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International Journal of Developmental Disabilities logoLink to International Journal of Developmental Disabilities
. 2021 May 7;69(2):340–349. doi: 10.1080/20473869.2021.1922242

Exploring Turkish parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons of their children with mild intellectual disability amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Derya Yarımkaya 1,✉, Ufuk Töman 2
PMCID: PMC10071894  PMID: 37025341

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore Turkish parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons of their children with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: This study used the phenomenological qualitative research design. Participants in this study were 16 parents, who have children with mild intellectual disability and participated in one-on-one semi-structured phone calls. Interview data were thematically analyzed.

Result: Five overarching themes were found: (1) parents’ general experiences on online science lessons, (2) advantages of online science lessons, (3) disadvantages of online science lessons, (4) barriers in online science lessons, and (5) parents’ recommendations for online science lessons.

Conclusion: The results revealed that the majority of parents agreed on the school closure policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were not satisfied with the online science lessons, and focused on the disadvantages of online science lessons for their children with mild intellectual disability.

Keywords: COVID-19, intellectual disability, online science lessons, parents

Introduction

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus has become one of the world’s most important agendas. With the spread of the disease worldwide in a short time and increasing mortality rates, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on 11 March 2020 that COVID-19 disease has turned into a pandemic (WHO 2020). Various protective measures were taken by governments to combat the pandemic, such as quarantining cities, declaring a curfew, closing parks and sports grounds, canceling travel and closing schools (Yarımkaya and Esentürk 2020a). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported on 18 March 2020 that schools were closed in nearly 200 countries due to the pandemic (UNESCO 2020a). Worldwide, the lives of at least 1.5 billion students and their families have been significantly affected by school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments have begun organizing lessons largely online to keep students studying (UNESCO 2020b). Although the closure of schools in order to limit students’ exposure to the virus contributed to students staying at home around the world, this situation brought some difficulties for students with disabilities such as intellectual disability and their families (Yarımkaya and Esentürk 2020b). As special education schools closed in many countries, students with intellectual disabilities could not access the intensive and practical assistance required for their education (Kohli and Writer 2020).

Turkey was among the countries that interrupted education due to the pandemic. On 12 March 2020, the Turkish government closed the general education schools as well as special education schools. But disability care and rehabilitation centers remained opened for students with profound and multiple disabilities. Turkish Ministry of National Education (2020) announced that online education will be started through the Education and Informatics Network, a social learning platform where resources for students can be shared and teachers can teach synchronized lessons. There are different types of schools and rehabilitation centers for students with intellectual disabilities in the Turkish education system: (1) special education schools where only students with disabilities are educated, (2) special education classes in general education schools where students with disabilities are educated separately, (3) inclusive classes in general education schools where students with disabilities and typically developing students are educated together in the same class, (4) disability care and rehabilitation centers where there are individuals with profound and multiple disabilities, and (5) special education and rehabilitation centers providing supportive education for students with disabilities. All schools in Turkey continued online education from March 2020 to June 2020, except for students with profound and multiple disabilities, for which online education is not an option. Special education and rehabilitation centers reopened in June 2020, and other schools reopened in October 2020. However, due to the increasing number of cases, all schools except disability care and rehabilitation centers closed again in November 2020. While students with intellectual disabilities became virtual school students during the period when schools closed, parents began to take more responsibility than before the pandemic to facilitate their children’s learning.

Intellectual disability is defined as significant limitations in both mental functions and adaptive behaviors expressed as conceptual, social and practical adaptation skills (American Psychiatric Association 2013). Children with intellectual disabilities are a heterogeneous group and are divided into four groups according to the level of disability. These are mild intellectual disability (50–55 to 70 IQ), moderate intellectual disability (30–35 to 50–55 IQ), severe intellectual disability (20–25 to 35–40 IQ), and profound intellectual disability (under 20–25 IQ) (WHO 2018). In this study, researchers have addressed the mild intellectual disability. The characteristics of children with mild intellectual disability include that they can be trained in certain skills despite the long duration (Göransson et al. 2020). Children with mild intellectual disability have difficulty in transferring what they have learned in one situation to another situation and learning abstract issues (Chen 2017). These limitations cause children with mild intellectual disability to have more difficulty in learning lessons that include abstract topics such as science lesson, compared to their typically developing peers (Stavroussi et al. 2010).

The difficulty of children with mild intellectual disability in science education is closely related not only to their limitations, but also to curricula that are not planned for their needs, teaching methods and teacher competencies. Children with mild intellectual disability can learn certain skills if appropriate educational opportunities are given (Bevan-Brown 2013). For this reason, it is extremely important to plan teaching activities by taking into account the characteristics of these children in science lessons and to use evidence-based practices (Özgüç and Cavkaytar 2016). In order for children with mild intellectual disability to learn more easily, individual science education plans are prepared in science lessons in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders (teachers, parents and children). In addition, the science education of these children is supported by practices such as direct teaching (Çıkılı-Soylu 2019), concept maps (Yıkmış and Varol Özçakır 2019), scripted lessons (Jimenez et al. 2014), graphic organizers (Knight et al. 2013), and inquiry-based task analysis (Courtade et al. 2010). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the science education carried out in line with the aforementioned plans and methods has been interrupted. Although governments have rapidly moved the entire educational process to online, this rapid change has raised questions about the extent to which students with mild intellectual disability benefit from online science lessons and what barriers they face. A timely understanding of how online science lessons are implemented for students with mild intellectual disability is critical to developing more effective online science education for these students amid COVID-19 pandemic and other crises.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have mainly examined the online learning experiences of typically developing students (Abuhammad 2020; Dong et al. 2020; Garbe et al. 2020; Kim 2020; Lau and Lee 2020; Rasmitadila et al. 2020). To the best of our knowledge, the online science lesson experiences of students with mild intellectual disability, the relevant barriers and the needed support have not yet been studied. The current study examines the mentioned literature gap by using the sample of Turkish parents. It is predicted that the outcomes of this study, which focuses on the parents’ lived experiences of students with mild intellectual disability in the context of Turkey, will contribute to the stakeholders (e.g. parents, teachers, researchers, etc.) on how to provide these students with more effective online science education. We chose the phenomenological approach that focuses specifically on participants’ common experiences in order to answer the research questions. This approach helped parents talk on a common phenomena and provide more information for the online science lessons of children with mild intellectual disability. To summarize, the purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons of children with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, the current study sought answers to the following research questions:

  1. What are parents’ thoughts about school closures and online science lessons?

  2. What are positive and negative opinions of parents about online science lessons of their children with mild intellectual disability?

  3. What do parents think about the problems their children with mild intellectual disability face in accessing online science lessons?

  4. What are parents’ recommendations for a more effective online science lesson?

Method

Study design

This study used the phenomenological qualitative research design to examine Turkish parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons their children with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic. A phenomenological study aims to explore the common characteristics of individuals’ experiences with a phenomenon or concept (Creswell 2014). This approach provides rich data to help researchers understand the participants’ experiences in detail (Smith et al. 2009). Our interviews with parents carried out on the basis of phenomenology enabled us to explore the phenomenon of ‘Turkish parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons of their children with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic’.

Participants

Participants consisted of 16 parents (12 mothers, 4 fathers) residing in Ankara, Turkey and having children with mild intellectual disability. Children with mild intellectual disability of the parents participating in the study receive education in inclusive classes in general education schools with their typically developing peers. In addition, children with mild intellectual disability attend supportive education in special education and rehabilitation centers 2 days a week. At the time of data collection, inclusive classes and special education and rehabilitation centers where children with mild intellectual disability receive education were closed. All lessons of children with mild intellectual disability, including science lessons, started to be given online.

