COVID Pandemic and Change in Education Style: The Lived Experience of Exceptional School Principals from Virtual Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Virtual education has brought both opportunities and challenges for education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a different condition in exceptional education which calls for identifying its different dimensions and coordinating a policy-making necessity for education. The purpose of this research is to analyze the issue from the perspective of exceptional education managers in Yazd province. 

Methods and Data: 

The present research is a qualitative study that was conducted in 1400 in Yazd province. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 32 principals of exceptional schools and analyzed by thematic analysis method. 

Data analysis showed that virtual education in exceptional schools is accompanied by challenges and opportunities. The most important issue at the beginning of the epidemic was the lack of preparation of managers and teachers in facing the new conditions, which was accompanied by serious pressures and concerns at the individual and institutional levels. Over time, the problem has been managed leading to the creation of opportunities. The four themes analyzed are: job pressures, crisis unpreparedness, challenges, and positive consequences. 

Creating the necessary infrastructure for virtual education and increasing the media literacy of managers and teachers in this field is one of the needs of exceptional education. It is suggested to pay attention to the special needs of managers and teachers of exceptional schools compared to similar groups in normal schools. A return to non-pandemic conditions should not be considered as a complete abandonment of the opportunities that virtual education has brought. 

Key Message:

 Virtual education has provided many opportunities for students with special needs. It is recommended that special education managers pay attention to this issue and promote it. Paying attention to educational inequalities in this field should be a priority.