The effect of peer-mediated skill generalisation activities on the social acceptance of individuals with special needs in Turkey

Abstract

ABSTRACT The acceptance of students with special needs by their peers with typical development is of critical prominence for students with special needs. This study, which uses the mixed method as the research design, aims to find out the effectiveness of the same-age tutoring method in order to determine the effect of peer-mediated skill generalisation techniques on the social acceptance of students with special needs in Konya, Turkey. The study utilised a mixed-method quasi-experimental research design. The study group consists of 16 students with typical development (11 years old) and 4 students with special needs (10–13 years old). Both student groups are attending a state primary school in Konya, Turkey. The social acceptance scale and Peer-Mediated Skill Generalisation Activities have been used as data collection tools. The quantitative data was analysed using the statistical analysis method, whereas the qualitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis. Following the study, it has been concluded that there are meaningful differences between the pre-test and post-test scores of the social acceptance of students with special needs by their peers with typical development who conducted the skill generalisation activities.