The sampling technique we used to selecting participants was a combination of criterion sampling and maximum variation sampling. Criterion sampling method, one of the purposive sampling methods, was used in determining the parents. Criterion sampling model includes the selection of the participants according to the pre-determined criteria in line with the purpose of the research (Merriam and Tisdell 2015). The criteria in the study were determined as follows: (a) accepting to participate in the study voluntarily, (b) having a child with mild intellectual disability between the ages of 12 and 14, and (c) accepting to conduct interviews on the phone. We used a maximum variation sampling as well as criteria sampling to maximize the diversity of participants’ age, location, socioeconomic background and educational attainment. We especially included the parents who live in different settlements (rural and urban) to elicit a full range of experience.

Students with the most common disabilities in inclusive classes in Turkey are students with mild intellectual disability between the ages of 12 and 14. For this reason, the parents having children with mild intellectual disability were selected as the sample group. Support was received from the directors of two special education and rehabilitation centers in order to determine the parents in line with the criteria. The primary researcher talked to the parents on the phone with the help of the directors of the special education and rehabilitation centers and explained the purpose of the study and the participation process. Then, consent forms were sent via email to the parents who volunteered to participate in the study, and the times for phone calls were determined with the parents. Parents who participated in the study were between the ages of 38–62 and their children with mild intellectual disability were between the ages of 12–14 (see Table 1 for participant characteristics). Pseudonyms were used in the study to protect identities of parents and children. Parents’ names listed as P1, P2, P3, etc.

Table 1.

Participant characteristics.

Parents
 Children
 Number of people in household
Pseudonyms Gender Age Education Settlement Perceived income Gender Age Diagnosis Additional Comorbidities Adult Children
P1 Male 58 High School Rural Low Male 12 MID LD 4 2
P2 Female 49 University Urban High Female 14 MID N 2 2
P3 Female 57 Primary School Rural Middle Male 12 MID SD 2 3
P4 Female 54 University Urban High Female 14 MID N 1 1
P5 Female 62 High School Urban Low Male 12 MID LD 2 4
P6 Female 56 University Urban High Female 12 MID LD 4 2
P7 Male 39 Secondary School Urban Low Male 12 MID PD 2 3
P8 Female 53 University Urban High Male 14 MID ADHD 2 1
P9 Female 47 Secondary School Rural Middle Female 12 MID LD 4 3
P10 Female 56 Secondary School Rural Middle Male 13 MID LD 3 3
P11 Female 53 High School Urban Middle Female 14 MID N 1 2
P12 Female 49 Secondary School Rural Low Female 12 MID LD 4 3
P13 Male 48 Secondary School Urban Low Male 12 MID N 2 2
P14 Male 38 High School Rural Middle Male 13 MID N 4 3
P15 Female 59 High School Urban Middle Male 13 MID LD 2 3
P16 Female 47 Primary School Rural Middle Female 13 MID PD 2 4
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MID: Mild Intellectual Disability; ADHD: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; N: None; SD: Speech Delay; LD: Learning Disability; PD: Physical Disability.

Instruments and procedure

Data were collected with two tools: personal information form and semi-structured interviews. Personal information form was used to obtain demographic characteristics (gender, age, perceived income level, diagnosis, and educational status) about parents and their children with mild intellectual disability. With a semi-structured interview form, parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons of their children with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated. Expert opinions were taken while preparing the interview questions. The questions were created with the help of three academicians (one Professor, two Associate Professors) who are experts in science teaching and qualitative studies for children with intellectual disability. Then, a pilot study was conducted with a parent with a child with mild intellectual disability to examine the clarity of the interview questions. Parents who participated in the pilot study were not included in the study sample. The interview questions were finalized according to the feedback from the academicians and the parents in the pilot study. Interviews started after consent forms were received from the parents. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the primary researcher interviewed the parents over the phone. The interviews lasted an average of 35 min, from 25 to 55 min, and were recorded for content analysis. Interview questions included: (a) What are your general thoughts on the closure of schools and the online education model? (b) What are the positive aspects of online science lessons for your child? (c) What are the negative aspects of online science lessons for your child? (d) What can you say when you compare face-to-face science education with online science lessons? (e) Do you encounter any problems in accessing online science lessons? (f) What would you recommend for online science lessons to be more effective?

