Basak Baglama

An Overview of Arts Education and Reflections on Special Education

ABSTRACT Importance and necessity of arts education is commonly emphasized and its positive outcomes on students are revealed. Teachers are expected to have necessary knowledge and skills in planning and implementing art activities effectively. In addition to the crucial role of arts education in general education settings, it has various implications and benefits in special education as well. It is commonly believed that arts education improves many skills of individuals with special needs and it has both complementary and therapeutic roles in special education settings. The present study aims to provide a comprehensive overview on arts education and its reflections in special education. In order to achieve this aim, document analysis was used in the study. Findings are discussed with relevant literature and recommendations for further research and practices are presented.

Opinions of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Towards Special Education Support and Services

Abstract Providing necessary support and services to children with autism spectrum disorder is very importantfor their development. Recently, family involvement in special education services is being emphasized. Therefore, it is important to learn about the opinions of families of children with autism spectrum disorder towards specialeducation support and services, and this study aims to investigate the opinions of mothers of children with autismspectrum disorder towards special education support and services. This is a qualitative study, and a semi-structuredinterview method was used in order to collect the data. According to the results, mothers indicated that specialeducation support and services are not sufficient for their children and families. The results were discussed in detailwith reference to previous literature. Finally, implications and recommendations for further research were alsoprovided in order to improve the quality of education policies, programs and practices for mothers of children withautism spectrum disorder.