Evaluation of the Special Education Course Curriculum According to the Opinions of Teacher Candidates: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Changes are made in education programs from time to time to perform the teaching profession more efficiently. In this context, special education courses have become taught in all teaching branches. Our research is important in that it can be a source for program development studies on the goals, content, process, and evaluation dimensions of the special education course curriculum and the development of in-service training programs within the scope of special education. In this research, it is aimed to examine the special education course curriculum according to the opinions of teacher candidates and to reveal the performance and functionality of the goals, content, process and evaluation elements of the curriculum in providing the necessary professional knowledge and competencies, and to provide a source for program development studies in the field of special education. The conduct of the research was inspired by the goal-based program evaluation model and the Stufflebeam context, input-process and product model. This research, which was conducted using a qualitative method, was conducted at a university with a faculty of education in Northern Cyprus in the 2023-2024 academic year. With the maximum diversity sampling method, 56 teacher candidates from various branches voluntarily participated in the research. The data were analyzed by applying content analysis. Research findings are reported under 4 main themes: goals, content, process and evaluation. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the special education course curriculum under the theme of goals increased the communication skills, classroom management skills, and knowledge and skills of preparing individualized education programs of the teacher candidates, that the acquired knowledge and skills could be applied in real school environments, and that positive attitude changes occurred in the teacher candidates towards the course. In the content theme, it is stated that the content achieves the goals, but the subjects that need to be applied are missing, internships and observations are wanted to be carried out in real schools within the scope of special education course, and face-to-face applications are requested to be increased; In the process theme, it is stated that the lesson hours should be longer, the lessons should be face-to-face education rather than distance education, and the use of materials should be increased; In the evaluation theme, results were obtained that teachers candidates' thoughts about performance evaluation practice were more dominant.