Analysis

Analysis of the interviews was carried out by two researchers using both inductive and deductive coding (Mayring 2014). During the analysis process, the audio recordings were transformed into writing by the researchers and the data were read repeatedly and reviewed. Then, the researchers started the analysis with an inductive approach. Thus, the data were coded without being bound to a code scheme or analytical bias of the researcher (Thomas 2003). The researchers analyzed and coded all data independently. The researchers discussed the codes until consensus was reached. Themes and sub-themes were determined by evaluating the importance of the codes and their relationship with each other. In order to ensure consistency between the theme and sub-themes, the researchers repeatedly examined the analyses. After applying the inductive approach, the analysis process continued with a deductive approach. The themes and data determined in line with the aims of the study were matched (Teddlie and Tashakkori 2009). For the whole analysis process, the opinions of two academicians (two doctoral-level lecturers) who are experts in the field of qualitative study were consulted. Researchers and academicians discussed themes and sub-themes. Based on this discussion, the analyses were refined. In line with expert opinions, 5 main themes and 13 sub-themes were created. For the validity and reliability of the analysis process, first, the data converted into written text were submitted to the control of the parents. Second, the data were coded independently by researchers and academicians, and the codes and the themes represented by the codes were compared. In order to ensure the reliability of the data, the formula of Miles and Huberman (1994) (Consensus/(Consensus + Dissensus)×100) was calculated. The consensus between researchers and academicians was calculated as 92%. The points of consensus were discussed by researchers and academicians, and consensus was reached. In addition, detailed parental opinions were included in the obtained themes and sub-themes without the intervention of the researcher.

Results

The analysis of data collected to explore the parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons of children with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic reveals five overarching themes: (1) parents’ general experiences on online science lessons, (2) advantages of online science lessons, (3) disadvantages of online science lessons, (4) barriers in online science lessons, and (5) parents’ recommendations for online science lessons. The first theme (parents’ general experiences on online science lessons) includes the sub-themes of supporting the decision to close schools and dissatisfaction with online lessons. The second theme (advantages of online science lessons) contains the sub-themes of cost-effective and the ability to use technology. The third theme (disadvantages of online science lessons) includes the sub-themes of lack of teacher support, lack of practices, decline in academic achievement and lack of motivation. The fourth theme (barriers in online science lessons) contains the sub-themes of infrastructure problems and multiple students at home. The fifth theme (parents’ recommendations for online science lessons) includes the sub-themes of individual science education, asynchronous lessons, and resource support (see Table 2).

Table 2.

Summaries of themes and sub-themes.

Overarching themes Sub-themes Frequency Percentages
Parents' general experiences on online science lessons Supporting the decision to close schools 14 87.5
Dissatisfaction with online lessons 13 81.25
Advantages of online science lessons Cost-effective 11 68.75
The ability to use technology 7 43.75
Disadvantages of online science lessons Lack of teacher support 16 100
Lack of practice 14 87.5
Decline in academic achievement 14 87.5
Lack of motivation 12 75
Barriers in online science lessons Infrastructure problems 15 93.75
Multiple students at home 6 38.5
Parents' recommendations for online science lessons Individual science lessons 16 100
Asynchronous lessons 13 81.25
Resource support 10 62.5
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Parents’ general experiences on online science lessons

The majority of parents participating in the study stated that they participated in the policy of closing schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although parents supported the decision to close the school, it was determined that they were not satisfied with the online science lessons model. Almost all of the parents stated that they were not satisfied with the online science lessons model.

