Problems and needs of the parents of children with hearing loss attending inclusive education

In recent years, inclusion practices in Turkey indicate quality of being an important instructional phenomenon related to both general education and special education. As a result of this, it is supported that it is necessary for students with special needs to have equal education opportunity like their peers and it is obviously seen that such kinds of education practices are rising. In this way it is expressed that students with special needs are provided equal education like their hearing peers and they will be succcesful in these educational settings and it will be easier to adapt to the society with the experiences they obtain. For this reason, in the world and Turkey instead of special education programme, inclusion practices are seen to get popular in the field of the education of children with hearing loss. It is known that both parents and their children have some problems about inclusion practices. In this way, the aim of this research is to determine the problems and needs of parents of children with hearing loss attending elementary school in Eskişehir in terms of inclusion. In this context, to eliminate the disadvantages, it is planned to use the method of qualitative data acquisition and quantitive data collection tools together. In this research semi structured interview was used because it provides close examination and the data were analyzed with content analysis. As a result, six main themes were found regarding the problems and needs of parents. These are respectively the meaning of inclusion for parents, problems during the inclusion practices, positive aspects of inclusion, factors affecting the success of inclusion, the needs of parents, expectations and offers of the parents. Additionally, 35 sub-themes were found in total. The data were used both to determine needs, problems and as a survey form created after the semi structured interviews. The survey form KESGEB-İK "İşitme Kayıplı Çocuğu Kaynaştırmaya Devam Eden Ebeveynlerin Sorunları ve Gereksinimlerini Belirleme Anketi" was applied to 52 out of 59 parents who have children with hearing loss attending inclusion programme in Eskişehir, Turkey. Quantitative descriptive analysis was applied to the survey results and the results were given with qualitative findings. Therefore a larger sample could be reached and qualitative data supported quantitative data. In the current study's findings, it was seen that parents of children with hearing loss attending inclusion had various problems and needs regarding inclusion. For instance, parents have expressed that they have many problems with teachers and about the lack of support services. Moreover, the parents have also expressed that they need to be informed about their rights and their children's education. Finally they pointed out to their expectations from the government, school administration and teachers. They made suggestions related to how to cope with the problems and to the parents who have children with and without special needs. In conclusion, it can be said that it is inevitable for The Ministry of National Education of Turkey Republic to make regulations which provide support services for both parents and students attending inclusion. Keywords: Special education, Inclusion, Children with hearing loss, Education of the hearing impaired, The problems and needs of parents.