A case study on the process of developing Individualized Education Programs (IEP)

The aim of the study is to reveal the opinions of special education teachers and academicians about the IEP development process and the courses given about IEP in the pre-service period, to examine the process that special education teachers follow in the IEP development process and the quality of IEPs developed by special education teachers. For this purpose, the study was carried out according to the holistic single case study model, which is one of the qualitative research approaches. The case studied was determined as the IEP development process. The study was carried out in the province of Isparta in the 2021-2022 academic year, and 10 teachers and 4 academicians participated in the study. The study group was determined by the criterion sampling type, which is one of the purposeful sampling methods. In order to find answers to the research questions of the study, data collection methods such as semi-structured interview, observation and document analysis were used. Interview form, observation form and "IEP Quality Assesment Scale (IEPQAS)" were used in the study. The data obtained through interview and observation were examined through content analysis, and descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of the data obtained through document analysis. In line with the data obtained in the research, the following conclusions were reached: As a result of the interviews with the academicians, it was found that the teachers had deficiencies in the field of IEP development and evaluation, the lack treatment in the courses in the undergraduate programs related to the quality of IEP in practice and school environments, the different course contents in each university, and the lack of resources in the evaluation of students with special needs. As a result of the interviews with the special education teachers, it was stated that they needed pre-service and in-service training in writing qualified purposes, they only used observation forms in performance acquisition, they communicated with the stakeholders during the IEP development process, but they wanted to stay away from the process regarding the participation of the family in the IEP development process and information flow. It has been also found that the theoretical knowledge they obtained in the courses they took in the first semester should be transformed into practice and that they could not put this knowledge into practice in the first years of their profession. With the data obtained through observation, it has been concluded that the teacher basically follows the important steps in the IEP development process, but is mostly alone in the IEP development process, which is a team work, takes the decisions about the student directly, and the family is not involved in the process to a large extent. Finally, when IEPQAS scores are examined, it has been concluded that there are errors in the purpose statements in IEPs, there are limitations in including criteria and conditions, instructional processes are not included in IEP, and IEP quality is generally low. The results obtained were discussed in line with the literature and suggestions were presented.