Supporting the decision to close schools

In the interviews with the parents, it was determined that the majority of the parents were worried about the increasing case and death rates and therefore supported the policy of closing schools. Some parents stated that they were afraid of going out on the streets other than daily shopping. Parents who did not support the decision to close the schools stated that they lived in a rural settlement, there were few or no cases in their places, and therefore they did not agree with the decision to close the schools. Parents’ opinions on this issue are as follows:

‘I fully support the closure of schools. We see from the news that the number of patients and the number of deaths started to increase. The pandemic is getting worse every day. I am very worried about the coronavirus; I do not go out except for my emergency work’. – P1

‘I do not agree with this decision. There were no cases seen here. Now, I think it does not make sense that the education of the children here is interrupted. So unless there is a case, I think the state should continue education where there is no case’. – P7

Dissatisfaction with online lessons

Almost all of the parents stated that online education may be suitable for some of the other lessons, but it is not an adequate method for science education. According to parents, online science lessons are very insufficient for creating the learning atmosphere and making the arrangements needed by children with mild intellectual disability. An opinion expressed by P10 and summarizing this issue is shown below:

‘Online education started, of course, the state did not have much to do. But I don’t think online education is suitable for lessons like science. My son was having a hard time understanding the science lesson before the pandemic. His teacher was very supportive for my son to learn the subjects. But now there is no interaction, there is no classroom environment. I don’t know how it will continue like this. We are not very satisfied with online education, my son started to have more difficulty understanding science lesson’. – P10

Advantages of online science lessons

The parents did not express a positive opinion about the advantages of online science lessons, except for the cost-effective and development of technology use skills. As explained in Theme 3, it was determined that parents generally focus on the negative aspects of online science lessons. Parents stated that online science lessons are a cost-effective model for families with internet and computers at home. In addition, the skills required to participate in online science lessons, according to parents, have improved the ability of children with mild intellectual disability to use technology.

Cost-effective

Most of the parents stated that the costs of their children with mild intellectual disability during face-to-face education decreased with the transition to the online science lessons. It was found that parents especially stated that their children with mild intellectual disability had a decrease in their expenses such as food, clothing, and school bus. P4’s opinions on this issue are as follows:

‘I cannot think of many positive aspects for online science lessons. But for those who have computers and internet at home like us, only pre-pandemic costs may have been reduced. If we look at this aspect, it may have a positive side. In other words, especially for us, food, school bus and clothing costs at school have decreased.’ – P4

The ability to use technology

Parents stated that their children with mild intellectual disability had difficulty in connecting to online lessons in the early days when schools were closed, but learned the online education system in the future. According to the parents, the technological skills required to use online education have increased the skills of their children with mild intellectual disability in using technology: An opinion that supports this issue is presented below:

‘In the beginning, when online education started, my daughter had a hard time getting connected to live lessons. System disconnected continuously. We had a hard time like where to connect to the lesson. However, my daughter has improved herself in this technology. Now she can quickly connect to her live lessons not only from the computer but also from the phone. So I cannot say that this online education is bad in every aspect. It contributed to my daughter’s technological skills’ – P12

Disadvantages of online science lessons

It was determined that the majority of the parents participating in the study focused on the disadvantages of online science lessons for their children with mild intellectual disability. According to the parents, online education is not a sufficient model for science education, which is a practice-based lesson. Parents stated that their children with intellectual mild disability, who need more practice and explanation for their learning, did not benefit enough from online science lessons based on information expression. Parents stated that their children had a lack of motivation because they had difficulty understanding science subjects in online education and they did not want to listen to the lesson. According to the parents, before the pandemic, teachers took care of their children personally in face-to-face trainings, constantly communicated and supported their children. However, it was determined that parents stated that one-to-one education was not provided during online lessons, and therefore their children with intellectual mild disability experienced a decline in science achievement.

