Examination of the professional competence levels of special education teachers and their attitudes towards the teaching profession

The aim of this research is to examine the professional competence levels of special education teachers and their attitudes towards the teaching profession in terms of various variables. The study's working group consists of 270 special education teachers who work in special education schools or classes in Adana and Mersin. The "Teacher Professional Competence scale" developed by Kaner, Yellice Yüksel and Şekercioğlu (2009) was used to determine the level of teacher professional competence of special education teachers. As a result of the results obtained from the study, it was found that the general level of professional competence of special education teachers was quite adequate and the professional attitude of the teachers were positive. It has been found that there is a statistically positive significant relationship between the level of professional competence of the teachers and their attitude towards the teaching profession. It was observed that there was a significant difference in the professional attitudes of teachers in terms of gender and the period of their duty. It was observed that the level of professional competence of teachers did not differ significantly in terms of incompetence and the type of school.