Examination of classroom teachers' attitudes towards individuals with special needs and their competence in inclusion practices

The least restricted environments for children with special needs are general education classes where they can be with their typically developing peers. It is thought that inclusive education is more beneficial for them because they can be with their peers more. Teachers, who have a key role in the success of inclusion, are expected to have sufficient equipment, skills and competence to develop positive attitudes towards inclusion and individuals with special needs and at the same time to provide a quality education. Since variables such as teachers' self-efficacy and attitudes are considered to be important, this study examined the relationship between classroom teachers' competence in inclusion practices and attitudes towards individuals with special needs. Relational screening method was used in the study. The research was conducted with 251 teachers working in Malatya in the period of 2023-2024. The data of the study were obtained with the "Scale of Teacher Efficacy in Inclusion Practices" and "Attitude towards Individuals with Special Needs Scale". As a result of the normality test, ANOVA test, Independent Groups t Test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation test were used to reach the findings. As a result of the analyses, it was found that classroom teachers' competence scores in inclusion practices were very high in all sub-dimensions; their attitudes towards individuals with special needs were high in the appreciation dimension, very high in the sensitivity dimension and high in the positive attitudes. It was found that there were significant differences in classroom teachers' attitudes towards individuals with special needs according to their educational status, taking courses related to special education, working with inclusion students; and in teacher efficacy in inclusion practices, there were significant differences according to taking courses, seminars, etc. related to special education and seniority. It was determined that there was a positive relationship between the sub-dimensions of the scale of teacher efficacy in inclusion practices and the factors of the scale of attitudes towards individuals with special needs at two different levels, medium and low.