Department Of Special Education Research Articles

Investigation of the attitudes of undergraduate students of special education department and other education faculty students towards Braille writing

The aim of this study is to investigation of the attitudes of undergraduate students of special education department and other education faculty students towards Braille writing. This research is descriptive. Sociodemographic data were collected online from 311 special education and other education faculty undergraduate students who voluntarily participated in the study and whose consent was obtained, using a sociodemographic data collection form and the Attitude Scale Towards Braille Writing (ASTBW). In statistical analyses, t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient were calculated using SPSS 25.0 data analysis software. It was determined that 71.1% of the participants were female and 24.1% were male. About 52.4% of them were students of special education teaching department. According to the mean scores obtained, the participants’ beliefs were at a medium level, their interest and desire were at a high level, and their desire to learn was at a very high level. It was found that there were significant differences between the sociodemographic descriptive information of the students in the undergraduate department of special education and other education faculties and their attitudes towards Braille. It was stated that the attitudes of the students in the undergraduate of special education department and other education faculties towards Braille writing varied. It is thought that it will be a guide to conduct research in the related field to include other departments in the faculty of education.

Development of Vibrating Headphones to Help Student with Deaf Disabilities in Android-Based Lectures

This research is motivated by the issues identified in the field concerning deaf students who face difficulties in obtaining auditory information. This challenge arises due to the communication format during the learning process that predominantly utilizes oral language. Therefore, the researcher developed Vibrating Headphones with the aim of facilitating deaf individuals in acquiring one-way communication through text. This study employed the Research and Development (R&D) method with the 4D development model (Define, Design, Development, and Dissemination). The prototype developed was validated by four experts, including experts in deaf disabilities, electrical engineering, adaptive technology, and IT. Additionally, user testing was conducted to assess the practicality of the prototype among four deaf students in the Special Education Department at UNP. The validation results by the four experts yielded an average score of 88.75%, indicating a very valid criterion. Meanwhile, the practicality test results by the four deaf individuals produced an average score of 76.75%, meeting practical criteria. Based on these validation and practicality tests, valuable feedback and comments were received from both experts and users.

Operational Plans for Lifelong Education Coordinator Certification System for Persons with Developmental Disabilities in Connection with the Undergraduate Curriculum of the Special Education Department of Universities

Operational Plans for Lifelong Education Coordinator Certification System for Persons with Developmental Disabilities in Connection with the Undergraduate Curriculum of the Special Education Department of Universities

Parents of disabled children. The educational system and the everyday challenges

The purpose of this presentation is to present how parents with disabled children view and understand the existence of their disabled children through the lens of special education professionals and also how professionals experienced and are affected from this understanding. After a lot of discussions and also after the completion of a questionnaire it had been discovered that parents of disabled children seemed to be a great issue for the professionals who work with their disabled children in case of Cyprus. Thus the Ministry of Education and Culture decided to organize a program which its aim will be to evaluate the difficulties that the professionals faced and secondly it will provide them with the right skills in order to make them able and ready to come across those difficulties. This program consisted of two meetings during the school year 2005-2006 and six meetings during 2006-2007. Parents of disabled children seemed to be a big issue to professionals, since their behaviour sometimes caused lot of difficulties in the everyday life of a school. The group of professionals was made of 22 “special” education teachers who work in the Ministry of Education and Culture. The group was closed for everyone else apart from the two educational psychologists who were responsible for the program and the representative of the Special Education Department. All the information that was mentioned in those groups could not be shared or discussed anywhere else apart from the specific group. It was decided from the organizing team as well that those meetings must be held in places other than school places, since this will provide the participants the chance to talk freely in a much different environment than their everyday environment at work. The analysis on the results is based on qualitative methods, since the group of professionals acts as a focus group.

Development of an Attitude Scale on Activities Related to Biology and Nature for Mentally Disabled Students

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to determine the attitudes towards the activities that can be applied to the mentally retarded students about biology and nature. During the preparation of the draft form of the scale, an item pool was created from relevant literature. Then, these items were presented to expert opinion in terms of language, intelligibility and content. This draft scale with 30 items in 5-point Likert type was applied to 177 pre-service teachers studying in the special education department of the faculty of education at a state university. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed for the data collected after the application. As a result of the analyses, it was revealed that the scale had a five-factor structure consisting of 20 items. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the factor structure was compatible with the data. Goodness of fit index values was sufficient. The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was calculated as 0.89. It can be said that the scale is valid and reliable in determining the views of pre-service teachers about the activities to be applied for mentally retarded students. In addition, the scale is suitable not only for teacher candidates, but also for use by teachers and researchers. In addition, different types of samples such as students in other fields at the undergraduate level and special education teachers who take courses related to special education can be included in the study group.

