Abstract:

Introduction: Special education counseling is seen as one of the effective support education services presented to prevent the learning and behavioral problems of students with special needs. This research aims to determine the opinions of teachers who have student with special needs in their class on special education counseling. Method: Semi-structured interview technique was used within the scope of basic qualitative research design. The participants of the research consisted of a total of 7 teachers who teach in the preschool, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades and have student with special education needs. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis method. Findings: Findings showed that teachers experienced different problems in their classrooms and needed special education counseling to solve these problems. Discussion: As a result of the analysis of the data, the findings were examined within the scope of the research questions and examined under the headings of general classroom environment, classroom problems, problem solving methods of teachers, and needs and expectations for special education counseling. Topics such as preparing an individual education plan (IEP), dealing with behavioral problems, needing external help to solve the problems they encounter, thinking that they have insufficient knowledge and practical skills about inclusion practice were seen as the most frequently mentioned areas by teachers. Research findings showed that teachers experienced different problems in their classrooms and needed special education counseling to solve these problems. Conclusion: Within the scope of these research findings, it is emphasized that special education specialist support and cooperation should be provided for the successful continuation of inclusion practices.

Keywords: