Abstract
This study aims to review the professional competencies of classroom teachers for inclusive education according to different variables, to obtain information about teachers’ in-class practices and to evaluate their perceptions of professional competencies in depth. The research is a mixed-method study and carried out using the trilinguation. The quantitative data were collected from 203 classroom teachers and the qualitative data from 58 teachers. The data were collected using the “Professional Competency Scale for Teachers on Inclusion” and a semi-structured interview form. The validity and reliability studies of the scale were repeated. The research determined that the professional competencies of participating teachers regarding inclusive education are at a high level, professional competency does not differ according to the variables of gender and seniority, and the professional competency levels of teachers regarding inclusive education differ according to the number of students affected by disability. Besides, it was determined that participant teachers carried out similar classroom practices for their students affected by disability and generally, had a perception that not every student could learn.
Highlights
Having special needs is one of the essential variables affecting all aspects of an individual’s life
Learners’ presence in general education classes (Diken & Batu, 2013), which is considered to be the least restrictive environment in special education, can help them to develop their awareness of problems, seek solutions, problem solving, academic, social and emotional characteristics
Inclusive education, which can be defined as including students, affected by disability in general education classes, “helps children with special needs to live a more community-based life at school age” (Stromstad, Nes, & Skogen, 2004)
Summary
Having special needs is one of the essential variables affecting all aspects of an individual’s life. Being diagnosed as “the person affected by disability” within the scope of special needs is a sign that generally, difficult living conditions await the individual Because persons with this diagnosis experience various problems such as long-term physical, mental or emotional disorders, and due to these problems, they cannot fully and participate in society like others (United Nations, 2007). These persons must go through an education-training process that will make it easier for them to solve the problems they will encounter in life and to gain the ability to live independently. Inclusive education is known to provide benefits such as perceiving and accepting individual differences, respecting all people, empathizing, reducing prejudices, and achieving better academic success for students with normal development (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, [OECD], 1999; World Health Organization [WHO], 2011)
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