WRITING A THESIS IN A PANDEMIC: THE CASE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of Covid-129 pandemic on the thesis writing processes of academicians working in the field of special education. The research was conducted with a phenomenological approach from qualitative research methods. Purposive sampling was used to determine the participants in the study. The participants of the study were 11 research assistants who completed their doctoral studies in the Department of Special Education. Research data were collected through semi-structured interviews and researcher's diary. The data obtained were analyzed using content analysis and eight themes were reached. The themes are; I should continue with this topic, I insisted on my method, I had difficulty finding participants, how was my data collection process affected, how was my reporting phase, what did my advisor do, how did other factors affect my research, and if the pandemic happens again. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions in academic studies as in every field. Academics tried to eliminate the problems they experienced with distance education platforms and individual solutions and to complete the process with minimal disruption. It is recommended that studies be conducted to identify, implement and disseminate methods that can be used to overcome similar processes more easily in future research.

Special Education Master’s Students’ Metaphorical Perceptions of Children Having High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

In the current study, aimed to determine the metaphorical perceptions of students receiving graduate education in the field of special education about high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. The study employed the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research techniques, as the research method. The study group consists of 75 students pursuing a master’s degree in the Department of Special Education in the Faculty of Education at five different state universities during the spring term of the 2022-2023 academic year. The participants of the study were selected by using the convenience sampling method. The participants’ perceptions regarding children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder were determined using a data collection tool that included the phrase “Children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder are like... to me; because...” and questions to elicit demographic information of the participants. The data collected from the participants were analyzed using the content analysis method. In this study, the participants, who were master’s students in the Special Education Department, generated 75 metaphors regarding children with a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. The metaphors derived from the data obtained from the participants were grouped and categorized into 6 categories based on their common characteristics as a result of the review of experts. When the generated metaphors were examined, it was seen that the participating students mostly liken children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder to concepts such as flowers, rainbows, stars, boxes and computers. The study results indicate that the metaphors generated by the participants regarding children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder are generally expressed through positive and concrete concepts

Higher Education Saudi Faculty Perspectives on the Instruction and Inclusion of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities

A total of 90 special education Saudi Arabian faculty members in 20 institutions of higher education were surveyed using the Revised Opinion Relative to Mainstreaming Survey to understand the preparation of pre-service teachers and their readiness to implement evidence-based practices to elementary students with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder. The descriptive research design was utilized. Results revealed that although faculty noted interest in preparing pre-service teachers to support students with intellectual disabilities or autism, several barriers impeded their ability to effectively prepare teachers, such as a lack of collaboration in course development and fieldwork experience between departments of special and general education, the readiness of general education teachers to support students with autism/intellectual disabilities in the general settings, the use of evidence-based practices, and limited faculty interest to improve their knowledge and skills in this area. Limitations and implications for practice and future research are also discussed.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT SUPPORT OF COMMUNICATION FOR DEAF STUDENTS

This study employed a case study design to explore classroom environment support for communication for deaf students at the University of Education, Winneba. The study sampled 20 participants which comprised ten deaf students, five interpreters, and five lecturers. A one-on-one semi-structured interview was used to collect data from participants. Data was analyzed using themes. Findings from the study revealed that classroom environment support for communication for deaf students involves, the relationship among deaf students, interpreters, and lectures about communication at the lecture hall; the student's participation at the lecture hall. Based on the results from the study, it was recommended that the management of the University of Education, Winneba, and the Department of Special Education should collaborate to ensure a supportive environment for effective classroom communication for deaf students. The Department of Special Education should facilitate continuous professional development seminars and in-service training for lecturers and interpreters on the education of deaf students to enable them to come up with more innovative ways of communicating with deaf students.

