Development of a teacher training program for instructional adaptations in early childhood

Integration education or inclusive education; It is a frequently preferred practice in pre-school education to support the development of children with developmental disabilities. Mainstreaming/integration practice supports the social development of the child by naturally preventing him/her from being excluded inside and outside the classroom. At the same time, it stands out in determining needs and meeting these needs, as it can be restructured for children with developmental delays or disabilities in different areas. This not only makes it easier for normally developing children to live with differences, but also allows them to learn by experiencing peer interaction in a much richer learning environment. Aiming to support the development of all children in the classroom, the teacher must be able to effectively make appropriate arrangements/adaptations according to the needs of his students. Making instructional adaptations in the teaching process is also important in terms of enabling children with special needs to progress according to their own needs and increasing their participation in classroom activities. In the light of all this information, it is concluded that a teacher training program for special education practices, prepared by field experts for preschool teachers, supported by practices, and in which teachers are active in the creation and evaluation process, is a great need in terms of special education practices in the preschool period. The general purpose of this study is to identify problems regarding how instructional adaptations can be developed for children with special needs who continue to receive education in inclusive classes in pre-school education, to seek solutions to these problems together with teachers, to plan, implement and evaluate this process. Inclusive education can be applied in different ways depending on the targeted group and its characteristics, but when evaluated specifically for children with special needs, integrative activities with other children come to the fore. The aim of this research is to reveal the current situation regarding instructional adaptations, to carry out an application to improve instructional adaptations, and to determine how this application creates change. For this purpose, the current study was designed as a case study within qualitative research designs. Identifying problems in practice regarding instructional adaptations and producing solutions with teachers; In the current study, which aims to plan, implement and evaluate this process, there is a limited group consisting of 4 teachers and 4 children. In order to obtain in-depth data from this group, measurement tools originally developed by the researcher were used. In addition to these tools, it is aimed to obtain in-depth data from different groups by using measurement tools with proven validity for children. In this context, the research was conducted with a case study design. The data obtained in the research were analyzed using the descriptive analysis technique, one of the document analysis methods. At the end of the research, the findings obtained from teachers and children were examined separately. The important findings of the research were the low quality of educational activities related to instructional adaptations before ÖYEP, the increase in the quality of classroom practices in teachers' professional motivation after the ÖYEP training process, and the support of the development of children with special needs. Key words: Instructional adaptations, Inclusive education, case study, teacher training program.