The General Directorate of Special Education and Guidance Services, the Ministry of National Education (MEB), and the Turkish National Academic Network and Information Center (ULAKBİM), TÜBİTAK, have prepared curricula for students with special educational needs. During the introductory meeting for the special curricula, Celil Güngör, General Director of Special Education and Guidance Services, stated that they had prepared curricula for students with special needs as a result of 2 years’ work and thanked all those who had contributed. Referring to how important it was to implement the curricula, “From now on, we need to follow up the implementation of curricula, and to train teachers on and make them more sensitive about the issue,” said Güngör. Güngör said special education teachers are open to innovation and he did not think they would have any difficulty implementing the curricula. He indicated the curricula would change the level and quality of the education and training in the special education schools and said these schools had also renewed their materials for special education.
Mirat Satoğlu, Manager of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM, mentioned how important it was to offer qualified, appropriate and accessible educational services in the domain of special education. Satoğlu said they had worked to improve the training materials for the curricula and received support from academics in terms of individual differences and needs during the process of curriculum improvement.
Curricula developed by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM introduced
During the meeting, a total of 34 curricula, development of which had been coordinated by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM and which had involved 45 academics and 43 teachers, all experts in the field, were presented: 2 for early childhood (0 to 36 months) and preschool (37 to 78 months), 29 for students with moderate to severe mental disability or autism spectrum disorder, and 3 for visually impaired children. The curricula developed for early childhood and preschool comprise cognitive development, receptive language development, expressive language development, development of gross and fine motor skills, social and emotional development, and development of adaptive skills. The curricula developed for students with moderate to severe mental disability or autism spectrum disorder include courses of mathematics, life sciences, daily life skills, independent living skills, visual arts and hand skills, music and games, communication and social skills, nutrition, health and safety, and reading & writing. The curricula developed for visually impaired children cover physical training and sports.