Investigation of Special Education Department Research Assistants' Perceptions of Teaching Practice Course

This study aims to examine the perceptions of research assistants in the department of special education about the teaching practicum course in the VII. and VIII. semester. Eight research assistants who conducted teaching practicum courses in the field of special education participated in the phenomenological approach. The data obtained through semi-structured interviews were analyzed through inductive analysis. The findings include the perceptions of the practice kit, the roles of the research assistants in the teaching practicum process, the grading of the students, and the perceptions of the teaching practicum process from the perspective of the students from the practitioner's point of view. On the other hand, the study recommends shortening the lesson plans and making them clear, understandable and usable.

Improving the Teacher Training Process in Special Education: An Action Research

The special education teaching program in Turkey was united under a single roof with the decision taken by the Council of Higher Education in 2016. With this decision, the programs for teachers of the hearing impaired, the mentally disabled, the visually impaired and the gifted/special talented were organized as a new and single undergraduate program under the name of "Special Education Teaching". Within the scope of the research, it was aimed to improve the teacher training process in the new special education teaching program. For this purpose, the study was designed as an action research. The research was conducted at Anadolu University, Department of Special Education. The research participants included 19 faculty members, 24 undergraduate students, 12 special education teachers, one Ministry of National Education official and one Directorate of National Education official. Semi-structured interviews, participant information form, video recordings, documents and researcher diary were used as data collection techniques. The data obtained from the research were analyzed using a systematic analysis approach. As a result of the research, in the new special education teacher training program, arrangements were made in the areas needed in the teacher training process. Steps such as reorganizing the evaluation criteria and creating guidelines to determine the responsibilities of stakeholders are among these arrangements. With the Covid-19 pandemic, activities were carried out for material design and use in distance education and transfer of theoretical knowledge to the online teaching practice environment.

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT CONCEPT: A CASE STUDY FROM ANADOLU UNIVERSITY

Quantifying the impact of humans on the environment is very difficult due to its complex nature. An ecological footprint is an effective tool and indicator that quantitatively reveals the impact of human beings on the world while maintaining their vital activities, the cost of living or their burden on nature. In this study, the ecological footprints of 179 teacher candidates studying at Anadolu University Faculty of Education were determined by using an international scale. 34.1% of teacher candidates were in the department of primary school education, 35.2% in the department of pre-school education and 30.7% in the department of special education. The ecological footprint results were given in the categories of date, necessary world, land type, consumption categories, ecological footprint, a carbon footprint and percentage effect of carbon footprint on ecological footprint. According to the results, no significant difference was found between the ecological footprints of teacher candidates based on department and gender (except services footprint). However, the ecological footprint values of the teacher candidates were above the average of Türkiye (p

Examination of the Relationship between the Technology Competencies of Special Education Undergraduate Students and Their Views on Distance Education

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the technology competencies of special education undergraduate students and their views on distance education. This study employed the correlational research model. The study group is consists of 212 students who study at the special education department in various universities in Turkey during the academic year of 2020-2021. The study used the "Basic Technology Competencies for Educators Inventory" and the "The Distance Education Evaluation Scale." Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to determine the relationships among the dependent and independent variables. We implemented standard multiple regression analysis to predict distance education's views by the dimensions of technology competencies. Technology competencies inventory's word processing sub-dimension significantly and positively indicated the distance education scale's technical sub-dimension. There was no statistical significance for other sub-dimensions. Technology competencies inventory's basic computer operation skills and media communication sub-dimensions significantly and positively; networking sub-dimension significantly and negatively predicted the distance education scale's learning process sub-dimension. There was no statistical significance for other sub-dimensions

Impact of School’s Violence on Educational Career of Female Students with Hearing Impairment in Federal College of Education Pankshin, Plateau State, Nigeria

Students in schools often experience physical violence such as; teasing, stigmatization, psychological, verbal abuse and sexual harassment, including rape. Fear of violence attack prevents many girls with hearing impairment from attending social gathering due to their communication and language problems. This study examined the impact of school’s violence on educational career of female students with hearing impairment in federal college of education Pankshin, plateau, Nigeria. The main objectives of the research are to find out the types of violence experienced by female students with hearing impairment studying in Federal College of education Pankshin and examine the impact of violence on education of female students with hearing impairment after experiencing the trauma of violence. The following research questions were also formulated to guide the study. What types of violence commonly experienced by girls with hearing impairment studying in FCE Pankshin? To what extent has violence affected academic achievement of girls with hearing impairment in FCE Pankshin. Qualitative design was used to conduct the study. The population of the study consisted of 21 female students with hearing impairment in special education department Federal College of Education Pankshin, Plateau State Nigeria. A sample of eight (8) females with hearing impairment was randomly selected from the study. All the eight girls in the department were interviewed to find out if they have ever been a victim of violence. The responses of the students were grouped into four themes. Namely; physical, psychological, sexual and verbal abuse. The results showed that sexual abuse at school affects students with hearing impairment mental health and self-esteem. It leads to drop-out from school. The study researcher concluded that all types of violence have negative effects on the overall personality and in particular academic performance of victim. It was recommended that special education teachers should collaborate with the counsellors to maintain a supportive school environment for students hearing impairment through enlightenment campaign of the need to effectively implement the objectives of inclusive education in the college. Female students, especially those with any form of disabilities must be empowered to speak against such bizarre actions.

