982297

research-article2021
RSQXXX10.1177/8756870520982297Rural Special Education QuarterlyTekin-Iftar et al.

Special Series COVID-19

Rural Special Education Quarterly

A Tale of Two Countries:

2021, Vol. 40(2) 85­–94
© Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
An International Perspective on sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/8756870520982297
https://doi.org/10.1177/8756870520982297

Non-Traditional Special Education journals.sagepub.com/home/rsq

Elif Tekin-Iftar, PhD1, Bree A. Jimenez, PhD2,3 ,

and Hatice Deniz Degirmenci, PhD1

Abstract
A global perspective of education, special education, rural communities, and non-traditional instruction is provided for
two countries. Both Turkey and Australia have responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic in similar yet, different
ways. Through the tale of two countries navigating the rapid response to school closure for students with disabilities, we
all can gain understanding from examining strategies used by national, state, and local governments; school systems; and
support agencies. From these strategies, we can determine effective and efficient models moving forward that support all
students (e.g., students with mental health and medical needs) through non-traditional education during natural disasters,
pandemics, or unexpected events

Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, rural special education, non-traditional education, students with disabilities

From the beginning of 2020, the world has been dramati- schools by implementing social distancing and requiring
cally influenced by COVID-19, a novel infectious virus individuals to wear face masks as well as decreasing class-
causing severe acute respiratory syndrome. The first room sizes. Others have decided not to physically open
COVID-19 reports came from Wuhan, China, in late schools for the rest of the 2020 calendar year (i.e., virtual
December 2019 (World Health Organization [WHO], education only). One recent news story from the Associated
2020a). Since March 11, 2020, the spread of the virus has Press reported that upon reopening of schools in France, 70
been officially termed a pandemic. COVID-19 spreads cases of COVID-19 had been linked to schools (Cole,
human to human by small air droplets or direct contact 2020). This illustrates the challenges being faced as schools
(Wang & Du, 2020). Therefore, businesses and other public attempt to return to face-to-face instruction. In addition,
and private places where people come together were closed meeting the challenges of educating students with disabili-
temporarily across many countries. In addition, numerous ties and fulfilling their individualized education programs
countries closed their borders for travel. As of mid-August has become a major issue worldwide.
2020, at the time this article was written, there are over Providing continuous services to meet the unique and
20,000,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the world often complex learning needs of students with disabilities is
(WHO, 2020b). extremely important. With global school closures, there has
been discontinuity in the special education and related ser-
vices of many students, causing hardships within family
International Education support systems, such as trying to work while students are
The COVID-19 outbreak created a major educational crisis at home. Locked down and away from services, students
all over the world, as most governments temporarily closed also have lost opportunities for social interaction with peers,
their educational institutions to in-person learning to pre-
vent spread of the virus. Both nationwide and localized 1
Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey
school closures across countries have affected 70% of the 2
University of Texas at Arlington, USA
world’s student population (United Nations Educational, 3
The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2020). At the time of
Corresponding Author:
the writing of this article, with ever changing medical and Elif Tekin-Iftar, Research Institute for the Handicapped, Anadolu
government guidance, several countries have now begun to University, Eskisehir 26470, Turkey.
reopen their schools. Some countries have partly opened Email: eltekin@anadolu.edu.tr
86 Rural Special Education Quarterly 40(2)

