Peer-reviewed article
Inclusive Early Childhood Education in Turkey
İbrahim Halil Diken, Gözde Tomris, Seçil Çelik Demirtaş, Özlem Diken ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article reviews the state of inclusive early childhood education in Turkey, examining how well the system serves all children, including those with special needs and disadvantaged groups. The authors identify barriers such as social prejudices, gaps in laws, inadequate staff training, and resource shortages. They offer recommendations based on research and international practice to improve access to quality inclusive early childhood education for all Turkish children.
Key points
- Inclusive education in Turkey aims to provide equal opportunities for all children, especially those with special needs and disadvantaged groups
- Key challenges include social prejudices, gaps in legislation, and problems of legal supervision
- Staff training, family involvement, and resource shortages are significant barriers to implementation
- Recommendations are based on both national and international literature on inclusive education
- The article identifies gaps between research, practice, and policies in Turkish early childhood education
Limitations
This is a policy and practice review rather than an empirical study, so it does not provide quantitative evidence on outcomes or the effectiveness of specific interventions. It cannot measure whether inclusive education has actually improved children's development or well-being in Turkey.
Abstract
In this article, we examine the historical development of inclusive early childhood education in Turkey, current policies and practices, challenges, and recommendations for the future. Inclusive education aims to ensure that all children, especially those with special needs and disadvantaged groups, have equal opportunities to receive early childhood education. We review the progress made in Turkey within the field of inclusive early childhood education, in light of the transformations occurring in educational policies and practices. We will then discuss inclusive education in Turkey with a focus on social prejudices, gaps in legislation, problems of legal supervision, staff training, family involvement, shortages in resources, and issues in real practice settings. Recommendations are made to help ensure that all children in Turkey have access to high-quality inclusive early childhood education. We hope that our recommendations, which are based on national and international literature, help bridge the gap between research, practice, and policies for inclusive early childhood education in Turkey.