Special education teacher - parent collaboration in the education of children with special needs between the ages of 7-11: The Elazığ province example

This study examined the collaboration between special education teachers and parents, the problems experienced during this collaboration process, and the strategies used by both parties to cope with these problems. In this study, which was employed a qualitative research design, interviews were conducted with five special education teachers and ten parents of children with special needs between the ages of 7-11. Four questions prepared for the interviews were asked to both teachers and parents. The interviews lasted an average of 20 minutes. The findings obtained as a result of the analysis of the obtained data were examined under four headings: Expectations of special education teachers and parents from each other, collaboration situations, problems encountered during the collaboration process, and strategies to cope with these problems. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that although the common point of both teachers and parents was the development of their children, they had different expectations. Teachers stated that the collaboration prevented the expected results due to problems such as parents not providing the necessary support, not knowing their children sufficiently, and not continuing communication. Parents stated that ineffectiveness of cooperation, the teacher's character, and teachers' lack of innovativeness. It was determined that in order to overcome issues encountered teachers constantly remind parents what needs to be done through online communication tools, send sample videos to parents, and request that home activities be recorded and sent to them. However, the majority of parents stated that they solved the problem by changing schools. In the last part of the study, recommendations for future research are discussed.