Opinions on Awareness Activities Regarding Inclusive Community Life: Experiences of Pre-Service Teachers

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of the Special Education teacher candidates about the awareness activities organized in terms of the rights of children with special needs, their social participation, accessibility and contributing to the social inclusion climate. 56 pre-service teachers studying in the 2nd year of the Special Education Department of the Faculty of Education were included in this study. The data of the research carried out in a phenomenological design was collected through the analysis of the forms containing the written opinions of pre-service teachers in the fall term of 2022-2023. By analyzing the data with document analysis technique, it was gathered under five main themes: "Classification of Organized Awareness Activities, Description of Activities Serving Purpose, Importance of Awareness Activities, Activities That Pre-service Teachers Want to Organize and Suggestions for Activities”. In awareness activities, it is noteworthy that the pre-service teachers, who draw attention to social, legal, and physical regulations, emphasize the importance of content that reflects a rights-based view and the fundamental rights of individuals for this purpose. It was also seen that pre-service teachers emphasized the importance of including permanent and continuous awareness activities rather than containing a certain time interval and diversifying them in terms of being aimed at different disability groups. Based on the results of the research, it can be suggested that family and peer participation in awareness activities in inclusive environments, up-to-date and continuity of activities, and information sharing about individuals with special needs can be recommended.

Effect of Information and Communication Technology for the Development of Urdu Reading Skills of Students with Hearing Impairment

Education is the fundamental right of every person in the society and Students with Hearing Impairment (SWHI) is also a part of our society. Hearing impaired students face various problems in their academics especially in reading text. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to develop Urdu reading skills of hearing impaired students in view of “Zone of Proximal Development” framework. True-experimental (pre-test post-test control group design) of quantitative research paradigms was used to conduct this study. A sample of 30 SWHI was selected by the researcher from two schools of special education department Govt. of Punjab and divided into two equal groups through simple random sampling technique. Content was taken from Urdu text book of grade 3 and video clips of this content were made through ICT and taught to the experimental group as treatment whereas control group was taught through traditional method. A self-made instrument in the form of Urdu reading test was developed by the researcher and applied as pretest & posttest to establish the baseline of Urdu reading skills of SWHI. Data was analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and parametric statistics were used to compare the results of both groups. Recommendations were made on the basis of findings and conclusions for the better improvement of Urdu reading skills for the SWHI by the usage of ICT.

Problems Faced by Master Trainers in Sign Language Skills Acquisition During In-service Training of Special Education Teachers at District Level Punjab

Effectiveness of these in-service training ensure the productivity of special education teachers and ultimately betterment of teaching-learning environment in the special education institutes. The research titled; issues encountered by master trainers using sign language skills In Punjab, acquisition occurred during in-service training for special education teachers at the district level. The study investigated the obstacles encountered by master trainers when providing special education teacher training, as well as the administrative issues encountered by master trainers during imparting training to special education teachers. The current investigation was descriptive in nature. The data was collected from Special Educators (HI) serving in special education institutes of Punjab through a self-constructed questionnaire which comprises of 32 statements. Instrument was validated through expert opinion and through chronbach Alpha test. The sample of the study was comprised on 100 teachers of students with hearing impairment of which 69 females and 31 were males teachers serving in special education institutes of Punjab. Sample was taken from 5 division of Punjab Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, Multan and 20 teachers from each division. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to code the data and analyse it. The major findings revealed that it takes time to establish such techniques and materials to fulfil the demands of special education teachers throughout training. This research was very helpful in bringing new inclinations in the Department of special education for providing a balanced approach towards the professional and personal needs of teachers and trainers. It also helps to understand that teacher training is a difficult, multi-layered undertaking that must be carefully planned, implemented, and critically evaluated against the desired goals. Conclusions were reached, and recommendations were made to the department of special education's management (in-service teacher training college).

