TEACHERS’ AND PARENTS’ OPINIONS ON SCHOOL PRINCIPALS’ ROLES IN PROVIDING THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

In this study, it was aimed to determine the opinions of teachers and parents about the roles of school principals in providing the right to education to children with special needs. The target population of the study, which was designed according to the descriptive sequential pattern of mixed method patterns, was 12318 teachers working in public primary schools and special education schools (first stage) in Ankara in the 2016-2017 academic year. There were 490 teachers in the sample which was determined by stratified sampling method. In the study group of the research, there are 12 parents who live in Ankara and whose children with special needs attend inclusive classes, special education classes and special education schools. At the quantitative phase of research, “The Scale of School Principals’ Roles In Providing The Right To Education For Children With Special Needs”, developed by researcher, was applied. The quantitative data were analyzed according to the arithmetic mean and standard deviation values of the participants' views. In the analysis of qualitative data, interviews with parents were subjected to content analysis. According to the results of the research, principals have basic knowledge about the conceptual framework of special/inclusive education in terms of teacher and parent views. While the school principals are also knowledgeable about the special education legislation, they are not efficient in implementing it and in this context especially parents are faced with problems. Considering the results of skills in the field of special education/inclusive education management, it was concluded that teachers considered school principals more efficient in terms of managerial skills in the dimension of supporting special/inclusive education program compared to the dimension of organizing special/inclusive education program. In this study, it had also been demonstrated by the parents’ views that the school principals had some managerial skills in supporting the students with special needs and conducting educational programs for them. However, the opinions of parents who have children in special education schools, in inclusive classes and in special education classes differ in terms of these managerial skills.

Keywords

the right to education, children with special needs, school principals