ARE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS READY FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION? SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES AND NEEDS DURING THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Bu arastirmanin amaci ozel eǧitim oǧretmenlerinin pandemi surecindeki uzaktan eǧitimle ilgili deneyimleri ve ihtiyaclarinin belirlenmesidir. Calismada betimsel arastirma yontemlerinden tarama modeli ve elverisli ornekleme tekniǧi kullanilmistir. Katilimcilar, 2019-2020 eǧitim ve oǧretim yilinda gorev yapan, Izmir ilinden 191 ozel eǧitim oǧretmenidir. Veri toplama araci olarak arastirmacilar tarafindan gelistirilen Ozel Eǧitim Oǧretmeni Ihtiyac Analizi Formu kullanilmistir. Verilerin analizinde Orange ve SPSS programlari kullanilmistir. Bulgular yuzde ve frekans seklinde tablolastirilarak sunulmustur. Calismanin sonuclarina gore oǧretmenlerin hemen hepsi teknoloji okuryazari olduklarini belirtmislerdir. Oǧretmenlerin neredeyse hicbiri uzaktan eǧitim konusunda eǧitim almamistir. Oǧretmenlerin coǧu odevler, BEP (bireysellestirilmis eǧitim plani), bilgisayar/web destekli materyaller, eǧitsel mobil uygulamalar, basili materyaller, eǧitsel video uygulamalarindan en az birini gelistirmistir. Oǧretmenlerin sadece dortte biri canli ders yapmistir. Oǧretmenlerin cevrimici eǧitimde coǧunlukla kismen donut verebildiǧi ve kismen etkilesim saǧlayabildiǧi, kismen bireysellestirme saǧladiǧi, meslektaslariyla kismen isbirliǧi yaptiǧi gorulmustur. Oǧretmenler bu ortamda kendilerine destek olacak e-mentor olsa hazir hissedeceklerini belirtmislerdir. Ayrica en fazla karsilasilan gucluk oǧrencilerin teknoloji kullanimidir. Bulgular, oǧretmenlerin oǧrencilerin bireysel ihtiyaclarini dikkate alarak oǧretim yapmasi, sik geri bildirim vermesi, aile ile iletisimi guclu tutmasi ve uzaktan eǧitim konusunda oǧretmenlerin hizmet ici eǧitim almasi gerektiǧini gostermektedir.Alternate abstract:This study was conducted to determine the experiences and needs of special education teachers regarding distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Screening model and convenient sampling technique were used. Participants were 191 active special education teachers from Izmir, Turkey in the academic year of 2019-2020. Special Education Teacher Needs Analysis Form developed by the researchers was used as data collection tool. Orange and SPSS programs were used for analyzing. Results indicate that most of the teachers stated they are technology literate and few had been trained in distance education. Most of them have developed at least one of the homework, IEP (individualized education plan), computer/web supported materials, educational mobile applications, materials, educational video applications. Only a quarter of teachers taught live lessons. They mostly provide feedback and interact partially, individualize lessons partially, cooperate with their colleagues partially in distance education. They stated that if there was an e-mentor to support them in this environment, they would feel ready. Moreover, the most encountered difficulty is their students' use of technology. These findings indicate that teachers should customize for individual students' needs, provide frequent feedback, keep the teacher family communication strong and receive in-service training on distance education.