İnvestigation of Emotional Distance of Physical Education and Sports and Special Education Department Teacher Candidates Towards İndividuals with Special Needs

Günümüzde özel gereksinimli bireylerin eğitimleri özel eğitim faaliyetleri ile sürdürülmektedir ve bu eğitimin en önemli unsuru olan öğretmenlerin özel gereksinimli bireylere karşı olumlu duygulara sahip olmalarının sunacakları eğitim kalitesini artıracağı düşünülmektedir. Çalışmamızda öğretmen adaylarının özel gereksinimli bireylere karşı duygusal yakınlıklarını belirlemek amacıyla tasarlanmıştır. Çalışmada nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden betimsel tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacılar tarafından belirlenen kişisel bilgi formu ve Yılmaz (2018) tarafından geliştirilen ötekine karşı duygusal mesafe ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın evrenini Malatya İnönü Üniversitesi ve Erzurum Atatürk Üniversitesinin özel eğitim ve beden eğitimi bölümlerinde eğitim gören 210 öğretmen adayı oluştururken; örneklem grubunu ise, 162 öğretmen adayı oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmanın cinsiyet değişkeninde KAEKDM alt boyutunda, Üniversite ve Bölüm değişkeninde ise bazı alt boyutlarda katılımcılar arasında anlamlı farklılık tespit edilirken diğer değişkenlerde katılımcılar arasında herhangi bir anlamlı farklılık tespit edilememiştir. Sonuç olarak, İnönü Üniversitesinde eğitim gören öğretmen adaylarının Atatürk Üniversitesinde eğitim gören öğretmen adaylarından, beden eğitimi öğretmenliği bölümünde eğitim gören katılımcıların özel eğitim bölümünde eğitim gören katılımcılardan ve ailede engelli birey olan katılımcıların ailede engelli birey olmayan katılımcılardan daha yüksek duygusal yakınlık puanlarına sahip olduğu belirlenmiştir. Katılımcıların engellilere yönelik duygusal yakınlıklarının genel olarak yüksek seviyede olduğu belirlenmiştir.

The Effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom Strategy ‎in Developing Summarizing skills among Special ‎Education Students at Al-Hussein Bin Talal ‎University

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the flipped classroom strategy on developing summarization skills among ‎special education department students at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University in the academic year 2020-2021. The descriptive ‎research design was followed by a quasi-experimental one group design. The participants were 16 University students who ‎studied ‘physical disability’ course at the Special Education Department. The results of the study revealed that the sample ‎obtained a low summarization score. After applying the research's methods and materials, the results revealed a statistically ‎significant difference in favor of the posttest between the pre- and post-test summarization skills. In addition, there were no ‎differences between the post and follow up in summarization skills. In light of the findings, it was advised to use flipped ‎classroom strategies to improve the summarization skills of other samples.‎ ‎(Keywords: Flipped Classroom, Summarization Skills, Special Education Department)‎

Can we and should we use artificial intelligence for formative assessment in science?

Journal of Research in Science TeachingEarly View COMMENT Can we and should we use artificial intelligence for formative assessment in science? Tingting Li, Corresponding Author Tingting Li [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-5692-2042 Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA CREATE for STEM Institute, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA Correspondence Tingting Li, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorEmily Reigh, Emily Reigh orcid.org/0000-0003-0922-3537 Berkeley School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, California, USASearch for more papers by this authorPeng He, Peng He orcid.org/0000-0002-2877-0117 Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA CREATE for STEM Institute, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USASearch for more papers by this authorEmily Adah Miller, Emily Adah Miller orcid.org/0000-0003-3473-5729 Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USASearch for more papers by this author Tingting Li, Corresponding Author Tingting Li [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-5692-2042 Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA CREATE for STEM Institute, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA Correspondence Tingting Li, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorEmily Reigh, Emily Reigh orcid.org/0000-0003-0922-3537 Berkeley School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, California, USASearch for more papers by this authorPeng He, Peng He orcid.org/0000-0002-2877-0117 Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA CREATE for STEM Institute, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USASearch for more papers by this authorEmily Adah Miller, Emily Adah Miller orcid.org/0000-0003-3473-5729 Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 10 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21867 All authors have made equal and significant contributions to this paper. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation