Knowledge and opinions of special education teachers on the use of music therapy in the education of children with special needs

In this thesis, the knowledge and opinions of special education teachers on the use of music therapy in the education of children with special needs were investigated. The knowledge and opinions of special education teachers about music therapy were examined using the phenomenological design technique, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The data of the study were obtained using the in-depth interview technique. The study was conducted with 31 special education teachers who volunteered to participate from special education schools in the central districts of Mersin province, including Akdeniz, Mezitli, Toroslar, and Yenişehir, in the 2021-2022 academic year. The data obtained in this study were grouped into 3 main and 16 sub-themes. The main themes of the research were formed by the answers given to the questions "What are the knowledge and opinions of special education teachers about music and music therapy?" "What are the opinions of special education teachers about the effects of music and music therapy on students with special needs?" and "What are the experience and motivation levels of special education teachers regarding music and music therapy?". In-depth interviews revealed that special education teachers did not have the desired level of knowledge about music therapy. However, they also expressed opinions that were supportive of the use of music and music therapy in the education of children with special needs, as they believe that it would positively affect education. As a result of the research, it was recommended that in-service training on music and music therapy be planned for special education teachers