Comparing the effects of inclusion/integration practices on children with special needs and typically developing children in elementary school based on the opinions of administrators and teachers

The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of teachers and administrators regarding the effects of inclusion/integration practices on children with special needs and typically developing children, and to compare these opinions in the context of teachers and administrators. The study group consists of 260 classroom teachers and 80 administrators working in primary schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the central district of Burdur province during the 2024/2025 academic year. The research was conducted using the descriptive method. As data collection tools, the "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researcher, the "Scale of the Effects of Inclusion on Children with Special Needs" developed by Rafferty and Griffin (2005) and adapted into Turkish by Şahbaz, Atılgan, and Aydemir (2018), and the "Scale of the Effects of Inclusion on Typically Developing Children" developed by Rafferty and Griffin (2005) and adapted into Turkish by Şahbaz, Atılgan, and Aydemir (2019) were employed. Data analysis was carried out using AMOS 23.0 and IBM SPSS 27.0 software packages. Since the dataset showed a normal distribution, independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA/F test were applied. The findings revealed that both teachers and administrators held highly positive views regarding the effects of mainstreaming/inclusion practices on children with special needs and typically developing children. Moreover, no statistically significant differences were found in administrators' and teachers' opinions in terms of gender, branch, seniority, and educational level variables. However, a statistically significant difference was identified in teachers' opinions with respect to the age variable.