Experience of Parents on the Virtual Education Process of Primary School Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Education

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic seen around the world, most of countries have decided to conduct their education activities virtually. This situation affected parents and children in different ways depending on the socio-economic and socio-demographic structure of families in each country. This research aims to investigate deeply the experiences of parents of children with special needs attending inclusive education in Türkiye and the problems of parents and the solutions for the problems in the virtual education process at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is a qualitative research and the data were collected in-person in 2021 via an individual semi-structured interview and analyzed with content analysis. The results showed that parents with better socio-economic levels had positive experiences in providing appropriate education for their children, while others had many problems in the process. In particular, parents' expectations from teachers are cooperation and communication, and follow-up and guidance regarding their children. The results showed that even though COVID-19 is over, the earthquake in 2023 and other possible health problems in Türkiye show that the subject of virtual education should be discussed in detail and the necessary education action plans should be prepared for disasters for individuals with special needs.