PARENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN DISTANCE SPECIAL EDUCATION PRACTICES: A REVIEW ON TEACHERS’ OPINIONS

Abstract

In this study, the opinions of teachers on the participation of parents who had children with special needs in their children’s education processes during the pandemic were examined with a phenomenological design, which is one of the qualitative study methods. The study group consisted of 22 special education teachers. The data of the study were collected with a semi-structured interview form that was developed by the researchers, expert opinion was taken and finalized in line with the corrections. In the present study, in which the participation of parents who had children with special needs in the education process of their children in the Covid 19 pandemic was examined from the perspective of teachers, the teachers expressed their opinions about the practices they made to ensure parental involvement in the distance education process, the motivations of the parents to participate, the difficulties they faced in ensuring parental participation, the effects of parental participation. When the findings of the study were examined, the teachers guided the family by explaining the materials used to ensure parental participation in the distance education process, providing information on the necessary issues, following the homework assignments and home practices and giving feedback, and evaluating the process. Teachers also ensured the continuity of communication in the family and teacher channel through online applications to facilitate and increase the participation of parents. They encouraged the use of EBA and created complementary activities, ensuring that especially daily life skills continued to be practiced in the home setting with parents’ support.