Professional development needs of preschool teachers regarding inclusive education in Türkiye

Abstract Teachers play a pivotal role in ensuring the successful implementation of inclusive education within preschool classrooms. However, preschool teachers should present competencies in implementing inclusive education practices. Given the importance of professional development for preschool teachers working in inclusive settings, the training programs developed should align with their needs. In this case, needs assessment is a fundamental tool to identify teachers' needs. This study aims to determine preschool teachers' professional development needs regarding inclusive education in Türkiye. A basic interpretive qualitative design was employed for the study. A semi‐structured interview was conducted to collect the data from the teachers. In this study, in which sixteen teachers participated, it was found that teachers' professional development needs emerge within the framework of early childhood inclusion. Access, participation and support are three dimensions that provide the theoretical background for the findings. Within this framework, teachers' professional development needs for classroom organisation (access), practices to support children's learning and social relationships (participation) and professional development for inclusive preschool education (support) were addressed and discussed.