Lack of teacher support

According to parents, teachers prepared individual science education plans for the science education of children with mild intellectual disability before the pandemic, sometimes they did individual studies and supported children with mild intellectual disability. However, parents stated that the individual support of teachers in online science lessons decreased, so online science lessons was a disadvantageous model for teacher support. A parental opinion on this issue is as follows:

‘I think losing teacher support is the most important disadvantage of online education. Before the pandemic, our science teacher was very supportive of my son in face-to-face education. He had created an individual plan and even had a meeting with our teacher on this subject. He also spared time for him in the classroom, explaining things my son did not understand. However, this does not happen much in online education. Most of the time cameras are turned off, lesson time is shortened’. – P5

Lack of practice

According to parents, science education is a practice-based lesson and these practices are not practiced in online education. Parents stated that children with mild intellectual disability need more practice to learn science. Parents stated that only narrative-based online science lessons had a negative effect on their children’s learning about science subjects. A parental opinion reported by P13 and supporting this issue is shown below:

‘I see the most important disadvantage of online education for science lesson as the lack of practice and experimentation. When we were students, we used to do experiments in science lesson. Before the pandemic, my son was also talking about experiments and practices in science lesson. This way, my son could better understand science subjects. However, these practices cannot be made in online education. So I think this situation is an important deficiency’. – P13

Decline in academic achievement

Parents stated that online science lesson has a negative effect on the academic success of their children with mild intellectual disability. According to the parents, children with mild intellectual disability have difficulty understanding science subjects with online education, so the science achievement of their children with mild intellectual disability have decreased compared to before the pandemic. P8’s opinion on this issue is as follows:

‘We saw the negativity of online education in science success. My son is more unsuccessful in science class than before the pandemic. My son normally had difficulties with science subjects, but now he has much more difficulties. He doesn’t understand and therefore doesn’t even want to solve questions’. – P8

Lack of motivation

Parents stated that their children with mild intellectual disability were not interested in online science lessons and could not be motivated to the lesson. According to parents, children with mild intellectual disability have difficulty learning science subjects without one-to-one teacher support, so they do not want to listen to the lesson. An opinion expressed by P11 and supporting this issue is presented below:

‘Soon after online education started, my son became indifferent to science class. I think this is a negative effect of online education. Because I watched him a little bit, and I saw that my son had trouble understanding the lesson. Of course, there is no teacher support in online education like at school. When he does not get support, he cannot understand the subjects and cannot be motivated to the lesson’. – P11

Barriers in online science lessons

According to parents, children with mild intellectual disability sometimes face barriers to accessing online science lessons. Parents stated that these barriers were multiple students at home and infrastructure problems.

Infrastructure problems

Parents sometimes stated that their children with mild intellectual disability could not participate in online science lessons due to barriers like infrastructure problems such as electricity and internet outages. According to the parents, sometimes children with mild intellectual disability have problems in participating in online science lessons due to problems in the EBA system or internet quality. A parental opinion on this issue is presented below:

‘Yes, we sometimes encounter problems in accessing online education. The electricity goes out, the internet can be cut. Sometimes the internet quality is low or there may be problems in the online education system. If her father and I are at home, my daughter tries to connect from the phone, but if we are not at home, the lessons are interrupted’. – P3

Multiple students at home

Some of the parents stated that they had other children participating in online lessons in addition to their children with mild intellectual disability at home. Sometimes the lessons of all the children in the house coincide with the same moment and there is no technological device that will allow every child to participate in online education. In this case, the parents stated that their children attended lessons in turn, so their children with mild intellectual disability could sometimes not participate in online science lessons. An opinion expressed by the P6 and supporting this issue is as follows:

‘In the beginning, there was a problem when there was only one computer and one phone in online education. We have three children and they are all school age. They were taking turns attending their lessons. Using a computer and a telephone, our two children were attending the lessons. Then we bought another tablet and tried to fix the problem’. – P6

Parents’ recommendations for online science lessons

Some recommendations for online science lessons for children with mild intellectual disability were presented in interviews with parents. Within the scope of this theme, various recommendations have emerged under three sub-themes: individual science education, asynchronous lessons and resource support.