increasing their risk of losing acquired skills that were not Turkey.html) and partly in Europe on the Balkan Peninsula.
yet maintained and generalized (e.g., school routines, com- Due to its unique location, it has acted as a bridge between
munication, social skills). Unpredictable changes in stu- Western Asia and Europe located at the crossroads of the
dents’ routines and activities may have strengthened Balkans, the Caucasus region, the Middle East, and the
problem behaviors. Moreover, children with disabilities Eastern Mediterranean region. Ankara is the capital city and
might require physical therapy and other related services, Istanbul is the largest city. It is bounded on the north by the
which they could not access during the pandemic (Factor Black Sea, on the northeast by Georgia and Armenia, on the
et al., 2016; Toseeb et al., 2020). In addition to domestic east by Iran and Azerbaijan, on the southeast by Iraq and
responsibilities, many parents must work from home at the Syria, on the southwest by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the
same time they had to be the teachers, friends, and caregiv- west by the Aegean Sea. There are seven regions including
ers of their children—including their children with disabil- 81 provinces and 922 sub-provinces in the country. The west
ity—during the pandemic. Therefore, it could be easily said and southwest regions of Turkey are more developed,
that many students with disabilities and their families have whereas the east and southeast are the less developed regions
been significantly affected by the recent school closures. of Turkey. According to the 2019 census, Turkey’s popula-
Within this unique experience the world has endured tion was 83,154,997 (50.2% male, 49.8% female), which is
together comes the opportunity to review and reflect upon 1.16% of the total world population. It is the 17th largest
the interventions and practices (i.e., non-traditional educa- country among others by population. The population density
tion [NTE]) employed in various countries around the in Turkey is 110 people per square km. The total land area is
world. While NTE has existed in many forms and across 769,630 square km which is equal to 297,156 square mi. The
the globe for decades, the recent international shut-down of population in Turkey is young: the median age is 32.4 years.
schools has forced educators to act quickly. While the The country’s population is 75.7% urban (62,294,388 people
effects of these swift actions have not been evaluated, this in 2019; Turkey: Urbanization from 2009 to 2019 (2020,
article provides a chance to broaden our international scope October 8). The modern secular Turkish Republic was
by looking at two countries in particular: Turkey and founded in 1923 after collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Australia. The authors of this article were invited to pro- Turkey is a secular, unitary, formerly parliamentary republic
vide perspective on their country’s unique experiences of that adopted a presidential system in 2017. The first presiden-
NTE for students with disabilities. All authors of this arti- tial election was in 2018, and since then, a presidential repub-
cle hold PhDs in special education and have extensive lic governs the country.
experience working with students with developmental dis-
abilities. The first author holds the rank of full professor at
Education in Turkey
a local university in Central Turkey and has nearly 30 years
of experience as a researcher. The second author is an asso- The Turkish system includes two education delivery sys-
ciate professor of special education, an honorary research tems: (a) formal education from preschool to 12th grade and
associate at an Australian university, and full-time research (b) non-formal education. Formal education is defined as
consultant in an Australian school. She has more than 20 general education conducted within schools for individuals
years experience working with students with disabilities. with a certain age range at the same level with the same
Finally, the third author is working in special education at objectives. Formal education covers (a) preschool attended
the same university with the first author. She has 10 years by children 3–6 years of age, (b) primary school attended
of teaching experience with students with developmental for 4 years for children beginning at 66 months, (c) lower
disabilities. secondary school attended for 4 years by children aged sim-
This article will outline what these countries have done ilarly to U.S. middle school students, and (d) higher second-
in response to the need for rapid initiation of NTE for stu- ary school attended for 4 years by children aged similarly to
dents with disabilities, the limitations of NTE, and the les- U.S. high school students. During the 2018–2019 academic
sons learned for future directions as we continue to deal year, 18,108,860 students enrolled in the formal education
with COVID-19, as well as anticipate the possibility of system. In 2019, a total of 1,416,683 first graders began
similar situations (e.g., natural disasters, school closings) in school life in Turkey. Non-formal education covers aca-
the future. demic and vocational training, serving individuals who
have never entered into the formal education system or have
left the system due to various problems (e.g., family prob-
The Republic of Turkey’s Perspective lems, economic difficulties). Both formal and non-formal
As a transcontinental country lying in two continents, the education systems are public systems following general
Republic of Turkey has a unique geographic position. It is objectives and basic principles of national education
located predominantly in Asia (97% land mass; https://www. (Ministry of National Education Strategy Development
nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/ Presidency, 2019). Primary, lower secondary, and higher
Tekin-Iftar et al. 87

