A Comparision of Social Skills in Turkish Children With Visual Impairments, Children With Intellectual Impairments and Typically Developing Children

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A comparison of social skills in Turkish

children with visual impairments,

children with intellectual impairments

and typically developing childrenUfuk Ozkubat

a& Selda Ozdemir

a

aSpecial Education Department, Gazi University, Ankara 06500,

Turkey

Published online: 16 May 2013.

To cite this article:Ufuk Ozkubat & Selda Ozdemir (2014) A comparison of social skillsin Turkish children with visual impairments, children with intellectual impairments and

typically developing children, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18:5, 500-514, DOI:

10.1080/13603116.2013.789088

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A comparison of social skills in Turkish children with visualimpairments, children with intellectual impairments and typicallydeveloping children

Ufuk Ozkubat and Selda Ozdemir

Special Education Department, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey

(Received 13 September 2012; final version received 13 March 2013)

The purpose of this study was to compare the social skills of five groups of children:

children with visual impairments attending inclusive education schools, childrenwith visual impairments attending schools for the blind, children with intellectualimpairments attending inclusive education schools, children with intellectualimpairments attending segregated special education schools, and typicallydeveloping children. A hundred and sixty-nine children aged from 7 to 12participated in the study. The childrens social skills were rated by their teacherson the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) Turkish Form. The resultssuggested significant group differences between children attending inclusiveeducation schools and children attending special education schools. Analysis ofthe findings indicated that children with visual impairments and children withintellectual impairments had poorer social skills than typically developingchildren; however children with visual impairments and children with intellectual

impairments attending inclusive education schools had higher social skills thanchildren attending segregated special education schools. The findings of thestudy were discussed and suggestions for future research were provided.

Keywords: social skills; inclusive education; visual impairments; intellectualimpairments

During the past several decades, awareness regarding the segregation of students withspecial needs on the basis of disability has created a strong movement towards devel-oping an inclusive education system (Dymond 2001). The inclusive education system is

based on creating a service delivery model that facilitates each students learning andaccess to equitable education (Odom 2000; Odom and McEvoy 1990; Polat 2011;Rotheram et al. 2010; Ruijs and Pectsma 2009; Symes and Humphrey 2010).Current research indicates that in order to develop successful inclusive education

programmes, it is important to promote social and emotional well-being of all studentsand facilitate an increased quality of life for students with special needs (Jones andFrederickson 2010; Townsend and Hassall 2006).

To accommodate the diversity that exists in many schools today and promote socialemotional development of children with special needs, schools must explicitly support

positive peer relations and support childrens social functioning (Demir 2009; Gresham1997; Jindal 2005; Ozdemir et al. 2011). Clearly, one of the greatest barriers to learning

# 2013 Taylor & Francis

Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2014

Vol. 18, No. 5, 500 514, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2013.789088


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positive social skills for children with and without special needs is the lack of oppor-tunity to interact with one another. Sucuoglu and Ciftci (2001) stated that most typicallydeveloping children learn social skills incidentally through their interactions with theircaregivers and peers. Observation and imitation are the most powerful learning mech-anisms for children when learning new social skills from one another (Avcioglu 2001;Ozdemir 2010; Rutherford et al. 1992). When children are reinforced and receive posi-tive social feedback while displaying positive social behaviours, it is likely that theywill achieve the desirable social outcomes in time (Frederickson et al. 2007).

Over the years, a large body of research has accumulated on the effects of inclusiveeducation for children with special needs on their social development (Jones andFrederickson 2010; Peters 2004). Despite some inconsistencies across studies, broadconclusions are now possible about the social outcomes of the inclusive education.Several researchers argue that integrating children with and without special needs inthe same educational setting is sufficient enough to increase positive experiences forlearning and socialisation (Wolery et al. 1994). Ruijs and Pectsma (2009) asserted

that children who have access to inclusive education settings learn to respect individualdifferences, value others opinions, develop play skills, positive peer relations, and

