What changes education ? An action research to overcome barriers

According to the National Disabled People Data Base within Ministry of Family and Social Policies (Özveri), there are 1.559.222 disabled people in Turkey. If this rate would be linked to the families of the disabled people, the number of people who spend time with disabled individuals would increase to 10 million. This number corresponds to 12.5% of the country’s population. This requires sensitiveness from each individual because everyone is either a disabled person, related to a disabled person or a potential disabled person. In this case, the importance of information related to disabled people, acquired by the students in the highest institutions of the education system increases due to the fact that they are future teachers and potential managers. This research was conducted in Abant Izzet Baysal University, School of Physical Education and Sport in order to analyze and understand the effects of disability training on the students. Designed as an activity research, this study took 36 h for 12 weeks. The research was conducted with 15 voluntary students who took Physical Education and Sport for Disabled People and Sport for Disabled People classes. The data were gathered through focus group discussion and field notes. In the analysis of the data, both descriptive and content analyses were used. All of the operations were done by NVIVO 10 qualitative analysis program. Results showed that the students reached almost all phases of the cognitive domain outcomes by acquiring a level of information more advanced than the level they had at the beginning. Furthermore, especially the outcomes at the affective domain revealed that the students became more equipped in this respect.


INTRODUCTION
The right to live is a basic human right and being healthy is a prior condition.Health is not only the absence of illness and disability, but also being physically, mentally and socially well (Arslan et al., 2014).However, some individuals may be disabled and lose health due to prenatal, natalor and post-natal causes.
Many different paths can lead to an understanding of disabilities and their effect on individuals, their loved ones, and their communities.Definitions often put into place a language system that describes individuals and their generalized characteristics.Definitions can also explain how individuals are treated.Definitions, in their existence, might even contribute to how people react to others who are different in appearance, learning style or behavior.Often different disciplines offer different definitions of disabilities; in other words, nothing is absolute when studying the human condition.For example, some definitions include analyses of group of individuals' common characteristics.Other definitions take a more sociological view and discuss how differences are socially constructed and as much a part of social system as is the individual (Smith, 1998).
Disability: any restriction or lack of ability (resulting from impairment) to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being (WHO, 1980).There are certain roles that an individual should play during his/her lifetime depending on various factors.Unless the individual fulfills these roles due to inability, this inability transforms into an obstacle.An obstacle also includes the adaptation of the individual to the environment.This is because an individual experiences difficulties in adapting to social life due to his/her disability (Aral and Gürsoy, 2011).Human is a social being.Within cultural conditions, social relations affect the form of society, culture and individual.An individual tries to adapt to his/her environment throughout his/her life.Adaptation starts from birth and is a life-long progress (İlhan, 2008).
One of the emotions that pull up a person's vital motivation is the feeling of "being useful" and the results of this feeling.In cases when disability causes reduction in abilities in different levels or continues as an ongoing illness, the person passes from the state of having a medical problem to having the beginning of a psychological problem, and the expectation related to the willingness for "the feeling of being useful" can become more intense.This transfer expresses a change of which solution should be found in society.The health level of disability is taking the obstacle and disability as personal problems and configuring the solution individually.But, social environment, physical structure, beliefs, opinions, sensitiveness, levels of understanding and levels of perceiving, composed by the people who are in interaction in different levels in social domain are influential and the solutions may not be always in the desired level, time and footing (Çolak and Çetin, 2014).
Poverty is common among disabled people because their education level is very low, they have limited opportunities for getting a profession and only a minor number of them are working.For this reason, their social and economic conditions can be defined generally as "social disaster."Attending social life is a difficult process for the disabled people and generally it is known that they are exposed to social exclusion.Social exclusion and discrimination in every field of social life have negative effects over the means of getting education, profession and income by disabled people.They face inequality in education and job opportunities and thus they cannot reach influential decision making bodies for the social life and cannot have enough influence over the decisions that affect them (Mamatoğlu, 2015).
Disabled people experience social exclusion multi dimensionally, and although practices for social inclusion are increasing, there is still a long way to go before we obtain permanent solutions (Kökten and Erdoğan, 2014).Disability is a social exclusion factor.For disabled people, being precluded from social relations, cultural and social activities, having access to basic services, close environment and economic field is seen as a secondary obstacle.In societies where different groups live at peace with each other, solidarity and cooperation grow stronger.Supporting disabled people when their individual abilities remain incapable increase their success level; developing and applying comprehensive social inclusion policies, which will remove the elements that force them to live distant from social life, will cling them to life (Genç and Çat, 2013).
When thought, belief and emotions about disabled people indicate that they are perceived as humans first and then as humans with different needs, it shows that the attitudes are positive.On the other hand, when thought, belief and emotions about disabled people indicate that they are seen with their incapability and then as humans, it shows the attitudes towards disabled people are negative (Özyürek, 2006).
The idea that the attitude of society towards disabled people plays an important role in the development of services, quantitatively and qualitatively, for disabled individuals in their acceptance and inclusion within the society is advocated.It is also seen that the attitudes of disabled people's close relations are emphasized in our country and abroad (Diken and Sucuoğlu, 1999).
As disabled psychotherapist Rhoda Olkin (1999) stated disabled people (all of the minority groups) faced "prejudice, discrimination and stigma" everywhere.There are not many people either among political and social power holders or in media and art fields to represent disabled people who have limited opportunity to access economic sources and who are traditionally underrated by "non-disabled" majority.However, World Health Organization approaches the concept of disability as "Participation in Activity", and suggests focusing on what disabled individuals can do more than what they cannot do.In short, disabled people, who are also weak in terms of social status, are deprived of all of the important opportunities.For this reason, this feeling of "social" exclusion existing despite all of the legal regulations and legislations, causes violations of social rights of disabled people and prevent them from being acknowledged as equal individuals."International Covenant Related to the Rights of Disabled People" and "United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights", to which Turkey is a party, clearly expresses taking all kinds of necessary measures for preventing the violations of the rights of disabled people.However, despite this, disabled people are perceived as not "normal" people, but instead "handicapped" and "deficient" individuals who damage social status of the family they belong to (Sachs, 2003).
In parallel with the development of the concept and awareness of citizenship, it should be emphasized that disabled people have the same social, economic and political rights with the rest of the citizens in the society under the concept of citizenship.This understanding is fundamental for disabled people to maintain free and honorable life (Burcu, 2007).

