Examining the game teaching in special education teacher training in Turkey and European Union Member States

Abstract

Game is an activity in which children voluntarily take part in, which helps them imagine something, has general rules for motivating, is entertaining, active and an important tool in learning. The aim of this study is to examine the courses regarding teaching games which is found in Teacher Education Program for intellectual disability, visual impairment, hearing-impaired, multiple disabilities, gifted and talented education at the department of special education in terms of their contents and credits. In the descriptive research method with regard to identifying the existing situation, the information concerning the variables of the European Union member states and Turkey have been reached from the sources called Agencies of the European Union, Eurydice-Network on Education Systems and Policies in Europe. The findings have been obtained by means of examining the courses in Special Education Teacher Training undergraduate programs stated in the reports of National Education System Descriptions that each country published. Many courses in relation to teaching games are obligatory in most of the European Union member states (Czech Republic, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Sweden, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, and Greece), and the contents of these courses have been determined according to the age of children that the preservice teachers will work with and the variety of disabilities. In Teacher Education Program for intellectual disability, and visual impairment in Turkey, while the courses of “Physical Education and Teaching Games” are theoretically available, any course regarding games and teaching games have not been found in  Teacher Education Program for Hearing Impairment undergraduate  program

Keywords:  Special education, teacher training program, game teaching