Examination of in-classroom transitions in inclusive preschool classrooms

*This study was produced from the first author’s master’s thesis namely ‘Examination of In-Classroom Transitions in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms’ which was advised by Assoc. Prof. Hatice Bakkaloğlu.

ABSTRACT

In this study, in-classroom transitions in inclusive preschools in Turkey were examined. The study, which was conducted with the descriptive model, was carried out with 30 preschool teachers and 30 children with special needs (CWSN) and 30 children without special needs from these teachers’ classes. In order to collect data, Information Form and Classroom Transitions of Preschools Observation Form were developed. Analyses from structured observations indicated that the teachers used different types of transition strategies but did not use most of the transition strategies which were suggested to be used in literature, and they spent 35.09% of two-hour school time for transitions. Statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of prompts teachers provide and in the frequency of problem behaviours displayed. Besides, the analysis revealed that children’s use of time to complete transitions did not differ significantly.

KEYWORDS:

• In-classroom transition
• transition strategies
• preschool
• inclusion/mainstreaming
• children with special needs
• children without special needs

ORCID

Emel Ergina http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9354-0898

Hatice Bakkaloğlub http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3226-9077

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Hatice Bakkaloğlu is an associate professor of Special Education at the Ankara University. Her research focuses on inclusive preschools and its effects on development of children with and without disabilities, transitions in preschool classrooms and teacher training.

Emel Ergin is a preschool teacher working with children aged 4–6. Early childhood education, preschool inclusion and transition issues are her interests.

Notes

*This study was produced from the first author’s master’s thesis namely ‘Examination of In-Classroom Transitions in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms’ which was advised by Assoc. Prof. Hatice Bakkaloğlu.