secondary schools (12 years in total) are mandatory for all only make up 2.2% of the total school population. This likely
students at no cost. However, students who complete onsite indicates many students with disabilities are not currently
primary school education in formal education can choose to being educated within the school system. Special education
attend the remaining years through distance-non-formal laws and regulations in Turkey emphasize the importance of
education. Higher education includes all the education including students with disabilities in general education set-
institutions based on higher secondary education, similar to tings. However, two main problems still need to be solved
colleges and universities in the United States. While the in providing special education services: (a) special educa-
Ministry of National Education (MoNE) is responsible for tion teacher shortage (Büyükalan-Filiz et al., 2018) and (b)
conducting and regulating preschool and kindergarten–12th the lack of knowledge and practice of general education
grades across the country, the Council of Higher Education teachers in teaching students with disabilities in general
(CoHE) is responsible for higher education. education settings (Tekin-Iftar et al., 2017). Of these stu-
Special education services are covered under formal dents, one-fourth (25.8%) are enrolled in special schools
education. They are organized and coordinated specifically and the remaining (74.2%) are enrolled in the inclusive
by the Directorate of Special Education, Guidance, and settings.
Counseling under MoNE. Under the supervision of this
Directorate, Guidance, and Research Centers (GRCs) are
responsible for the educational assessment and evaluation
Special Education Services During COVID-19
as well as placement of students with disabilities in the The first confirmed COVID-19 case in Turkey was reported
provinces. Based on the size and population of the province, on March 11, 2020. After this case was confirmed, the gov-
there is at least one GRC in each province and sometimes ernment decided to move the 1-week regular Spring Break
more than one in larger provinces. These centers are respon- earlier to be held the week of March 16, 2020. Then begin-
sible for the educational evaluation and placement of stu- ning March 23, 2020, the government closed down the
dents with disabilities. Currently, there are 242 GRCs in the schools and more than 18 billion Turkish students started to
country. receive their education in the form of NTE at home. Similar
In the education system of Turkey, depending on place- to parents and caregivers around the globe, the process of
ment decisions made by GRCs, students with disabilities providing special education services at home has sometimes
are placed in one of the three different settings: (a) general been difficult in Turkey. For example, when parents were
education classrooms in the general education schools, (b) asked the main difficulties they went through during the
special education classrooms in general education schools, school closure, a rural mother, F. Baydar (personal commu-
and (c) special schools designed for various disability types nication, May 21, 2020), of a 19-year-old son with a severe
(e.g., students with intellectual disability, students with intellectual disability from eastern Turkey indicated:
hearing impairment). Once the need for evaluation for a
child arises due to their possible disability or delay in devel- Yes, I needed teacher support, because my child wanted to be
opment, families are expected to take their children to be with his friends at school. The home environment was boring
examined by a pediatrician at a public hospital for possible for him. Social activities at school were good for him. He felt
diagnosis. If a diagnosis is given for a child, then the family much better. Without them he had a psychological problem: He
visits the GRC in their provinces/sub-provinces to be evalu- became aggressive.
ated in terms of eligibility of the child for special education
services and placement of the child to the appropriate school This sudden change in services also has provided serious
settings where they will receive services. Education is a con- challenges for teachers. A special education teacher, D.
stitutional right for all children in Turkey (Constitution of Çiçek (personal communication, May 21, 2020), with 10
Turkish Republic, 1982) and free and appropriate education years of teaching experience currently working in eastern
is secured under special education regulations (Regulation of Turkey stated,
Special Education Services, 2018). Individualized education
I prepared 2-week programs for each of my students and
programs are developed for each student in the educational
communicated with their parents every day on the phone.
settings and free and appropriate education is begun accord-
However, the parents did not show cooperation with me, and
ingly. Once students qualify for special education services when they did, they did not perform teaching activities with
and placed within the school system, they also are sup- their children. I think this is because of the mood of the
ported to receive support services from Special Education pandemic. Also, there is no suitable environment for teaching
and Rehabilitation Centers (SERC) in their hometown in the at home and the education level of the parents. I need support
form of after-school care. The government pays the fee for to implement remote teaching activities. Almost none of the
this service (12 hrs per month per child) directly to the SERC. students has necessary conditions, such as internet access or
While the number of students receiving special education computers. Their performance and developmental levels are
services in Turkey is increasing, students with disabilities different.
88 Rural Special Education Quarterly 40(2)

