Evaluation of the attitudes of teachers in the field of special education towards children with special needs in terms of types of disability

This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of teachers working in the field of special education towards children with special needs in terms of disability types. The research study group, which was conducted using the relational research model, consists of 237 teachers working in public and private education institutions in Edirne province and districts in the 2022-2023 academic year. Demographic Information Form, Attitudes Towards Individuals with Special Needs Scale and Teachers' Attitudes Towards Teaching Students with Disabilities Scale were used as data collection tools. Pearson correlation coefficient, hierarchical regression analysis and chi-square test and tests were used to analyse the research data. According to the results obtained from the analyses, it was determined that as teachers working in special education towards individuals with special needs increased, the attitude towards the types of disabilities increased at a low level. In addition, it was concluded that the attitude towards individuals with special needs decreased at a low level as the frequency of working with students with ASD and chronic disease increased. It was determined that other types of special needs did not have a significant effect. In addition, it was found that as the frequency of teachers' working with individuals with intellectual disability, hearing impairment, emotional behaviour disorder, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome increased, their attitudes towards disability types decreased at a low level. It was observed that other types of special needs did not have a significant effect. According to the analysis conducted to predict the level of this relation, it can be said that the frequency of working with special needs types and attitudes towards special needs types explain the attitudes of teachers working in the field of special education towards individuals with special needs at a rate of approximately one quarter. In addition, it was determined that there were differences between the frequency of working with special needs types and the preference status of the teachers.