Research model
This research was an activity research based on qualitative research approach.The aim behind using activity research with qualitative methods was the lack of flexible structure and generalizing goal in qualitative research (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013).The research was planned as an activity research with emancipating/enhancing/critical science made approach.With this approach the participant students would provide new information, ability and experience about disabled people, and develop a critical point of view against current practice.In this approach the participants can look critically to the practice they live within and can state informed explanations to the problems they face.Moreover, activity researches are used frequently in education.In this respect, conducting this research within the scope of "Physical Education and Sport for Disabled People" and "Sport for Disabled People" classes was compatible with the design of activity research.Elliot (1991) stated that activity researches greatly contributed to the development of practices in the field of education through research by bringing together program development and evaluation, research and thinking (cited by Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013).

The purpose of the research
It requires a transformation for the society to acquire this understanding, and sensitiveness towards disabled people.Education is an important tool for this transformation.This reveals the need of educating individuals in the society about disabled people and disability.In this case, the importance of information related to disabled people, acquired by the students in the highest institutions of the education system increases due to the fact that they are future teachers and manager candidates.Several departments on university level train professionals to provide service to disabled people.One of these departments is School of Physical Education and Sport.It is a legal obligation to train students especially in the field of teaching physical education about disabled people.Besides that, there are several obligatory and elective classes about disabled people in the programs in different departments of these schools.The aim of this research is to analyze and understand the differences created by disability training in Abant Izzet Baysal University School of Physical Education and Sport over the students.

