Early Childhood Inclusion in Turkey

Abstract

Inclusion of young children with disabilities into regular preschool classrooms is a common practice that has been implemented for several decades in industrialized nations around the world, and many developing countries including Turkey have been developing and implementing laws, regulation, and services to support inclusion and teaching in natural environments. The current definition of inclusion provided in special education laws developed in Turkey aligns with the definition of inclusion provided in the contemporary literature. However, implementation of inclusive practices in early years is still in its early stages and baby steps are taken to develop more comprehensive system of special education and inclusive practices. The purpose of this article is 4-fold: (a) to describe Turkish special education laws and regulations that support inclusive education and teaching in natural environment; (b) to summarize current inclusive practices in early childhood in Turkey; (c) to summarize and synthesize the available research on early childhood inclusion in Turkey; and (d) to discuss challenges and suggestions for future directions to enhance early childhood inclusion in Turkey.

Erken Çocukluk Özel Eğitimi: Kuramsal ve Yasal Temeller, Dünya’daki ve Türkiye’deki Son Eğilimler

“…In 2013, Responsive Teaching Program based on strengthening the parent-child interaction was adapted to Turkish, followed by scientific studies (Diken, 2013;Gürel-Selimoğlu, 2015;Karaaslan, 2010;Toper-Korkmaz, 2015). In 2014, it is seen that Developmental Support Program for children between 0-36 months with developmental risks was introduced to Turkey (Diken et al, 2014). All these programs can be considered as having a significant role in developing ECSE field in Turkey.…”

Türkiye’de Okul Öncesi Eğitimde Kaynaştırma: Neredeydik? Neredeyiz? Nerede Olmalıyız?

“…Ergin and Bakkaloğlu (2015) provided an overview of transition strategies, while Rakap (2017b) reviewed and described naturalistic instructional approaches to support inclusion in preschool. Diken et al (2016) summarized laws and regulations supporting early childhood inclusion in Turkey and reviewed studies focused on inclusive preschool education. Lastly, Yılmaz and Karasu (2018) described dimension of quality in inclusive preschool settings.…”

“…A number of literature reviews have been conducted to summarize research focused on issues in relation to inclusive education (e.g., Avcı and Ersoy, 1999;Batu, 2010;Diken et al, 2016;Ergin and Bakkaloğlu, 2015;Rakap, 2017b;Yılmaz and Karasu, 2018). While Avcı and Ersoy (1999) described the importance and reviewed the main principle of inclusive education, Batu (2010) reviewed studies to determine factors that influence success of inclusive practices in preschool.…”

Investigation and comparison of Turkish and American preschool teacher candidates’ attitudes towards inclusion of young children with disabilities

“…Although the idea of educating children with special needs in regular education classrooms along with their typically developing peers has been around since 1983 in Turkey, the practice has been implemented extensively only after the passage of Special Education Law in 1997 (Diken et al Forthcoming;Secer 2010). In this law, inclusion is defined as adapting or developing educational environments to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and to support their development (Rakap and Kaczmarek 2010).…”