Abstract:

It is critical to determine whether there have been any advances or regressions in the social skills of kids requiring special education as a result of distant education programs, and to make any necessary changes and precautions. In this study, it is aimed to determine the effects of distance education applications in the COVID-19 process on the social skill development of students who require special education, according to the opinions of special education teachers. The study is a phenomenological study, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The study group of the research consists of 20 teachers working in public primary schools affiliated to the TRNC Ministry of National Education and Culture in the 2021-2022 academic years. The study group of the research was determined by convenience sampling. There were 12 questions in total, 5 questions containing demographic information in the first part, and 7 questions containing teachers' opinions on distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic period in the second part. The data were analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. As a result of the analysis, 7 themes and 26 sub-themes emerged. According to the results obtained, it is seen that special education practices are partially effective in the development of social skills during the distance education process carried out during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Although distance education is not fully effective in the development of social skills, it has been stated that it is possible to develop them. It has been concluded that especially with the participation of the family and the cooperation of the teacher-family, social skills development can be contributed. The majority of the teachers in the research group reported that they lacked the technology to connect to distance education such as tablets and computers, and that the insufficient internet infrastructure is an important deficiencies in distance education. In addition, it was stated that the difficulty in communicating with the family, the inability to include the family in the distance education process, and the lack of practice in social skills training are also important shortcomings. While it is thought that adequate cooperation with the family will support the development of social skills, it is stated that it is important for school administrators to support teachers and plan systematically, and for parents to support students.

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