Responses to school closures in Turkey can be grouped activities that parents could administer with their
into two categories: (a) services provided by MoNE and (b) children at home, and other parent training videos
services provided by nonprofit organizations (e.g., founda- and modules were uploaded in the EIN web-portal
tions, associations, special education teachers organizations). and other digital platforms.
MoNE planned remote education through MoNE-developed 3. Books, activities, and support materials were
platforms both as TV broadcasting on the government’s TV uploaded as resources for parents as well as for
channel, as well as online teaching delivered via web-portals teachers under “EIN Library.”
on the Education Information Network (EIN). Prior to the 4. Daily activities (10 activities per day) aiming to
COVID-19 interruption, an earthquake in eastern Turkey teach several concepts (e.g., shape, numbers) were
occurred in January 2020 and schools were closed in that broadcast on all digital platforms for students with
region. Therefore, soon after the earthquake, a TV broad- disabilities.
casting on a government’s TV channel was used to deliver 5. An activity pool consisting of adapted teaching
exams (entrance exams) for placements to higher secondary plans and video samples for teaching core academic
schools and higher education. This experience encouraged contents (e.g., math, language arts, social studies) to
MoNE to provide courses on TV broadcasting nationwide students with disabilities in general education
during the COVID-19 related school closure. First, they schools was prepared and broadcast digitally.
planned general education courses in these two platforms 6. A mobile application “ÖzelimEgitimdeyim,” which
(web-portals at EIN and TV broadcasting) across the nation. aimed to provide support (e.g., how to teach various
Shortly after, they planned some courses guiding parents of skills such as physical activities, sorting, counting;
students with disabilities during the school closure. In gen- lesson plans for teaching students with disabilities)
eral, courses were broadcast on TV, and at the same time to all students, parents, and teachers, was developed
they were uploaded to a web-portal in EIN. The students and made available on iOS and Android.
could watch the courses on their own time and at their own 7. Sign language books were uploaded on the EIN
pace. The government has provided up to an 8-GB internet system.
quota to the families who could not afford it to be able to
access the web-portal. Although the platforms for remote Beyond the teaching practices, schools took measures to
teaching were available, teachers needed more help and ensure the cleanliness of the schools, including disinfecting
guidance during the delivery of remote teaching in the field school buildings as directed by the city and township
of special education. When asked her opinion about remote national education departments even though the students
teaching during school closure, the same special education were not present at the schools. Disinfecting processes were
teacher cited above reported, followed in cooperation with the local and national educa-
tion departments. Finally, an e-conference was arranged to
Remote teaching should be individualized, because [sic] the inform the administrators of the special education schools
TV programs are not suitable for my students with disabilities. about the hygiene and physical standards of the schools.
I sent the materials that I already have to the parents. I don’t In addition to the efforts and regulations governed by
have the means to prepare additional materials. I cannot get in MoNE, non-profit organizations also provided supports to
touch because of the pandemic. . . . Even if I manage to send
teachers and parents of students with disabilities. These
the materials to the families, they will not be used efficiently,
so I need support too. And most of all, I need technological
organizations began to deliver free online classes about
support to implement remote teaching. I cannot perform the various topics (e.g., evidence-based practices, instructional
activities efficiently. I don’t use the remote teaching platforms procedures, behavior management). The majority of these
during the pandemic, and I don’t have any experience classes were presented by university faculty members from
beforehand. I need professional support about how to explain special education departments.
the experiences we have been going through in these days to
my students and their parents.
An Australian Perspective
Regarding special education, the government started to In the past year, Australia has been hit by one disaster after
provide the following services shortly after school closure: the next, significantly impacting communities across the
entire nation. Beginning in mid-2019, communities were
1. Teaching sessions aiming to teach various target debilitated by the worse drought conditions, some say to be
skills (e.g., shapes, colors, concepts) for students recorded since European settlement. This forced some fam-
with mild to severe intellectual disabilities were ilies to sell family farms, slaughter livestock, and essen-
broadcast both on EIN-TV and on EIN web-portal. tially move and find new ways of income. Beginning in
2. Various videos sharing information about how to June 2019 and through February 2020, international head-
implement teaching procedures, video samples for lines described bushfires that swept across the entire
Tekin-Iftar et al. 89

