Educating Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students During COVID-19: What Parents Need to Know

Students with Special Needs in Digital Classrooms during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey

“…Along with all these, the most important problem unraveled by the findings is the inefficiency of educational practices for students with special needs. Unfortunately, many similar findings were found in terms of the education of students with special needs during the pandemic (Grayer et al, 2020;Kritzer & Smith, 2020;Weale, 2020). Similarly, within situational reports and the results of studies, many children are reported not to carry out distance education properly because they are deprived of computer or Internet access due to financial insufficiencies in the world (Andrew et al, 2020;Fishbane & Tomer, 2020;Onyema et al, 2020).…”

“…Besides the adaptations, the findings of the research revealed that support education services, which are integral for the success of students with special needs, were not offered by school teachers at all during the pandemic. Similarly, it was stated that very few students with special needs received support or most of them were not supported at all during the COVID-19 pandemic process (Kritzer & Smith, 2020;Weale, 2020). Moreover, the latest statistical data reports that there were 2505 special education and rehabilitation centers that offer educational support services outside schools in Turkey (MONE, 2019) during 2018 and 2019 academic year.…”

“…In this study, it was found out that only one student was provided with distance special education support by a private education institution, and others did not receive any support from anywhere. Similarly, in the world, it is stated that many students with special needs cannot benefit from special education and related support services during the COVID-19 pandemic process (Grayer et al, 2020;Kritzer & Smith, 2020;Weale, 2020). Considering that the students in question continue their distance education at home without cooperation between families and teachers, teacher guidance and follow-up, and support education services, it can be said that the education of these students has been ignored during this process.…”

“…The families had to try carrying out their children's education at home without the support of any specialist or institution. It was determined that families felt forgotten together with their children during this process (Kritzer & Smith, 2020;Weale, 2020). Lack of interaction between students and teachers affects learning process negatively and a significant learning gap occurs due to the prolongation of this process (World Bank, 2020b).…”

“…In addition to accessibility of distance education, collaboration between families and teachers has also become more important so that students can benefit from the process during this period (Cai & Wang, 2020;Kritzer & Smith, 2020;Mustafa, 2020;Zheng, 2020). Families are important guides in the development of their children.…”