Starting Point: An Investigation of Awareness Studies for Individuals with Special Needs in the Preschool Period

Abstract

Preschool is a critical developmental period when the first steps are taken in terms of forming different attitudes and judgments. The main motivation source of this study is the absence of a study where research on the acceptance of individuals with special needs and raising awareness for them in preschool, which is considered the first step toward inclusion, is synthesized. Therefore, the present study aims to systematically determine which awareness studies are carried out in classroom and school settings to increase the social acceptance of children with special needs, who take the first step into the inclusive education process with preschool education in Turkey. This study was conducted by adopting the systematic review methodology. Considering the criteria determined in the current study, no year limitation was made for the beginning. Studies published in the national literature and conducted on "Awareness for individuals with special needs in the preschool period" were examined. To this end, an advanced search field was used in Anadolu University Library databases; the DergiPark database, Google Scholar search, and National Thesis Center were also included in the screening process. The research includes theses conducted with individuals with special needs in the preschool period and studies published in national and international refereed journals in Turkish and English. A total of 41,724 studies were obtained. The studies obtained as a result of the screening continue to be examined according to the determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The screening process and the application process of the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be visualized by adopting the PRISMA model. The included studies will be analyzed descriptively. The findings regarding the demographic, methodological, and finding variables of the studies will be shared in detail during the presentation at the congress.