An Analysis of Graduate Theses Conducted in the Field of Special Education in Türkiye

Abstract

Special education is a field that has been valued in Türkiye especially in recent years. The aim of this study is to examine the types of postgraduate theses conducted in the field of special education in Türkiye between 2000 and 2023, their intensity in the field of special education and their distribution according to years. The research is a literature review designed in qualitative research model. The keywords of special education, autism, down syndrome, learning disability, intellectual disability, mental deficiency, giftedness, superior intelligence and special talented were determined to serve the purpose of the research. The keywords were searched from the National Thesis Center database. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Considering the titles of the theses, 2991 postgraduate theses including master's, doctorate, specialization in medicine and proficiency in art were reached. The types of postgraduate theses reached, the distribution of theses among keywords and the change of theses according to years are presented in graphs. As a result, it was observed that master's theses were predominant in postgraduate theses in the field of special education between 2000 and 2023, the most focused special education field was autism, and there was a general increase in theses by years, except for 2020.