Individual science education

According to parents, teachers’ individual support in online science lessons has decreased. In addition to the lessons with the whole class, the parents suggested that one-to-one online science lessons should be given by teachers for children with mild intellectual disability to better understand science subjects. A parental opinion on this issue is shown below:

‘My suggestion is to give my son individual science lessons as before the pandemic. Before the pandemic, we were taking support lessons from our science teacher. Unfortunately, these processes ended suddenly with the pandemic. When my son and other children receive the same education, he does not fully understand the science subjects. If our teacher gives online science lesson individually, I think my son will understand the subjects better’. – P14

Asynchronous lessons

Parents stated that children with mild intellectual disability sometimes cannot attend live lessons for various reasons. According to the parents, their children with mild intellectual disability find it difficult to fully understand the subject, even if they attend live lessons. For this reason, parents think that sending the recordings of live lessons to them is important in terms of lesson review. An opinion expressed by P2 and supporting this issue is as follows:

‘I can make the following suggestion on this issue. Live lessons, I think, should be recorded. These records should be shared with parents. My son can watch these recordings and review the lesson. With a single lesson, my son is having difficulty with science subjects. Sometimes we cannot attend live lessons. In this way, we can review the lessons we miss and do not understand’. – P2

Resource support

According to parents, teachers send additional resources to all children through the online education system. However, these resources are often not suitable for children with mild intellectual disability. Parents stated that their children with mild intellectual disability need resources such as questions and worksheets in accordance with their developmental characteristics. A parental opinion on this issue is presented below:

‘Our teachers send questions and activities on science subjects to all children via EBA. However, my son has difficulty doing these. I think questions and activities can be organized for children with intellectual disability in science subjects. And these resources can be shared with parents’. – P9

Discussion

As the first exploration of Turkish parents’ lived experiences on online science lessons of their children with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic, this study has provided descriptive information for better online science learning. The findings of the study showed that although almost all parents supported the decision to close schools due to COVID-19, they were not satisfied with online science lessons. Parents thought that online science lessons lacked a learning environment that could appeal to children with mild intellectual disability, and that this situation negatively affected their children’s success in science. These negative beliefs and attitudes may be related to parents’ high expectations for online learning. In line with previous studies that examine parental opinions of typically developing children’s online lessons (Abuhammad 2020; Dong et al. 2020; Garbe et al. 2020; Lau and Lee 2020), parents likely expected more support and communication for their children’s online science education compared to face-to-face training while staying at home. They were not satisfied with online science education because they thought that this support and communication was not provided.

Parents’ expectations for online science lessons were particularly focused on teacher support. They stated that before the pandemic, teachers took care of their children with mild intellectual disability and individual arrangements were made in science lessons for their children. However, parents said they did not receive this support in online science lessons. According to the parents, children with mild intellectual disability had difficulty learning science subjects without individual teacher support and therefore did not want to listen to the lesson. As parents said, if teacher support in online science lessons has decreased, this may be related to the sudden transition to online education. In the first weeks of the pandemic, it is likely that teachers do not have the skills to design online courses suitable for the developmental characteristics of children with mild intellectual disability. Previous studies are in this direction, and suggested that with the sudden transition to online education, teachers find it difficult to plan teaching and explain procedures (Hawkins 2020; Lau and Lee 2020; Rasmitadila et al. 2020). The Turkish Ministry of National Education provided teachers with some informative guides and videos on how to use the online course system and how to have an effective online education. However, it is difficult to understand the impact of these informative activities on teachers as there are no teachers in the current study.

Although the parents generally focused on the negative aspects of online science lessons and expressed opinions in this direction, they stated that online science lessons were a cost-effective method. According to Fedynich (2014), online learning is a cost-effective learning model. Online learning can provide cost-effective learning opportunities as it reduces travel and other costs required to attend face-to-face lessons (Yilmaz 2019). Probably, the majority of parents participating in the research thought that online science lessons was a cost-effective method because they had an internet, computer or smartphone in their home. However, online lessons may cause additional costs (internet, computer or smart phone) for students and families with financial impossibility (Hager 2012; Roberts and Hannum 2018).