country, burning an estimated 46 million acres, destroying students attended government schools, with the remaining
over 5,900 buildings, and killing at least 34 people. Under one-third of students educated in non-government schools
multiple states of emergency, hundreds of schools were (Department of Education, 2019).
forced to close their doors to students on and off across the
final months of the school academic year (i.e., November Rural and remote.  The concerns of Australian schools dur-
and December, 2019) for safety reasons (e.g., potential for ing the COVID-19 pandemic are not unique; rather they are
fire, smoke inhalation, road closures). echoed across the world. All nations have had to investigate
In response to the 2019–2020 bushfire crisis, the internet and information technology (IT) usage across stu-
Australian Government announced a series of targeted ini- dents, households, and their availability to resources. The
tiatives providing education and mental health support to inequities of poor and disadvantaged communities across
children, students, families, and communities. In recogni- Australia and much of the world have remained the same
tion of the vital role schools and early childhood education with many exacerbated due to even less access to food and
play in providing safe spaces for children to be in times of education, with school doors closed. School systems have
crisis, the government committed $8 million to provide had to respond with lightning speed to provide professional
mental health liaison officers to work with local schools and development to teachers and families in regard to use of
early childhood services in bushfire-affected communities, technology to support communication with students and
to build capacity and support the health of staff, students, families. Within days’ notice, many educators engaged in
and families. Supports were tailored to help meet local professional development, typically offered by their own
community needs and included specific funds for trauma- schools, on web-based video conferencing tools, operating
informed professional development for educators and other systems, and file-level storage (e.g., Google drive). Differ-
support staff. ing from some countries, Australian schools remained open
Coupled with the trauma of the past year, only 6 weeks while also trying to build teacher and family capacity to
into the Australian school year, in mid-March 2020, schools utilize these resources for those students at home.
closed their doors to most students due to COVID-19. One particular difference for Australian schools may be
However, all schools remained open to “vulnerable stu- their historical need for NTE due to an incredibly vast land-
dents” and the children of “essential workers.” Therefore, scape (see https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.
schools had to quickly act to begin providing NTE options nsf/home/remoteness+structure). Australia comprised 29%
for all students, while also remaining open to serving some of the country’s population living in rural or remote areas
students face-to-face. In addition, concerns were height- (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2017). Therefore,
ened as educators became “essential workers” required to online education and the use of technology to provide edu-
work or take personal time off. cational services is not a new delivery mode. Australia is a
unique country in that it is the sixth largest in land mass yet
its population is only composed of approximately 25 mil-
Education in Australia lion with a population density of 3.3 people per square km
The Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, (ABS, 2019), compared to the United States with 36 people
Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2017) is used nation- per square km. Australia is a sparsely populated country,
ally either in its totality or as a guidance document for state with its population heavily concentrated in a small number
curriculum development (similar to the Common Core of coastal cities and capital cities. More than 80% of
State Standards and individual state standards in the United Australia’s population live within 80 km of the coast. An
States). Schools in Australia fall broadly into two catego- Index of Remoteness is also used within Australia, linked to
ries: government schools (those operated by state or terri- the Remote, Rural, and Metropolitan Classification
tory departments) and non-government schools (those not (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2004)
operated by government department). The schools’ catego- and to Aboriginal communities. This Index of Remoteness
ries are based on self-identification of the school’s affilia- draws upon both distance to urban centers and personal dis-
tion. Non-government schools are grouped for reporting as tance: the average distance between residents. These
Catholic (including Catholic-affiliated independent schools) Australians face unique challenges due to their geographic
or independent (other non-government schools). isolation, and they often have poorer welfare and educa-
Government schools receive funding from the relevant state tional outcomes than people living in major cities (AIHW,
or territory government. Non-government schools also 2019). Therefore, specific educational government services
receive funding from the Australian Government and rele- have been developed.
vant state or territory government, but often families are
required to make a co-payment for their child’s education. School of the air. Distance education is an equity pro-
As of 2019 across primary and secondary education, gram for students across Australia who are geographically
approximately two-thirds of all kindergarten-12th grade isolated or whose individual circumstances prevent them
90 Rural Special Education Quarterly 40(2)

