Abstract
The aim of the study is to demonstrate the reflections of social studies teachers' beliefs regarding inclusion and their students in in-class practices. The survey, conducted by the case study method, was performed with three Social Studies teachers. Observation and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection techniques. Data obtained from observations and interviews were analysed by content analysis. In the study, it has been found that teachers have the belief that academic objectives should be pursued during inclusive practice, in accordance with the modern philosophy of inclusion. In addition, teachers have the perception that the inclusion students can learn every subject up to a certain level. It was identified that teachers cannot turn these beliefs into practice, and inclusion students are "neglected". It was concluded that this gap between belief and practice is caused by factors such as inadequate pedagogical content knowledge, inability to comprehend the philosophy of inclusion, the gap between the theoretical education and practice, and inadequate education resources at school. Depending on the obtained results, suggestions were made towards increasing teachers' self-efficacy on inclusive practice, establishing a direct connection between education faculties and schools, and ensuring coordination between the stakeholders.
Highlights
The practice of educating students with special needs or disabilities (SWDs) in a regular class environment has become significantly widespread during the historical period starting from the mid-1970s until the 21st century (Kiely, Brownell, Lauterbach & Benedict, 2015)
From this point of view, the participants fulfil the necessities of the modern age in terms of thought and belief, based on the observation findings on the current practices it is seen that the participants could not shake off the ancient concept of inclusion
These positive emotions, thoughts, and wishes alone are not enough to take inclusion students to a better place. This indicates that the teachers state that they are "interventionists" in their thoughts and beliefs, their practice rather reflects a "pathognomonic" approach. This conflicts with the teachers' beliefs, those of having a disability, and the finding that these beliefs are correlated with the in-class practices used in the education of inclusion students (Jordan & Stanovich, 2001, 2003, 2004)
Summary
The practice of educating students with special needs or disabilities (SWDs) in a regular class environment (inclusion) has become significantly widespread during the historical period starting from the mid-1970s until the 21st century (Kiely, Brownell, Lauterbach & Benedict, 2015). This impelled the researchers to become interested in teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards including the SWDs in the class environment. Teachers use these belief systems when making decisions regarding teaching practices (Buehl & Beck, 2015) In this regard, it is important to retrace the different types of beliefs the teachers have in order to reveal how their minds and actions operate. This is because teachers' actions resulting from their beliefs affect the successful progress of inclusion students (Kiely et al, 2015)
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