Determining the experiences of school counselors working in special education schools

This study aims to determine the experiences and needs of school counselors working in special education public schools and offer suggestions on how to support preservice counselors who will work in the field. Ten school counselors participated in the research conducted with a phenomenological pattern. Data obtained by semi-structured interviews were analyzed by content analysis in the NVivo 10 program. In-depth analysis of the data has been carried out under the headings: (a) reasons why counselors prefer to work at a special education school; (b) responsibilities of a school counselor at a school for special education; (C) school counselors’ opinions about working at a special education school; (d) challenges school counselors face while working at a special education school; (e) their opinions regarding the contribution of graduate education to working in special education; and (f) their recommendations. The most important finding of this study is that school counselors feel inadequate in terms of knowledge and practice in the field of special education. Participating school counselors justify the shortcomings by pointing out the inadequacy of the number of courses offered on individuals with special needs in undergraduate education and the content that is only theoretical in nature. Another important finding is the lack of resources to receive support for subjects where school counselors feel inadequate. The findings were supported and discussed with reference to the relevant research in the field. This study also offers suggestions as to eliminate shortcomings concerning knowledge and practice that school counselors in special education schools face through an increase in the efficiency of the undergraduate courses on special education and inclusive classrooms, in addition to recommendations as to what can be done to satisfy the current needs in the special education schools.