from regularly attending school. Schools of the Air provide Catholic, independent, private), the disability loading (fund-
for primary (Grades kindergarten-6) and early secondary ing) is provided directly in full to schools. For government
(Grades 7–10) education of children in remote and outback schools, a proportion of the disability loading is provided by
Australia. In these areas, the school-age population is too the Commonwealth to state and territory governments.
small for a conventional school to be viable. Some or all Within both the government and non-government sectors,
classes were traditionally conducted by radio until 2009, students with disabilities are served within the general edu-
although this has more recently been replaced by telephone cation classroom (67%), special education classroom (19%),
and internet technology with lessons delivered via live one- or at a special school for specific purposes (14%).
way video feeds and two-way audio. Currently, all states According to the 2017 NCCD, 724,624 Australian stu-
except Tasmania run at least one School of the Air program. dents receive educational support adjustments. Of those
Each student has direct contact with a teacher in an adjustments, a scale of support (see www.nccd.edu.au/sites/
inland town such as Broken Hill or Dubbo. A student will default/files/2018-10/Level%20of%20adjustment%20pro-
typically spend 1 hr per day receiving group or individual vided%20to%20the%20student.pdf) is used to determine
lessons from the teacher and the rest of the day working student funding and guide educational teams, with 81% of
through the assigned materials with a parent, older sibling, students with disabilities supported through the general cur-
or a hired home-stay tutor. Traditionally students would riculum, 6.2% supported within quality differentiated teach-
receive and return their written work to teachers via the ing practices, 8% supplementary, and 3% substantial. These
Royal Flying Doctor Service (i.e., a rural and remote non- four levels of supports are used to provide financial support
profit air medical service) or postal services. However, with to schools to provide the needed level of scaled support.
the addition of internet services into the outback, now Extensive supports represent students with the most exten-
school work is returned via the internet. Because most chil- sive support needs and has only recently been added to the
dren are in isolated situations, the School of the Air also NCCD guidelines.
provides a chance for socialization with children outside
their immediate family, and schools often host mini-
schools, cluster days, sports camps, and school visits
Interruptions Related to COVID-19 Pandemic
throughout the year. However, costs associated with travel, As previously noted, many of the same issues around sup-
accommodations, and food for these trips make it difficult porting students via NTE exist in Australia as elsewhere,
for some children to attend. One School of the Air may with the Australian Government ensuring that every stu-
provide services across 1.5 million square km (approxi- dent, including students with disabilities, have access to
mately 580,000 mi) educating roughly 100–125 students education in a sustainable and effective manner during the
across grade levels. COVID-19 pandemic. Advice was available for schools and
parents to ensure students continue to receive reasonable
Special education services.  Remote education also is provided adjustments (see https://www.dese.gov.au/covid-19/schools/
for students with disabilities across rural and remote dis- support-students-disability) in accordance with the Disability
tance education, with one School of the Air specifically Standards for Education 2005. These standards clarify the
designed for students with intellectual disability and autism. obligations of education providers for students with dis-
However, the vast majority of students with disabilities are abilities to access and participate in education on the same
served within government and non-government traditional basis as other students.
schools across the country. Annually, the Nationally Consis-
tent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability Vulnerable populations. Special considerations for evaluat-
(Nationally Consistent Collection of Data, 2020) collects ing who should remain at schools that were still open were
information about Australian school students who receive an put into place based upon the COVID-19 public statement
adjustment to address disability enabling schools, education issued by the Australian Government Department of Health
authorities, and governments to better understand the needs (2020): people aged 70 years and above, people aged 65
of students with disability and how they can be best sup- years and above with chronic medical conditions, people
ported at school. Adjustments are actions taken to enable a with compromised immune systems, and Aboriginal and
student with disability to access and participate in education Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 50 years with
on the same basis as other students. Adjustments can be chronic medical conditions (Advice for People Most At
made at the whole-school level, classroom level, and at an Risk; https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-
individual student level. The NCCD is used by the Austra- coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert). Due to the unique
lian Government to calculate the number and intensity of medical needs of many students with intellectual and mul-
needed supports of students with disabilities and used to cal- tiple disabilities, additional concerns remained as educators
culate funding for schools provided by the Commonwealth and students continued to attend schools during the COVID-
to states and territories. For non-government schools (e.g., 19 outbreak.
Tekin-Iftar et al. 91

