Teachers' views on peer education in mentally handicapped children

This research was carried out with the aim of determining the opinions of teachers about peer education in mentally handicapped children. For the purpose of the study, 30 teachers working in Bingöl city center and Genç district center were included in the research and interviews were conducted. In this study, which is a qualitative research, fact science pattern was used. In order to obtain the appropriate data for the purpose of the research, the interview method was chosen and semi-structured interview technique, one of the interview techniques, was used. The interviews were made with both voice recording and note taking. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis technique. The data were analyzed with the participation of 2 special education teachers and 1 faculty member, and themes were determined. According to the results of the study, both special education teachers and classroom teachers who have inclusive students in their classrooms stated that peer education was significantly effective on literacy and social skills of mentally disabled children in terms of observation and imitation, cooperation and modeling. In addition, some teachers expressed their opinions about the absence of some basic cognitive skills in individuals with intellectual disabilities, the level of individual readiness of the individual, the fact that the individual feels more inadequate with the formation of a competitive environment and the fact that literacy skills are difficult and complex cognitive skills.