Validation of a Citizenship Education Curriculum Model for Students with Special Needs

This study aims to validate a curriculum model of citizenship education for students with special educational needs (mental retardation or intellectual disability (ID) group). This is an applied-developmental study in terms of its purpose, and it is cross-sectional survey research in terms of the method and time frame of data collection. A semi-structured interview and a Likert scale questionnaire were used to collect the data. The reliability of the questionnaire was obtained using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. Convergent validity has also been used to validate the questionnaire. The statistical population in the qualitative part includes 24 experts in special curriculum planning and experts in the Special Needs Education Organization. Out of 182 people, 79 people were selected as the sample calculated based on Cochran's table with an error of 0.1. To analyze the data in the qualitative part, a Grounded Theory approach was used to identify the research indicators, and the structural equation modeling and SMART PLS software were used to validate and present the final model. The obtained results showed the importance of the practicality of citizenship education for students with special needs. The results also indicated the importance of the content of citizenship education and teaching methods. In terms of teaching and training methods, the formation of informal groups and supervision of group activities, learning by practice, and student-centered and collaborative teaching methods have been emphasized.