Participants
This research was conducted with 15 students taking "Physical Education and Sport for Disabled People" and "Sport for Disabled People" classes in the fall semester of 2014-2015 academic year.In the determination of students, easily accessible case sampling within purposeful sampling methods was used in accordance with the nature of qualitative research.Easy case sampling gives speed and practicality to the researcher.In this respect, the researcher conducted the research with volunteer participant students.47% of the participants were physical education and sport students and 53% were sport management students.33% of them were females and 67% were male students.

Collecting data
The method of collecting data in the research was "focus group discussion".This discussion approach was chosen because it allowed the researcher freedom both to obtain detailed information about the questions and to ask further questions, by remaining faithful to the issues and questions which had been prepared earlier (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2011).Moreover, the researcher, as the instructor of the course, undertook the role of "participant observer" and took notes about researcher observations.Four separate focus group discussions were carried out during the activity (application) process, which took 12 weeks; two at the beginning of the process and two at the end.Pre-application focus group discussions were carried out separately with the students at physical education and sport department and sport management department.Information about the number of participants in focus group discussion and duration of discussions are given in Table 1.
The number of questions is limited in accordance with the nature of application in focus group discussions.These questions focused on information and perception related to disabled people preapplication, and information, ability and experiences related to disabled people outcome post-application.
Data were recorded via tape recorder after obtaining permission from participants.As Creswell suggested (Creswell, 2009) researcher took short notes besides tape recorder.

Activity (Application) plan
Activity research is process-driven.The process is studied within its own environment and data related to the focused problem are collected.In this process, understanding the problem, applying solution choices and evaluating the results are within activity research process (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013).

Context and procedures of the study
This research was carried out for 12 weeks in the scope of "Physical Education and Sport for Disabled People" and "Sport for Disabled People" classes.Physical Education and Sport for Disabled People class is obligatory in the Department of Physical Education Teaching in the School of Physical Education and Sport (PES) at Abant Izzet Baysal University (AIBU); and Sport for Disabled People class is obligatory in the Department of Sport Management.The classes are given at the VII semester in the Department of Physical Education and at the V semester in the Department of Sport Management.It is a 36-h class in both departments.Within this process theoretical section of the class is given by the instructor and the practice section is carried out by the students under the guidance of the instructor.In the end of the process, the expectation is to provide students, who will be teachers or managers, with the opportunity to work with disabled individuals without difficulty when they need to, and at the same time positive attitude and behavior towards the disabled people.
The researcher prepared the syllabus, informed the students who took the class about the research and designated the ones who volunteered to participate at the research before the activity.Following this phase, first focus discussion was carried out with the students who would participate at the research.All the details related to activity (application) phase following the phase before the activities are given in Table 2.This application was carried out in the same manner with the students in both departments.After the activity, the researcher evaluated the results of the application presented by focus group discussions.

Data analysis
Descriptive analysis and content analysis were used in the research.In descriptive analysis, the data obtained via tape recorder was processed by the researcher expertized in qualitative research, and transferred into electronic environment.Moreover, the findings were checked for consistency with short notes kept by the researcher.In this phase participant students in the department of physical education teaching were coded as (PES9, PES10...), and students in the department of sport management as (SMS1, SMS2…).In content analysis of data, primarily the data obtained at focus discussion was transformed into prose in computer environment.Then this data were transferred into NVIVO 10 program.After this phase, all of the operations were carried out with NVIVO 10 qualitative analysis program.In recent years, computer programs like NVIVO have been used frequently in qualitative researches.NVIVO makes it easy to classify and code data and sources systematically, reach themes, and present the results as a model.
All of the operations during the process of analyzing data were carried out by two experts, who were experienced in researcher and qualitative analysis, independent from each other.The statements matching up with each other in coding were classified in a theme.The study was supported with quotations from participants' observations.

Validity and reliability
Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggested the usage of concepts like persuasiveness, transmissibility, consistency and approvability in order to secure validity and reliability (cited by: Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013).
Persuasiveness (inner validity) was ensured through methods like long term interaction, diversifications and gathering profundity oriented data, expert analysis and approval of the participant.The researcher had been directing the physical education and sport class for disabled people for ten years, had attended various seminars about disabled people, taught educational games for disabled people towards youth leaders within the ministry of sport,

Theme Statements Participants
Employment rights (f=5) … I know about employment and that they can be officers at state institutions", "I know that a workplace with a specific number of employees has to employ disabled people.

