Statistical trends and developments within inclusive education in Turkey

Abstract

The education of students with special needs in an inclusive environment is becoming more widespread throughout the world. Similarly, in Turkey, the inclusion of students with disabilities has also improved. However, current statistical trends and developments within inclusive education are not well known. The purpose of this study is to provide a statistical analysis of special education data, which were obtained from the Ministry of National Education of Turkey. The findings indicate that some statistical components of special education are missing from most official publications of educational statistics and the number of students and the proportions of special education categories in inclusive education vary from year to year. However, in Turkey, the percentage of students in inclusive education, of all students with special needs, is higher than many European countries. The results show that the number of students with special needs, as well as students in inclusive education, has rapidly increased. Turkey needs to focus on improving the schooling rate of students with special needs, and the quality and variety of special education services within inclusive education.

Keywords:

• inclusive education
• Turkey
• educational statistics
• special education

Notes on contributors

Orhan Cakiroglu, PhD, is an assistant professor of special education at Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey. His research interests focus on academic interventions for students with high-incidence disabilities.

Macid Ayhan Melekoglu, PhD, is an assistant professor of special education at Eskisehir Osmangazi University in Turkey. His current interests include assessment and instruction in reading for students with learning disabilities and quality of teacher training and professional development programmes.