promote positive self-concept. The researchers have been noted that inclusive educationincreases positive attitudes towards children with special needs, create more opportu-nities for observational learning, and promote all childrens development within arich and multifaceted curriculum and interactive setting (Fently, Miller, and Lampi2008; Ferguson 2008). In contrast to these aspects of the inclusion, some researchersstressed that the weak social skill outcomes of inclusive education can be attributedto the fact that inclusive education practices do not always provide necessary social,emotional, and academic support services for students with special needs (Cosbey

and Johnston 2006; Rosenbulum 1998).Considerable research has documented that children with special needs are at a

greater risk for social, emotional, and behavioural problems throughout their develop-ment (Jones and Frederickson 2010; Lewis, Trushell, and Woods 2005). The distinct

problems that children with special needs encounter in social relations pose chal-lenges for professionals who work with this population. Compared with typicallydeveloping children, children with special needs present unique profiles of abilityto acquire various social skills (Townsend and Hassal 2006). For example, childrenwith visual impairments have significant limitations in discriminating visual cues,imitating non-verbal body movements, and receiving feedback from others (Kekelis

1992; MacCuspie 1996; McGaha and Farran 2001). Likewise, children with intellec-tual disabilities have cognitive impairments that affect memory skills, attention andgeneralisation abilities, resulting in difficulties learning appropriate social skills(Hall, Schlesinger, and Dineen 1997; Huang and Cuvo 1997; Sargent 1991). Eventhough many cognitive, psychological, and environmental mechanisms have beenimplicated in the development of social skill problems, childrens scheme of socialskill difficulties distinguishes (important implications for inclusive education out-comes) treatment efficacy of social skill interventions. Because of the heterogeneityin children with special needs, it is critical to characterise the nature and extent ofdeficits in social skills. Measurement of social skills can address a broad array ofskills, therefore exploring developmental profiles of social skills can contribute toteaching appropriate social skills that foster these childrens peer relations and adjust-ment to the inclusive classroom environment (Freund and Reiss 1991; Macintosh andDissanayake 2006).

International Journal of Inclusive Education 501


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Social skills can be assessed through a variety of techniques, including observationssemi-structured interviews, self-assessment scales, sociometric assessments, and

behaviour rating scales (Merrell 2001). A number of standardised behaviour ratingscales exist that can be used to assess childrens social skills and competency. Probablythe most common behaviour rating scale used in clinical and educational assessments isthe SSRS (Diperna and Volpe 2005; Rich, Shepherd, and Nangle 2008). The SSRS is anorm-referenced tool that focuses on social skills, problem behaviours, and academiccompetency of children between the ages of 6 and 12. The scale provides a multi-rater assessment of a students social behaviour and has been widely used to assesssocial skills of children with special needs (Buhrow, Hartshorne, and Bradley-Johnson 1998; Sucuoglu and Ozokcu 2005), to design appropriate social skills teaching(SST) programmes (Meimer, DiPerna, and Oster 2006; Miller, Lane, and Wehby 2005;Silver, Elder, and DeBolt 1999), and to evaluate the effectiveness of the SSTs (Celeste2007; Lane, Givner, and Pierson 2004; Mathews, Fawcett, and Sheldon 2009).

Researchers in a number of studies have examined the social skill profiles of chil-

dren with visual impairments and effects of interventions on childrens social skills(Buhrow, Hartshorne, and Bradley-Johnson 1998). In general, they have found thatchildren with visual impairments rated by their teachers as displaying less academiccompetence and more problem behaviours than their typically developing peers(Buhrow, Hartshorne, and Bradley-Johnson 1998). The primary purpose in obtaininginformation about social skill profiles of children with visual impairments is to

provide a child with treatment and gather information about response to treatment.Direct instruction, peer-mediated social skill interventions, and positive behavioursupport strategies have been used commonly in the social skills literature (Buhrow,Hartshorne, and Bradley-Johnson 1998; Celeste 2007; Jindal 2004; Schut 1991). For

example, Celeste (2007) employed a social skills intervention programme with childrenwith visual impairments and reported that childrens social interactions and time theyspent in playing were improved as a result of the intervention programme. Likewise,Jindal (2004) conducted a social skills intervention with children with visual impair-ments. The researcher reported that self-evaluation improved, generalised, and main-tained social skills of children with visual impairments. In another study, Jindal(2004) examined the effectiveness of self-evaluation and the role of feedback in thedirection of gaze, conversation, and positive social behaviours. Study results showedthat self-evaluation was effective in increasing social skills and interactions of girlswith visual impairments.

