DIGITAL LIBRARY
ART EDUCATION AND PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF TEACHING ART IN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS IN TURKEY AND THE UK
University of Reading (UNITED KINGDOM)
About this paper:
Appears in: ICERI2013 Proceedings
Publication year: 2013
Pages: 3112-3117
ISBN: 978-84-616-3847-5
ISSN: 2340-1095
Conference name: 6th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation
Dates: 18-20 November, 2013
Location: Seville, Spain
Abstract:
The study reports on policies and practices of inclusion within art education in two countries, UK and Turkey. In spite of its long history in the legislation, inclusive education fully started to be put into practice after 2000s and it still struggles to fit in the mainstream schools. Moreover its main aim to supply an ‘education for all’ still remains unfulfilled in various ways such as adequate teacher training, curriculum planning and school environment in Turkey. There is still a debate about the topic in the UK as well. In addition to this, although the contribution of art education seemed to be valued, position of art education has been marginalised from the curriculum in both countries in recent years. Therefore this research intends to explore the position of art education from the perspectives of art teachers, head teachers and Special Educational Needs Coordinator’s (SENCO’s) in the UK and Education Counsellor Teachers (ECT) in Turkey.

This study aims at revealing key school staffs’ perceptions on the effects of art education on students with special educational needs (SEN) and reflections on art teachers’ own practices in art classes. Exploring teachers’ perceptions will help to compare the two countries’ educational practices. Underlining the differences and similarities between the opinions of teachers, head teachers and SENCOs is essential in order to create a more efficient and more inclusive model of art education since the main aim of inclusion is to supply equal education opportunities for students from different backgrounds and abilities. Understanding art teachers’ role in the education systems and how they perceive teaching art in inclusive classrooms will enable schools and governments in these two countries to adopt the positive aspects of inclusion as reported by the teachers themselves in the study. Methodologically the research will be based on the constructivist ontology and an interpretivist approach to the findings will be used. The data will be collected using qualitative questionnaires, semi structured interviews, and observations will be utilised in order to access head teachers, SENCO’s/ECT’s and Art teachers’ perceptions. Finally, a discussion on expected results in relation to implications for educational practice will be attempted.
Keywords:
Inclusive Education, Art Education, Inlcusion, SEN.