The effect of information and simulation practices on high school students' social acceptance levels towards students with special needs

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of information and simulation applications prepared for high school students with normal development on the social acceptance levels of individuals with special needs. In the study, a quasi-experimental model with pre-test post-test control group was used. In addition, it was aimed to determine if the levels of social acceptance of high school students in the study group towards individuals with special needs differed according to demographic variables. The study group of the research consisted of a total of 332 normally developing students (149 girls and 183 boys) studying in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades of three different types of high schools in Izmir province during the 2022-2023 academic year. Of these students, 166 were in the control group and 166 were in the experimental group. The program applied in the study consisted of information about individuals with special needs and six simulation applications related to different groups with special needs. The data of the study were collected with Personal Information Form, Social Acceptance Scale High School (SAS-H) Form, Social Validity Data Collection Tool and Application Reliability Data Collection Form. The data obtained in the study were analyzed using SPSS 28.0 package program. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Skweness-Kurtosis test, Pearson chi-square tests, Independent Sample t-test, Dependent Sample t-test, and One-Way ANOVA test were used to analyze the data. Cohen's (d) value was determined for effect size. In addition, descriptive analysis of social validity data was conducted. As a result of the research, it was determined that the information and simulation applications prepared for high school students with normal development were effective in increasing the social acceptance levels towards individuals with special needs and had a large effect size. According to the social validity data in the study, it was determined that high school students with normal development were satisfied with participating in the studies, the study improved their feelings of empathy towards individuals with special needs, they received accurate information about individuals with special needs and it was effective in changing their prejudices. Another result obtained in the study was that the social acceptance levels of high school students with normal development towards individuals with special needs did not differ according to demographic variables such as age, school type, class level, socio-economic level, parental education level, the presence of individuals with special needs in the family and the presence of individuals with special needs in their immediate environment, and only the experimental group students differed in favor of girls according to the gender variable.