In contrast to small but growing number of studies on the social skill interventionsfor children with visual impairments, research literature on teaching social skills to chil-dren with intellectual impairments has become extensive (Cosbey and Johnston 2006;Huang and Cuvo 1997; Luiselli et al. 2005). A large number of studies using differentteaching techniques such as direct instruction, cognitive behavioural training, peer-mediated interventions, modelling and drama have been successfully utilised in theschool and home settings and have been implemented with individuals or withgroups of children (Guralnick 2006; Hodges and Keller 1999; Lane, Givner, andPierson 2004; Rutherford et al. 1992; Williams and Reisberg 2003). A majority ofthese interventions reported positive effects on the social skills and social interactionsof children with intellectual impairments (Fisher and Haufe 2009; Mathews, Fawcett,and Sheldon 2009; Miller, Lane, and Wehby 2005). For example, Mathews, Fawcett,and Sheldon (2009) conducted a study on the effectiveness of social skills training and

peer coaching in increasing social skills of children with low levels of verbal

502 U. Ozkubat and S. Ozdemir


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communication and social interactions. Their results indicated that social skills trainingalong with peer coaching were effective in increasing social interaction and communi-cation skills of the children with at risk for developing intellectual impairments. Inaddition, Fisher and Haufe (2009) found that Social Stories were effective in develop-ing sharing and turn-taking skills of children with intellectual impairments. Miller,Lane, and Wehby (2005) found that a school-based social skills programme was ben-eficial in decreasing inappropriate classroom behaviours, increasing time spent on aca-demic activities, and increasing social behaviours in the classroom.

Limited number of studies has been conducted in Turkey to examine the social skillprofiles of children with visual impairments (Ozdemir 2009; Ozdemir and Ataman 2010;Ozdemir et al. 2011) and other disabilities (Sucuoglu and Ozokcu 2005). Study results ingeneral showed that Turkish teachers perceive students with visual impairments as moreimpaired than typically developing peers (Ozdemir 2009; Ozdemir and Ataman 2010;Ozdemir et al. 2011). Turkish teachers also reported that they perceived students withspecial needs as having less positive social skills and more problem behaviours than typi-

cally developing peers (Sucuoglu and Ozokcu 2005).As noted earlier, children with visual impairments often demonstrate social skill

problems and such problems negatively affect their relationships with peers. On theother hand, research in general suggests that attending inclusive education settingscan enhance childrens social skills by providing them with more social interactionopportunities (Baker et al. 2002, 2003; Symes and Humphrey 2010). Indeed, one ofthe major purposes of education is to identify childrens social emotional strengthsand weaknesses and provide appropriate intervention from the early ages throughinclusion. Thus, an important extension of the literature is to assess the effects of theeducational settings on social skills of children with special needs. Do Turkish children

with special needs develop better social skills in inclusive educational settings? Eventhough the answer to this question may seem obvious for many researchers, it requiresa strong body of evidence within the context of Turkish culture.

Therefore, the purposes of the current study were twofold: to compare the socialskills of children with visual impairments, children with intellectual impairments,and typically developing children and to assess whether social skills of children withspecial needs change across educational settings. The following research questionswere addressed:

1. Do the social skills of children with visual impairments differ significantly from

those of their typically developing peers?2. Do the social skills of children with visual impairments differ significantly basedon their educational settings?

3. Do social skills of children with intellectual impairments differ significantlyfrom those of their typically developing peers?

4. Do the social skills of children with intellectual impairments differ significantlybased on their educational settings?

