The relationship between social studies teachers' feelings, attitudes and concerns towards inclusive education and their teacher competencies

This study examined social studies teachers' feelings, attitudes, anxiety levels, and teacher competencies regarding inclusion/integration education. The study was conducted with the participation of social studies teachers working in Gaziantep province during the 2024-2025 academic year. In this mixed-methods study, a sequential explanatory design was adopted; data were collected from 309 teachers in the quantitative phase and 15 teachers in the qualitative phase, reaching a total of 324 participants. In the quantitative part of the study, simple random sampling was used, while in the qualitative part, criterion sampling was used. The criterion used to determine the study group was that social studies teachers had experience working with students with special needs. The data for the study were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Scale of Feelings, Attitudes, and Concerns Related to Inclusive Education, the Teacher Competence Scale in Inclusive Practices, and an Interview Form. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation tests were used to analyze quantitative data, while content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. According to the research results, teachers generally have a positive attitude toward inclusive/integration education. No significant differences were found in teachers' emotions, attitudes, and anxiety levels based on variables such as gender, educational status, length of professional experience, presence of individuals with special needs in their classrooms, presence of individuals with special needs in their families and close circles, and whether they received training on inclusion/integration practices during their undergraduate education. According to the findings, teachers who did not participate in in-service training had higher levels of emotion. No significant differences were found between social studies teachers' teacher competencies in inclusion/integration practices and gender, the presence of individuals with special needs in their classrooms, or the presence of individuals with special needs in their families and immediate surroundings. Teachers who had received postgraduate education and participated in in-service training were found to have higher levels of competence. Social studies teachers with 20 years or more of professional experience were found to have higher collaboration competence scores. Significant relationships were found between emotions, anxiety, and attitudes. A positive attitude was found to increase teacher competence. Qualitative findings support quantitative results; teachers' empathy, the contribution of social studies lessons, and positive administrator-parent attitudes positively affect their emotions, while situations such as lack of materials, paperwork, and peer bullying negatively affect them. Teachers have indicated that skills such as knowledge, empathy, patience, and classroom management are necessary for effective inclusion. They have expressed the need for practical in-service training, support from special education experts, and various resources.