PES12 Education form (f=2) …
There was an inlusive student in the school where I did my internship.She was somehow distant during class.We tried to include her.PES9 and was a member of the board of education in federation of visually handicapped people.These factors were influential in enabling the researcher to understand the situations caused by subjective perceptions on data sources by strengthening long term interaction with the field.Moreover, besides focus group discussions, field notes, which the researcher had kept during the activity as a participant observer, provided data diversity in obtaining data and increased reliability of the study (Tobin and Begley, 2004;Briller et al., 2008;Bekhet and Zauszniewski, 2012).When it comes to about persuasiveness, finally an expert's support was received for qualitative data during the research.Among purposeful sampling methods, easily accessible case sampling was used in the research in order to strengthen transmissibility (external validity) feature, adopted instead of generalizing in qualitative data (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2013).
For the consistency of research (inner reliability), data were analyzed and themes were created by the researcher and two field experts."Unanimity" and "dissensus" statements were defined for codes and themes determined by the researcher and field expert.Reliability formula of Miles and Huberman (1994) was used for the reliability calculation of the research.
Conciliation Percentage % =[Na (Unanimity)/ Na (Unanimity) + Nd (dissensus)] x 100 Unanimity for total statements was determined as 29 code, and dissensus was 10 code According to Miles and Huberman (1994)'s formula, reliability of the research was 74%.If reliability calculations are over 70%, the rate is valid for the reliability of the research (Miles and Huberman, 1994).
For the approvability of the research (external reliability), the researcher preserved all of the data collection tools, raw data, coding during analysis phase for the purpose of re-analysis when needed.

FINDINGS
Findings are presented in two chapters; before the application and after 12-week activity in accordance with the scope of research.In the tables repetition in answers of students are shown with the respective numbers (e.g.f=5).In this way, it was much easier to classify the opinion codes in numbers.

Finding about preactivity
In pre-activity phase of the research, the participants were asked; "what are your thoughts about disabled people?", "what do you think about the opinions in the society about the disabled people?", and "what are your expectations from this class?"The findings at the end of the analysis of collected data are presented under the chapters of thoughts about the disabled people, knowledge, society's opinion and expectations from the class.
All of the themes and codes revealed at the end of the data analysis are as shown in Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Findings about post-activity
During post-activity, students were asked "How much of your expectations was fulfilled at the end of 12-week training?","what do you think you know about disabled people now?" and "what do you think you have earned at the end of this training?"Findings revealed as a result of the analysis of collected data were presented as cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes.All of the themes and codes revealed at the end of data analysis are as shown in Tables 7, 8, and 9.

SMS5
Acceptance (f=1) …There was an orthopedically disabled girl in the school where I did my internship.She was an inclusive student.The students in the class accepted her nicely.With the society's acceptance, the girl became more self-confident.

Theme Statements Participants
Gaining awareness (f=8) … I expect this class to create awareness in terms of the things that I cannot see or I cannot think.I expect that it will earn me the ability to think about disabled people .