Method

Participants

A total of 169 children participated in the study. Participants were recruited from publicelementary schools located in Istanbul. These children were divided into five groups:



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children with visual impairments attending inclusive education classrooms, childrenwith intellectual impairments attending inclusive education classrooms, children withvisual impairments attending schools for children with visual impairments, childrenwith intellectual impairments attending schools for children with intellectual impair-ments, and typically developing children. All participants were between the ages of7 and 12 and each study group consisted of 34 children on average. Table 1 showsthe distribution of the participants by age, gender, grade level, and the study group.Children with visual impairments attending inclusive education classrooms groupincluded 16 boys (Mage 9 years, 5 months, SD 9 months) and 16 girls (Mage 9 years, 1 month, SD 10 months), children with visual impairments attendingschools for the blind group included 17 boys (Mage 10 years, 1 month, SD 4months) and 16 girls (Mage 9 years, 6 months, SD 7 months), children with intel-lectual impairments attending inclusive education schools group included 18 boys(M age 9 years, 11 months, SD 4 months) and 17 girls (M age 9 years, 4months, SD 6 months), children with intellectual impairments attending segregated

special education schools group included 17 boys (Mage 8 years, 11 months, SD 7 months) and 17 girls (Mage 9 years, 9 months, SD 3 months) and typicallydeveloping children group included 17 boys (M age 9 years, 5 months, SD 4months) and 18 girls (Mage 10 years, 2 months, SD 6 months). All socio-econ-omic status (SES) represented in the sample were reported as middle class by the entireset of participants. Total household income for the sample ranged from $10,000 toabove $19,000 per year, with the median at $14,000.

The Social Skills Rating System

The SSRS was developed by Gresham and Elliot (1990) to obtain teacher informationregarding social skills, problem behaviours, and academic competencies of children

between the ages of 6 and 12. The scale includes 57 questions that are divided into

Table 1. Distributions of children in the study group.

Variable f %

Study group TDC 35 20.7CIISS 34 20.1

CIIIS 35 20.7CVVS 33 19.5CVIS 32 18.9

Age (9.580 + 0.116) 7 18 10.78 31 18.39 39 23.110 39 23.111 21 12.412 21 12.4

Gender Girls 84 49.7Boys 85 50.3

Note: TDC, Typically Developing Children; CIISS, Children with Intellectual Impairments AttendingSegregated Special Education Schools; CIIIS, Children with Intellectual Impairments Attending InclusiveEducation Schools; CVVS, Children with Visual Impairments Attending Schools for the Blind; CVIS,Children with Visual Impairments Attending Inclusive Schools.



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three subscales: Social Skills Scale (SSS), Problem Behaviours Scale (PBS), and Aca-demic Competence Scale (ACS). The frequency of each item was delineated on a3-point Likert scale ranging from never or rarely (0), to often (1), and to very often(2), with higher scores indicative of greater social skills.

The SSRS was translated into Turkish by Sucuoglu and Ozokcu (2005) and hasbeen applied to a sample group of 613 children. The reliability and validity of theTurkish Form were established in the study. The reliability of the scale was tested bycalculating Cronbach alpha coefficients. For the SSS, Cronbach alpha coefficientwas found to be .96, for the PBS Cronbach alpha coefficient was .90, and for theACS Cronbach alpha coefficient was found to be .97. Overall, these results indicateda reliable consistency of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis also supported thestructural validity of the SSRS Turkish Form with a normative sample. As a result ofvarimax rotation, the factor structure was found to be well established. Specifically,items which had factor loadings more than .30 and were involved in only one factorwere included in the scale. All these reliability and validity tests results indicated

that the measurement model was highly reliable and valid (Sucuoglu and Ozokcu2005).

Procedure

For the recruitment of participating children in the five study groups, teachers andschool administrators from public elementary schools were contacted through sitevisits and provided with permission letter obtained from the National Ministry of Edu-cation explaining the study. In each school, teachers who had students diagnosed withvisual impairments and students with intellectual impairments were explained about the

study. Among the 142 teachers contacted, 138 agreed to join the study. Finally, for thetypically developing children group, the teachers of participating children with specialneeds attending inclusive classrooms were asked to randomly select typically develop-ing children from their class list to participate. A random sampling technique wasemployed for the selection of the sample group of typically developing children.

In this study, the SSRS Turkish Form was used to obtain teacher informationregarding the social skill competencies of participating children. The teachers screenedthe study participants social skills on a set of three behavioural criteria that are stronglyassociated with the social skills, behavioural problems, and academic competence.Finally, the teachers of the children were presented the SSRS by the researcher. The

researcher explained the use of the SRSS to each teacher individually and collectedthe teachers responses to all questions.