Parents stated that their children with mild intellectual disability sometimes encountered barriers to accessing online science lessons. According to parents, infrastructure problems such as occasional electricity-internet outages, internet quality and problems in the online learning system limited the participation of children with mild intellectual disability to online science lessons. Similarly, previous studies (Abuhammad, 2020; Garbe et al. 2020; Lau and Lee 2020; Rasmitadila et al. 2020; Sikirit, 2020) revealed that the most important obstacle for students during online education is internet access and electronic devices. Unfortunately, internet outages, which are also common in traditional education settings, have increased even more during the pandemic and have started to negatively affect learning (Abuhammad 2020; Garbe et al. 2020). For successful online lessons, it is important to provide students with mild intellectual disability uninterrupted and reliable online lessons. Internet usage, which increased with the sudden transition to online learning, may have expanded the inconsistencies in internet speed and quality. In addition, the online learning system, which was used by a small number of students before the pandemic, may have slowed from time to time due to the use of many students at the same time.

Parents offered some solutions for a better online science lesson for their children with mild intellectual disability. Given the complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recommendations made by parents for online science lessons are notable. First, parents suggested that students with mild intellectual disability should be given one-to-one online science lessons by teachers to better understand science subjects. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, children with mild intellectual disability were provided with individual support training depending on the request of the teacher in addition to their normal education in general education schools. This application, called the support education room in the Turkish education system, helped students with mild intellectual disability learn science subjects. However, we understand from parents’ opinions that individual support training is not provided in the online course system. Second, parents asked recordings of online lessons to be sent to them so that they could review the science topics that students with mild intellectual disability did not understand during online lessons. Thirdly, parents stated that they needed resources such as questions and worksheets suitable for the developmental characteristics of their children with mild intellectual disability. Considering the need for additional resources in the online education process of all students, the Turkish Ministry of National Education sent resources such as lecturing books, question solution books, etc. to schools. However, parents think that these resources are not suitable for the developmental characteristics of students with mild intellectual disability.

In conclusion, it was found that the majority of the parents participating in the study agreed on the school closure policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were not satisfied with the online science lessons. It was determined that parents were worried about the science achievement of their children with mild intellectual disability and needed support in this process. As intellectual disability researchers, we must consider the lived experiences and recommendations of parents, who are one of the major stakeholders in the education process of children with mild intellectual disability, for online science lessons. To this end, we can assist policymakers and education professionals with future science education plans for a better science education.

Limitations

Parents participating in the study were the parents of children with mild intellectual disability predominantly between the ages of 12 and 14. In addition, the majority of the parents participating in the study were mothers. Therefore, study findings may not be representative of all children with mild intellectual disability. To examine the different opinions on online science lessons of children with mild intellectual disability, children with mild intellectual disability in a wider age range and their fathers should be included in the study. Since the study aims to examine the immediate effects of the pandemic on science education, the sample size is limited to the parents who can be reached. In future studies, the long-term effect of the pandemic on the science education of children with mild intellectual disability can be investigated with a larger sample group. Teachers’ experiences were not examined in the study. This situation prevented the detailed examination of parents’ opinions on teacher practices. For this reason, in future studies, teachers’ experiences for online science lesson of students with mild intellectual disability can be addressed.

Implications for practice and future research

Our findings, which revealed that children with mild intellectual disability experience academic decline and lack of motivation in online science lessons, showed that students with mild intellectual disability in online science lessons needed support. Considering that the parents in the study focused on one-to-one lessons, teachers should organize individual additional lessons for students with mild intellectual disability in addition to the whole classroom science lesson. Also, live lesson recordings can be shared with parents, and additional resources (questions, worksheets, activities, etc.) suitable for students with mild intellectual disability can be sent to the parents. Moreover, Ministries of National Education should provide continuous support to teachers in using technology and designing and monitoring online learning (Alrefaie et al. 2020). Especially, teachers should be trained to design science materials that can be used by students with mild intellectual disability. More research is needed to reach more comprehensive findings on online science lessons of students with mild intellectual disability amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Acknowledgements

We want to thank the parents and children participating in the study. Our gratitude goes also to all the administrators of special education and rehabilitation centers we have met. Thank you for your trust, openness, and collaboration.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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