Fine arts high school music teachers' opinions on instrumental lessons with inclusion students

Fine arts high schools are secondary education institutions that provide education in painting and music. These institutions, which provide professional music education, admit students through a special talent exam. In recent years, in line with the new regulations, different arrangements are needed for these students in the education and training process carried out in these institutions where students with special needs are accepted as mainstreaming students. Instrument lessons, which constitute the backbone of the music department courses, are at the forefront of these arrangements. It is thought that instrument lesson teachers, who are the implementers of this need for regulation in instrument lessons, face some difficulties in these lessons. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to obtain the opinions of instrument teachers working in the music department of fine arts high schools about the process of teaching the course within the scope of instrument lessons carried out with inclusive students. In this direction, it was aimed to determine the opinions of fine arts high school music teachers about the readiness of the teachers for the lesson, situations related to inclusive students, environment and materials, application process, measurement and evaluation, and distance education process within the scope of instrument lessons with inclusive students. The study group of the research consists of 18 music teachers working in 3 official state fine arts high schools in Ankara province- Ankara Fine Arts High School (Çankaya), Ankara Mimar Sinan Fine Arts High School (Mamak), Ankara Itrî Fine Arts High School (Sincan) in the first and second semesters of the 2021-2022 academic year and conducting instrumental education with inclusive students. Qualitative method was preferred in the study and semi-structured interview technique was used as one of the interview technique types. The data obtained through a semi-structured interview form consisting of 7 questions prepared by the researchers were analyzed by content analysis method. According to the results of the study, it was determined that music teachers did not take special education courses in pre-vocational education processes, did not receive in-service trainings, and did not have readiness for instrumental lessons with mainstreaming students. It was determined that teachers had difficulty in preparing and implementing IEPs for mainstreaming students. It was concluded that in-service training programs should be developed by experts to support the musical development of mainstreaming students and to overcome their lack of knowledge and experience in this regard. Likewise, it has been determined that there is a need for studies that can be done to prepare and disseminate resources and materials for the needs of students with special needs in music and instrument education. Keywords: Special education, individuals with special needs, inclusion, music education, instrument education.