In April 2020, the Australian Government commis- with declining trends. All school activities and operations
sioned reports on the impact of remote learning on vulner- were carried out in line with Australian Heath Protection
able children during the COVID-19 emergency. Clinton Principal Committee guideline (AHPPC; https://www.
(2020) specifically addressed the potential effect of the health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-
pandemic on Australian students with extensive disabili- 2019-ncov-health-alert). School students have been told
ties. According to the AIHW (2009), approximately just they do not need to follow strict adult physical distancing
under 200,000 Australian children have a severe disability, guidelines but should follow good hygiene practices such as
with the highest number of students coming from low- regularly washing hands, avoiding sharing drinks or food,
income households (29%) and the lowest number of stu- and coughing or sneezing into the elbow or a tissue which
dents coming from high-income households (7%). should be discarded immediately. However, in late July of
Children with severe disabilities commonly face chal- 2020, numbers in Australia began to rise again, with
lenges such as intensified dependence on caregivers, lim- Victorian schools across the state returning to remote learn-
ited mobilities, and heightened sensory stimulation ing while on-site supervision was offered for students who
associated with emergencies and disasters (Balbus & needed it. As of the writing of this article, these schools
Malina, 2009). In addition, Clinton noted that children returned to in-person learning in October 2020 with phased
with learning disabilities and emotional disorders are re-entry and permitted off-site education of vulnerable
often impacted by trauma as a consequence of the lack of students.
access to education. Therefore, the author called for
increased attention to teacher training related to trauma-
informed teacher practice.
NTE Reflections and Lessons Learned
Although Australia and Turkey have fundamental differ-
Boarding schools. With more than 25,000 Australian stu- ences (i.e., government, population density, education sys-
dents attending boarding schools across the country, the tems), they shared some similarities in response to the
closure of schools created extreme havoc with families try- COVID-19 school interruption. Both countries adopted
ing to get students back home with limited transportation NTE (i.e., remote education) during school closures within
options and even state border closings. Boarding schools a relatively short period of time. As mentioned, both coun-
are a major provider of education for Indigenous students, tries have experience in providing NTE, although their
with 117 independent schools serving more than 2,100 practices differ in form and intensity. However, recent
Indigenous boarders. Many students come from remote events have challenged education systems, both govern-
communities where primary level education is the only ment and private, as well as related fields serving education
schooling locally available, so they have to leave their com- (i.e., technology, informatics, safety).
munities in order to undertake secondary studies. To meet the idea of an “equal opportunity in education,”
In addition, unique challenges arose for boarding we make the following recommendations. First, govern-
schools, as state border closures have created obstacles for ments and school systems must develop a plan to serve all
students; Indigenous students from the Northern Territory, students and families. Therefore, technological and distance
for example, did not want to fly to school (e.g., common learning readiness should be an important and prioritized
mode of transportation for boarding students) because they agenda for the countries. Rural communities may not have
had to stay in isolation for 2 weeks upon their return. access to the technology needed to immediately access
video-based, technology-driven content. For example, one
Current Status of Education and Special way in which Australian families of students without access
to internet or technology (e.g., computer, smart phones,
Education iPads) were supported by the government and schools was
With state borders closed across the country, limited travel through partnerships with local mobile service providers.
across state lines allowed for greater control and tracking of The National Broadband Network (NBN Co) established a
the virus, essentially allowing some states to begin school $150 million financial relief and assistance fund to help
earlier than others. For example, students in the Northern providers support their customers, including $50 million to
Territory were expected back on school grounds beginning support low-income households with school-aged children.
April 20, 2020. However, all schools within New South Customers in rural and regional Australia also have been
Wales (the state with the highest number of cases) finally supported by NBN Co’s measures to increase capacity for
returned to full on-campus learning beginning May 25, satellite services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally,
2020. By mid-June, with a total of 536 confirmed current access to internet and other communication means should
positive cases of the virus nationwide, and less than 20 peo- be provided to all, including vulnerable (e.g., Aboriginal,
ple hospitalized (Australian Government Department of remote, economically disadvantaged) populations to ensure
Health, 2020), the risk for transfer of infection was at a low, equal educational opportunity.
92 Rural Special Education Quarterly 40(2)

