TENDENCIES OF THESES PREPARED FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the general trends of graduate theses on students with special needs in the field of social studies education in Turkey. Case study, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the study. In the study, a total of 36 theses, 26 master's theses and 10 doctoral theses, were examined in the field of social studies education on the National Thesis Center of Higher Education. The 36 theses, all of which were open to access, were analyzed by content analysis method. As a result of the content analysis, it was seen that researchers in the field of social studies education mostly studied social studies teaching to students with special abilities/giftedness and inclusion education in terms of social studies; and least studied social studies teaching to students with visual impairment and learning disabilities. While it was found that the year in which the theses prepared for students with special needs were studied the most was 2022, it was concluded that the tendency towards this subject gradually increased as of 2020. It is seen that theses prepared for students with special needs in the field of social studies education are predominantly studied at Gazi, Akdeniz and Istanbul Universities. In addition, it is another finding obtained in the research that qualitative method is used the most and mixed method is used the least in these theses.