Investigating Special Education Teachers Perspectives and Recommendations on Privacy Education for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

This study aims to determine the opinions and recommendations of special education teachers regarding the privacy education of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Privacy education is a critical component for these individuals to ensure their physical safety, maintain social boundaries, and protect themselves against abuse. The research was designed as a descriptive phenomenological study, an approach particularly suited to exploring teachers' lived experiences and the meanings they attribute to those experiences. The study group consisted of 27 special education teachers working in public special education schools, special education and rehabilitation centers, and guidance research centers in a single metropolitan province in western Türkiye. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings revealed that teachers generally define privacy through concepts of secrecy and personal space. A majority of participants further reported that, in the absence of structured privacy instruction, they observed socially unintegrated behaviors associated with sexual development in their students. While the importance of early education was emphasized, teachers reported challenges organized around four dimensions: family-related factors, school-related factors, sociocultural factors, and teacher-related factors. The results suggest that privacy education should be systematically integrated into the special education curriculum and supported by family involvement. It is recommended that comprehensive in-service training programs be developed for teachers and awareness-raising programs for parents to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and classroom practice.