Including the excluded: the case of a student with multiple disabilities^*

* This study was approved by The Abant İzzet Baysal University Ethics Committee.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the coherence between mainstreaming laws and practices in Turkey through a case study involving an elementary school student with multiple disabilities, her parents and her general educator. Multiple sources of data were gathered within a 5-year period and were analyzed inductively. Results showed that the laws and actual practice showed discrepancies with practices lacking the necessary special education support services. On the other hand, the limited services provided by the researchers revealed important gains on behalf of the participants, letting the researchers to conclude that mainstreaming and in fact inclusion is possible within the Turkish educational system even with limited resources and supports.

KEYWORDS:

• Mainstreaming
• inclusion
• empowerment
• multiple disability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Arzu Kiş holds a masters’ degree in Inclusion from Adelphi University and a PhD degree (2007) in special education from Ankara University. She is presently a visiting scholar at Teachers College Columbia University. Her professional interests include but are not limited to inclusive education, teacher education, professional development for special and general education teachers and qualitative research techniques.

Ayşe Dolunay Sarica holds a masters’ and a PhD degree (2012) in special education from Ankara University. She attended a visiting scholar program at Teachers College Columbia University during November 2016 and August 2017. Her professional interests include early childhood special education, visual impairments and preschool inclusion.

ORCID

Ayse Dolunay Sarica http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3626-9469

Notes

* This study was approved by The Abant İzzet Baysal University Ethics Committee.