Teachers' opinions on the difficulties encountered in the education of hearing impaired students: The example of Van province

This research aims to reveal the views of teachers on the difficulties encountered in the education of hearing impaired students in Van province. The phenomenological design was preferred in the research based on the qualitative research method. The study group of the research consists of 30 special education teachers working in hearing impaired schools in Van province. The research data were collected with the semi-structured interview technique. The research data were analyzed and presented based on the descriptive analysis technique. It was found in the research that teachers experienced difficulties due to their ineffective communication with hearing impaired students, limited educational materials, and unsuitable classroom environments for hearing impaired students. The research has reached conclusions such as the basic difficulties encountered in the education of hearing impaired students, the qualifications of teachers working with hearing impaired students, difficulties arising from communication, difficulties arising from inadequate educational materials and family participation. In addition, the research has suggested that comprehensive training should be provided to teachers on sign language and special education methods, that special materials should be increased in the education of hearing impaired students and that access to these materials should be facilitated, and that more visual and tactile arrangements should be included in classroom environments.