TEACHERS OPINIONS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULUM OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS

Dr.Hasan Gürgür
Mustafa Kemal University
Dr.Gönül Akçamete
Ankara University
Dr.Sezgin Vuran
Anadolu University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the opinions of the teachers about implementation of regular elementary school curriculum to the children with hearing impairments. Semi – structured interviews with 9 teachers who works at the school for children with hearing impairments were used in this qualitative study. The interview data were inductively analyzed and themes were formed. The results showed that teachers stated that the regular elementary school curriculum does not meet the needs of children’s and it should be individualized to meet educational needs of children’s performances. The teachers stated that they had difficulties to implement the regular elementary school curriculum. The major difficulties expressed by the teachers were the lack of educational materials and insufficient knowledge of administrators about special education. It was found that the teachers had different expectations from their colleagues, families, administrators, universities and the ministry of education. Moreover, teachers were given several suggestions to apply effective implementation of the elementary school curriculum. One of the most striking suggestions was that there should be at least one professional who had training, knowledge, and experience and can effectively guide the implementation of the regular elementary school curriculum at the special education schools.

Keywords

Hearing impaired children, curriculum, teachers’ opinions, and qualitative study.