Examination of the opinions of science teachers and schooladministrators working at secondary schools on scienceeducation of students with visually disability

Science teachers have an important role in finding a place for themselves in the society they live in, gaining the knowledge, skills and understanding they need, and forming their personalities. Science education also offers students the opportunity to understand the natural world, develop scientific thinking skills, and adapt to technology advances. However, the difficulties faced by visually impaired students in the science education process is an important issue that attracts the attention of teachers and school administrators. In this context, it is aimed to examine the views of science teachers and school administrators working in secondary schools for the visually impaired on science education of students with visual impairment. For this purpose, a total of 14 science teachers and 10 school administrators working in secondary schools for the visually impaired were reached and their views on the problems faced by students with visual impairments during the science education process and their solutions were evaluated. The research was designed according to the case study. In this context, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with content analysis. As a result, it has been determined that students with visual impairment have difficulties in abstract and visual subjects, the duration of the course is not enough and the teaching materials are insufficient. In addition, it was concluded that in the central exams, they had descriptive problems caused by the reader, the students were socialized with out-of-school education, the education of newly appointed teachers to the visually impaired secondary school was insufficient, and the experimental materials in the laboratory were not suitable for the inadequacy of the students. For this reason, it has been suggested that the content of the science courses should be simplified, the readers assigned in the exams should be trained, teaching materials for many senses should be developed, and the teaching environment should be created by taking into account the inadequacy level of the students.