Preschool teachers' opinion and practises on peer-related social competencies of children with special needs in their classrooms

The aim of the current study is to examine the peer-related social competencies of children with special needs in inclusive preschool classes and to examine teachers' views on practices to support children's peer-related social competencies and the frequency of their use of these practices. The participant group of the study comprised of 98 preschool teachers, 98 children with special needs and 98 typically developing children. The demographic information about the children and teachers was collected with the Demographic Information Form. Child Behavior Scale (CBS) and Peer Victimization Scale (PVS) were used to examine children's peer relationships. Teachers' opinions about the practices and the frequency of use of these practices were obtained using the Social Interaction Practices for the Preschool Years (SIPPY). First of all, Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between children's behaviors in peer relationships and a relationship was found between their all behaviors in peer relationships. To examine whether the peer relationships of children with special needs differed according to the type of disability, Kruskal Wallis H test was performed, and it was found that the peer relationships of children with special needs differed according to the types of disability, between ASD and speech and language disorders. To examine whether peer relations of children with special needs differed according to their gender and age groups Mann Whitney U test was conducted, and it was found that there was a difference in the level of exposure to peer victimization according to the gender of children with special needs and there was a difference in hyperactivity and aggressive behaviors according to age groups. According to the results of the independent samples t-test conducted to examine whether there was a difference in peer relations according to the presence of children with special needs, it was found that the levels of prosocial, aggressive, asocial, anxious fearful, hyperactivity behaviors, exclusion and exposure to peer violence differed. It was determined that the practices that teachers found most acceptable, feasible, and most frequently used to support peer relationships were natural strategies, and the practices they found least acceptable, feasible, and least frequently used were environmental arrangements. When the relationship between the frequency of teachers' use of practices and their teaching experience, class size, education level, and in-service training status was examined, no significant correlation was found.