Results

In order to examine the differences between the mean social scores of the study groups,an independent samplet-test was used for the statistical analysis.

Social skill differences between children with visual impairments and typically

developing children

SSS scores of children with visual impairments who were attending inclusive educationclassrooms and schools for children with visual impairments were compared to theirtypically developing peers. An independent samples t-test was used to examine the



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differences between the mean social skill scores of the children with visual impairmentsattending inclusive education classrooms and the typically developing peers. Theresults shown in Table 2 indicate that the social skill levels of the typically developingchildren were significantly higher than the social skills of children with visual impair-ments attending inclusive education schools (t 5.706;p , .001).

An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the social skill scores ofchildren with visual impairments attending schools for the blind and the typically devel-

oping peers of two groups. The results are given in Table 3.Study results shown in Table 3 indicated that the social skills of typically develop-ing children were significantly higher than the children with visual impairments attend-ing schools for blind (t 11.104;p , .001).

Social skill differences between children with visual impairments attending

inclusive education schools and children with visual impairments attending

schools for the blind

An independent samplest-test was conducted to compare the social skills of children

with visual impairments attending inclusive education schools and children withvisual impairments attending schools for the blind. The results showed that thesocial skill scores of children with visual impairments attending inclusive educationclassrooms were significantly higher than the social skill scores of children withvisual impairments attending schools for the blind (t 24.006;p , .001) (Table 4).

Table 2. t-Test results to compare the mean social skills scores of children with CVIS andTDC.

Score Groups N x SS Shx

t-Test

t SD p

Social skills score TDC 35 49.66 6.06 1.02 5.706 65 .000CVIS 32 38.37 9.84 1.74

Table 3. t-Test results to compare the social skills scores of children with CVVS and TDC.


t-Test

t SD p

Social skills score TDC 35 49.66 6.06 1.02 11.104 66 .000

CVVS 33 28.97 9.09 1.58

Table 4. t-Test results to compare the social skills of children with CVIS and CVVS.


t-Test

t SD p

Social skills score CVVS 33 28.97 9.09 1.58 24.006 63 .000CVIS 32 38.37 9.84 1.74



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Social skill differences between children with intellectual impairments and

typically developing children

In order to examine the differences between the mean social skill scores of childrenwith intellectual impairments and typically developing children, an independent

samples t-test was used. The results which are shown in Tables 5 and 6 indicate thattypically developing children had significantly higher social skills than children withintellectual impairments attending segregated special education schools.

As can be seen from Table 5, the results indicated that typically developing childrenhad significantly higher social skill scores than children with intellectual impairmentsattending segregated special education schools (t 22.615; p , .001).

Table 6 shows that typically developing children had significantly higher socialskills than children with intellectual impairments attending inclusive educationschools (t 22.192;p , .001).

Social skill differences between children with intellectual impairments attending

inclusive education schools and children with intellectual impairments attending

segregated special education schools

Social skill scores of children with intellectual impairments attending segregatedspecial education schools and children with intellectual impairments attending inclus-ive education settings are given in Table 7.

Table 5. t-Test results to compare the mean social skills scores of children with CIISS andTDC.


t-Test

t SD p

Social skills score TDC 35 49.66 6.06 1.02 22.615 67 .000CIISS 34 11.76 7.78 1.33

Table 6. t-Test results to compare the mean social skills scores of children with CIIIS andTDC.

Score Groups N x SS Shxt-Test

t SD p

Social skills score TDC 35 49.66 6.06 1.02 22.192 68 .000CIIIS 35 18.86 5.54 0.94

Table 7. t-Test results to compare the social skills of children with CIISS and CIIIS.


t-Test

t SD p

Social skills score CIISS 34 11.76 7.78 1.33 24.372 67 .000CIIIS 35 18.86 5.54 0.94



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Children with intellectual impairments attending inclusive education schools hadsignificantly higher social skill scores than children with intellectual impairmentsattending segregated special education schools (t 24.372;p , .001).

