that are effective in managing the behaviors of students with special needs and increasing their social and academic skills. At which level do pre-school teachers use the secondary reinforcers for the students with special needs in inclusive classes?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
