Investigation of Social Acceptance Levels of Classroom Teachers Regarding Students With Special Needs in Terms of Different Variables

The aim of this study is to determine the social acceptance levels of classroom teachers with inclusive students according to different variables for students with special needs. This is a descriptive and quantitative study conducted in the research screening model. The sample group of the research consists of a total of 374 classroom teachers, 240 of whom are female and 134 are male. In the research, "Personal Information Form" and "Social Acceptance Scale" developed by the researchers were used as the data collection tools. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation, independent sample t test, Anova and Scheffe tests and Pearson's r test analyses were performed on the data. The level of p<.05 was considered sufficient for significance in differences and relationships. At the end, it was determined that the social acceptance levels of classroom teachers were generally good. On the other hand, the teachers' social acceptance levels differ significantly according to gender, professional seniority, marital status and the number of inclusive students in the classroom. In addition, significant relationships were observed between the number of inclusive students in teachers' professional seniority and classes and their social acceptance levels. These results were discussed in light of the literature and suggestions were made to increase the efficiency of inclusive education practice and to further improve teachers' social acceptance levels.