Second, schools should take into consideration provid- How teachers are prepared is one of the most important
ing distance learning infrastructure, monitoring, and eval- lessons to be learned during the COVID-19 interruption.
uation of teaching/learning procedures, safety, and Teachers and teacher candidates both in special and general
confidentiality of both students and teachers. The readi- education programs should be trained how to react in case of
ness of content to be delivered via NTE has presented a either national (e.g., earthquake, bushfire) or global (e.g., pan-
challenge during school interruptions, as in the case of demic) interruptions. Teacher training programs should
Turkey, where special education services were begun after include topics such as non-traditional instruction (i.e., online
general education services due to a lack of content for teaching) for children with disabilities. Teachers should be
teaching students with disabilities. Therefore, curriculum equipped with all steps of systematic instruction and behavior
and instruction surrounding this content needs to be read- management from monitoring to providing feedback within
ily available. While not necessarily addressed by either this framework. Not only pre-service teachers but also in-ser-
Turkey or Australia, quality NTE also must be followed by vice teachers should be provided professional development in
quality assessment of student progress. The delivery of regard with the above stated topics. It is well-documented that
instruction seemed to become a focus of a rapidly chang- both teachers in general education settings (Darling-Hammond
ing educational systems, with little to no follow through et al., 2017; Guskey, 2002; Tekin-Iftar et al., 2017) and special
for assessment of student achievement or feasibility for education settings (Cooc, 2019; Odom, 2009) need to be sup-
students and families. ported by professional development.
Jimenez et al. (2016) found online PD without feedback
to only increase teacher knowledge, not application of
Unique Opportunities skills. However, professional development delivered online,
Due to the extreme remoteness of the majority of Australia’s with embedded coaching and feedback, has been shown
population, many schools were already accustomed to edu- effective in increasing both teacher knowledge and applica-
cational instruction using technology and remote student/ tion of new skills (Cheek et al., 2019; Degirmenci, 2018).
family meetings. Recent events have not seemed to affect
these areas in the same magnitude as the rest of the country. Conclusion
Even schools that provide rural face-to-face education
already had most systems online, with digital system-wide There is a significant global need for developing strong
meetings commonly held remotely (only two to three per remote education alternatives to better serve all students
year in person, due to significant travel restraints). Australia’s and families. COVID-19 is a transformative and adaptive
Schools of the Air may have made Australia’s response more challenge for educators. Therefore, a series of actions
seamless than for other countries, with their unique opportu- should be planned and necessary steps taken accordingly.
nity to use and expand what they have learned to other We suggest the development of global education innovation
schools during COVID-19. System-wide support networks initiatives for countries to share their experiences to develop
(e.g., Catholic School New South Wales) were able to a road map for education. An initiative in rural special edu-
develop resources based upon years of rural distance educa- cation would use global data related to what has been effec-
tion and individualized supports for students. Specific to tive (both during the recent pandemic and historically) and
rural special education, further research is needed to identify ineffective for different countries and demographics. Access
successful NTE across urban and rural areas during COVID- to resources and strategies must be evaluated by national,
19 that may support Australian Schools of the Air serving state, and local governments and school systems.
students with disabilities in the future. In addition to developing remote education alternatives,
During the COVID-19 interruption, a serious need for teacher training models both during pre-service and in-ser-
home-based learning support arose. Parents have had to pro- vice should be revised. These revisions should include
vide training and support to their children in addition to their training on NTE, research-based use of educational technol-
other roles and responsibilities. As in the case in Turkey, a ogy, explicit and systematic instruction, evidence-based
mother indicated her need of teacher support. Therefore, practices, and progress monitoring used through remote
online platforms could be an option to provide this support. education. Finally, international collaborations should be
However, the majority of these platforms are developed with made to reveal the best available options and research
the intention of creating synergy among the parties. Instead needed to support continued growth in a new world of NTE
of just being information sharing platforms, online learning and special education.
modules’ effectiveness should be tested experimentally and
opened to the use of families. In addition, although online Declaration of Conflicting Interests
alternatives have become a common solution for many The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
countries, they can create some inequalities as many stu- respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
dents and families cannot afford to access them. article.
Tekin-Iftar et al. 93

Funding Cooc, N. (2019). Teaching students with special needs:

International trends in school capacity and the need for teacher
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article. professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education,
83, 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.03.021
Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017).
ORCID iD Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy
Bree A. Jimenez https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0837-4587 Institute.
Degirmenci, H. D. (2018). Koçluk içeren ve içermeyen web-tabanlı
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