Special Education Teaching

Program Summary

Special Education Undergraduate Program’s main objective is to bring up qualified teachers who can educate individuals with special needs in becoming self-sufficient and autonomous persons in their daily lives.


Graduates of this program are expected to know and apply different instructional techniques and methods, provide support services for individuals with special needs and their families, and work cooperatively with individuals from different professions.


Furthermore, they will be able to act sensitively to the field’s problems, work according to the ethical rules of their profession, have the knowledge and skills corresponding to the requirements of the current information age, and possess all the qualifications appropriate to their field and profession.

General Information


Beginning from 2016-2017 academic year, Higher Education Council in Turkey (YÖK) made a decision to unify all programs of teaching children with special needs under a single department called “Special Education Teacher Education Program”. According to this regulation, graduates of the Special Education undergraduate program will be appointed as Special Education teachers.

Special Education Undergraduate Program is flexible enough to offer specialisation in different branches. Students enrolled in the program will have common courses during the first two years of the program. Starting from the third year, in addition to the common courses, they will have elective


courses according to their interests and preferences. Students have to take at least one elective course from the fields of intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, special learning difficulties, gifted and talented children, hearing and visual impairments.


Moreover, they have to take at least seven elective courses from the field they want to specialize in. By this way, students will improve themselves in different areas of special education (e.g. intellectual disability, hearing impairment, visual impairment, autism, gifted and talented children, etc.) and this will enable them to differentiate instruction for individuals with different special needs.

Students are assessed based on assignments, one midterm and one final exam. They are also engaged in teamwork projects which aim to develop their research and problem solving skills.


In addition to observation in special education institutions in their fourth semester, students will have school experience in special education and general education schools during their last academic year.


This institutional experience will enable students to practice the knowledge and skills they have gained. Thus, they will be involved in the activities taking place in these institutions to professionally develop themselves.


They are also required to submit a portfolio about their practices conducted under the supervision of a lecturer and a special education