School counselors’ views about the individualized educational program practices

The purpose of this research is to analyze elementary school counselors’ views about the individualized educational program. This is a descriptive research that based on a survey and interviews. A questionnaire consists of 18 questions about the implementation of individualized education programs were administered to 45 school counselors from different districts of Istanbul. According to research findings, school counselors found themselves inadequate for the individualized education program applications. They also noted that teachers’ knowledge about inclusive education process was inadequate and the number of supporting staff was insufficient. Moreover, the booklet suggested by The Ministry of Education for the individualized education program does not provide valid and appropriate information for the teachers. Therefore, the learning environment in the schools and support services for individualized educational program should be improved for better implementation.