The purpose of the present study was to investigate knowledge of autism among teacher candidates who are likely to have the initial contact with children with autism within public school system in Turkey. Five hundred and four senior pre-service teachers who were enrolled in four different teacher education programs participated in the study. Data were collected using a survey package at the end of spring semester during the last year of college. Results indicated that pre-service teachers across programs had limited knowledge of autism and its characteristics. Findings of the present study call for the development of pre-and in-service training programs for teachers of children with autism. Further implications of findings for future research and practice are discussed.

Teachers' knowledge and perceptions about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is found to be a critical component for the identification and education of children with ASD. This study examined Turkish general education teachers' knowledge and perceptions about ASD. A total of 478 general education teachers across four school types participated in the study. Data were collected using an online survey package. Results showed Turkish general education teachers across all school types and grade levels had limited knowledge and perceptions of autism. Findings show that there is an urgent need to develop professional development or certification programs to train teachers to work with children with ASD. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Healthy development of social-emotional competence in early childhood years creates a strong foundation for future academic success and social-emotional well-being. The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate preschool teachers' use of strategies to support young children's social-emotional competence. A total of 103 teachers and classrooms participated in the study. Descriptive findings of the study indicated that preschool teachers implemented a few practices to promote social-emotional competence in young children in the absence of training and professional development support. Preschool teachers were observed to implement universal promotion practices more often than tertiary preventions practices. Preschool teachers' overall use of strategies to enhance the social-emotional competence of young children did not differ significantly across classroom types and levels and based on whether teachers received training on promoting social-emotional development and addressing challenging behaviors. While there was a positive correlation between the level of preschool teachers' use of social-emotional teaching strategies and the number of adults in the classrooms, a negative correlation was observed between preschool teachers' use of strategies and the number of children in the classrooms. Implications of the findings for future research and practice are discussed.

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