Scrutinizing inclusion in English language teaching: A comprehensive study of Turkish EFL teachers

The objectives of this descriptive mixed-methods study were five-fold: (1) determine Turkish EFL teachers' level of self-perceived knowledge concerning teaching the English language within the scope of inclusive education; (2) investigate EFL teachers' self-efficacy perceptions in inclusive classroom settings; (3) investigate EFL teachers' classroom practices in inclusive classroom settings; (4) identify the challenges, if any, that EFL teachers face in inclusive classroom settings; and (5) explore EFL teachers' self-perceived professional needs to overcome the difficulties they encounter in both planning and implementing the inclusive English language education practices in their classrooms. To this end, a total of 68 EFL teachers who taught the English language at mainstream schools in Yozgat Province during the 2023-2024 Academic year participated in the study. An adapted version of the survey that was developed by İlk and Açıkalın (2018) and the Short Form of the Teachers' Self-efficacy Perceptions Scale (TEIP-SF), (Sahli Lozano et al., 2023), were used to collect quantitative data. Qualitative data, on the other hand, were obtained via semi-structured interviews conducted with a sample of ten participants. The study's findings indicated that most EFL teachers have low self-efficacy perceptions in teaching English to students with special needs (SSNs) in the scope of inclusive education. Even though they are familiar with the description of the term inclusive education, they face difficulties due to inadequate training for planning and implementing their SSN in inclusive classroom settings. Though most of them are regulating their classroom practices in accordance with their SSNs, they do not consider themselves sufficiently competent in this area. The study's conclusions indicate that EFL teachers require in-service teacher training to overcome the challenges they face in inclusive classroom settings and to raise awareness of individual differences and various special needs of the students. Furthermore, the necessity of making inclusive education policies more practicable through collaborations with experts in the field and other stakeholders was emphasized.