Discussion

This study compared the social skill differences of five groups of children with visualimpairments attending inclusive education schools, children with visual impairmentsattending schools for the blind, children with intellectual impairments attending inclus-ive education schools, children with intellectual impairments attending segregatedspecial education schools, and typically developing children. Turkish childrenssocial skills were measured using the SSRS Turkish Form. Teacher ratings on theSSRS were compared across educational settings of the participating children. Findingsfrom the study suggested that the teachers rated both children with visual impairmentsand children with intellectual impairments attending segregated educational settings as

having poorer social skills than typically developing children and children with visualimpairments and children with intellectual impairments attending inclusive educationschools.

The preliminary results of this study indicate that Turkish teachers rated typicallydeveloping children as being more socially competent than children with specialneeds. This finding is consistent with the research showing that social skills of childrenwith special needs are more impaired than their typically developing peers (Buhrow,Hartshorne, and Bradley-Johnson 1998; Gresham and Reschly 1988). Several studiesalso suggest that children with special needs are more likely to experience emotionaland behavioural problems than typically developing children (Einfeld and Tonge

1996). In fact, most studies reported that social skills of children with mild intellectualimpairments are in general two standard deviations below the mean of typically devel-oping peers (Gresham and Elliot 1987).

Consistent with the findings gathered in Western cultures, studies conducted inTurkey suggest the social skill deficits among Turkish children with special needs.Specifically, researchers have shown that Turkish children with intellectual impair-ments had more impaired social skills than typically developing children and theyexperience more peer rejection than typically developing peers (Uysal 2003). Further-more, Sucuoglu and Ozokcu (2005) reported that the social skills of children with intel-lectual impairments attending inclusive education settings were poorer than the social

skills of their typically developing peers. However, girls with intellectual impairmentsreceived higher ratings on the social skill scores when compared to boys with intellec-tual impairments. Other researchers have also found similar findings in Turkish chil-dren with visual impairments. Ozdemir and Ataman (2010) in their study of problem

behaviours of children with visual impairments reported that teachers ranked their stu-dents with visual impairments as exhibiting characteristics of internalising problemsmore than typically developing students. Findings by Ozdemir (2009) also supportthat Turkish teachers perceive students with visual impairments attending segregatededucation settings as more impaired than typically developing peers. These results ingeneral suggest that Turkish children with special needs may have more impairedsocial skills than typically developing children (Ozdemir 2009; Ozdemir and Ataman2010; Ozdemir et al. 2011).

Available studies in Turkey do not clearly show whether attending inclusive edu-cation is associated with increased social skills or not (Odluyurt and Batu 2010;



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Sazak 2003). It is well known that a major prerequisite for children who are developingfriendships with their peers is that they have to be in close proximity with peers (Hartupand Lougee 1975). Overall, with the increasing number of inclusive education settingsin Turkey, Turkish students with special needs have frequent opportunity to interactwith typically developing peers, and therefore they may be more likely to developfriendships with peers, both with and without special needs.

It is well known that children with special needs have had to endure a history ofrejection and forced segregation within many societies (Manetti, Schneider, and Siper-stein 2001). A large number of students with special needs have continued to beexcluded from participating educational settings by their typically developing peers.The current educational trend in Turkey is towards developing an inclusive educationalsystem for students with mild and moderate special needs. Considerable evidence hasindicated that many Turkish parents and teachers of students with special needs haveconcerns about the lack of support services and lack of access to inclusive curriculum(Batu and Kircaali-Iftar 2010; Uysal 2003). Even though inclusive education practices

were criticised for many reasons in Turkey, the percentage of the children with specialneeds served in the inclusive education classrooms has risen steadily. Consistently,researchers argue that educators should focus on promoting successful inclusive edu-cation models rather than concluding that inclusion is not detrimental to students and

provide implicitly less quantifiable benefits.To further evaluate the inclusive education setting as a variable for social skills

development, this study compared the social skill levels of children, as assessed bythe teacher ratings on the SSRS, in five groups: children with visual impairmentsattending segregated education, children with visual impairments attending inclusiveeducation, children with intellectual impairments attending segregated education, chil-

dren with intellectual impairments attending inclusive education, and typically devel-oping children. Study results showed that both children with visual impairments andchildren with intellectual impairments attending inclusive education, demonstrated sig-nificantly higher levels of social skills than children with special needs attending seg-regated special education schools. These results suggest that inclusive education may

play an important role in facilitating social skills development in childhood. It is impor-tant to note that the decision about inclusion was made on an individual basis in Turkey.Unfortunately, there is no credential and uniform assessment procedure used in thedecision process and it is very common to see high functioning children with visualimpairments attending the schools for the blind.

The present study findings also indicate that having more social interaction oppor-tunities may be an important factor in social functioning of children with visual impair-ments and children with intellectual impairments. Mahoney and Perales (2008)explained that if children have more positive social interaction experiences appropriateto their developmental level then transition to the next developmental level can be seenas a natural developmental process and therefore the most appropriate way to supportdevelopment of children is to expose them to experience more positive social inter-action experiences. It is important to note that traditional segregated special educationschools create fewer opportunities for children to learn necessary social skills and suchsocial barriers may contribute to childrens problems with learning appropriate socialskills (Akkok 1999).

Although the findings of the present study have valuable implications for inclusiveeducation practitioners and researchers, several issues related to success of the inclusiveeducation practices must be noted. In particular, Turkish teachers have consistently



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reported lack of training, materials, and personnel as the key barriers to successfulinclusion (Batu and Kircaali-Iftar 2010; Kargin 2004; Uysal 2003). Furthermore, thelack of collaboration between special education and general educator teachers inTurkey hinders many students access to individualised instruction (Odluyurt andBatu 2010). Despite the ongoing problems, the results of the current study are promis-ing and suggest that inclusive education have positive outcomes on the social develop-ment of children with special needs. In the light of this study findings, we may assumethat when inclusive education practices have been carefully developed andimplemented, Turkish children with and without special needs would benefit fromthe social learning environments that inclusive education facilitates.

Overall, this study was conducted to build upon the existing knowledge about thesocial skills of Turkish children with special needs and in particular to develop anunderstanding of the effects of the inclusive education practices. However, in the find-ings of this study, there are some limitations that need to be considered. First, datadescribing the childrens social skills were based on teacher ratings, without corrobor-

ating evidence such as parent ratings, self-reports, and direct observation of socialskills. Second, lack of geographic variability of the educational settings limits the val-idity of the findings. Even though the study included diverse groups of children, thedata were gathered only in one city, Istanbul. Nevertheless, although additionalmeasures are needed to validate the study outcomes, current study findings haveincreased our understanding of the social skills of Turkish children with specialneeds and effects of inclusive education practices.

To summarise, the findings of the present study are consistent with other research,suggesting that inclusive settings promote social skills development of children withspecial needs just like their typically developing peers (Bunch and Valeo 2004;

Dowing 1996; Nowicki and Sandieson 2002). Compared to the literature concerningsocial skills of children with special needs, very few studies have addressed thesocial skill differences between children with special needs attending inclusive edu-cation settings and children attending segregated special education schools. Additionalresearch is needed to further clarify social skills of children with special needs andimportant variables that effect childrens social skills. Clearly, there are many unan-swered questions towards successful implementation of the inclusive education that

provides a unified system to support the social emotional and academic needs of allstudents.

Notes on contributorsUfuk Ozkubat holds a masters degree from Special Education and is a doctoral candidate inthe Special Education Department at Gazi University, Turkey. He has been a special educationteacher since 2007. His research includes designing inclusive education programmes for chil-dren with special needs. His other research interests focus on social skills of children withspecial needs including autism spectrum disorders, visual impairments and specific learningdisabilities.

Selda Ozdemir is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at Gazi Univer-sity, Ankara, Turkey. Prior to joining Gazi University, she received her masters degree inSpecial Education from Syracuse University (2001) and Ph.D. degree in Special Educationfrom Arizona State University (2006). Her research interests focus primarily on two lines of

inquiry: research leading to a better understanding of social emotional difficulties in childrenwith special needs and designing effective interventions to improve childrens socialdevelopment.



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Documents

A Comparision of Social Skills in Turkish Children With Visual Impairments, Children With Intellectual Impairments and Typically Developing Children