SMS1 Behavioral instructions (f=4) … I want to learn what I can make them do when I face them. PES15
Working with disabled people (f=3) … I wish theoretical education were given before and we could practice in this field when we are at universtiy.SMS6 Getting information (f=1) … I think classes will be intense.I think we will think about disabled people and acquire information.PES11 of the research, society's perception and lack of information about the field seem to be consistent with unawareness, level of information and lack of education.Thomson (1997) defined disabled people as "inferior unlucky individuals" in the society.This opinion arose from the negative perception that evoked dominant ideas, widespread and fear about disabled people who were seen as worthless, suspected and disregarded people, whose social identities were labeled with prejudice (cited by: Aslan and Şeker, 2011).Disability can be seen as an inferiority, personal misfortune, abnormal and extraordinary (Sachs, 2003).
The results of the researches conducted separately by Prime Ministry Department of the Administration of the Disabled (1997) and Burcu (2010) showed that the perception in Turkey about disabled people is not very different than the perception defined by Thomson (1997) (cited by: Arslan and others, 2014).Cognitive outcomes in the end of research match with the studies in this field.
Through informing, individuals communicate easier with the disabled people and generalize their information and experiences about one disability group for other groups (Campbell et al., 2003).Cameron and Rutland (2006) reached a conclusion that a program based on communicating with disabled people, applied at primary school students, decreased prejudices towards disabled people.Pruett et al. (2008) also reached the conclusion that the attitudes of elderly participants changed positively.Campbell, Gilmore and Cuskelly (2003) informed candidates of teachers, before they started working as teachers, about children with Down syndrome.After the  It is understood that especially affective outcomes increased in post-activity when compared with preactivity.The research showed that education-oriented applications about disabled people could create change in affective field, one of the behavioral fields.Because the students decreased their prejudices relatively to preactivity, they became more sensitive and more efficient communicating with disabled people, and enjoyed it.
Becket (2009) emphasized that education was an important factor in changing behavioral attitude towards disabled people in UK in her study Challenging disabling attitudes, building an inclusive society': considering the role of education in encouraging non-disabled children to develop positive attitudes towards disabled people.Healy et al. (2016) reached the conclusion that education and experience had essential influence in preparing physical education teachers for future encounters with the autistic children in their study.Kargın and Baydık (2002) realized that inclusive education was effective in attitude change in their study which analyzed students' attitude towards hearingimpaired students, and suggested strengthening communication system with disabled individuals in educational environment.When other studies related to attitudes and values towards disabled people in society are considered, similarities are revealed with the results of this study.
In the study of Aktaş and Küçükler (2002), which analyzed social acceptance levels of primary school students towards their physically disabled peers, it was observed that an attitude changing program with cognitive and affective base was influential in developing primary school students' social acceptance levels towards their physically disabled peers.For example, Graf et al. (2007) reached the conclusion that in the families where a member was disabled, although the attitude of families was positive towards disabled individuals, they saw those individuals as in need of family care.
Other conclusions of the research were that the families wanted to spend time with disabled people, disabled members were not ashamed of their families, the feeling of discomfort was low in the company of disabled people, it was necessary to be nice towards disabled people and to excuse them for uncontrolled behaviors, but on the other hand that the belief in a better future and success for disabled people was limited.
In a research of Wolman et al. (2004), which analyzed the attitudes of faculty members towards disabled people, it was found that American faculty members were more positive towards disabled people, and their opinions about the professional development of visually and hearing impaired people were more affirmative when compared with the opinions of Mexican colleagues.
Diken ( 2006)'s study on Turkish mothers revealed that some of the Turkish mothers with mentally disabled children believed that the disability was temporary, and that almost half of them believed disability was fate and a decision of God due to their belief.Laat et al. (2013) reached the conclusion that age, self-respect, gender, religion and familiarity with disabled people had essential influence on behaviors towards disabled people in their study conducted on German students.
The results of the study showed the desire to transfer the acquired information to life.These behaviors outcomed through education created a desire in the participants to put them in practice.These opinions were gathered under psychomotor outcomes at the end of the study.In this respect, the importance of education in behaviors was revealed.
To sum up, this research aimed to reveal the change created by an application for students about disabled people, in universities as they were taken as the highest level of education in our country, and in this respect to emphasize the importance of education for individuals by handling the lack of education about disabled people as the starting point.
The results of the research showed that the students reached the outcomes in almost all phases of cognitive field by reaching a further level of information level after the activity, relative to their level at the beginning.Moreover, especially the outcomes in affective field revealed that the students became more equipped.The results showed that trainings towards disabled people are beneficial in terms of outcomes and should be taken in earlier ages.This situation might be influential in removing negative opinions of societies towards disabled people.

Table 1 .
Number of participants and duration of discussion.

Table 3 .
Thought about disabled people.

Table 5 .
Perspective of society....I do not think I have information about disabled people.I am a university student but Ihave not yet got education on it.None of the education division has offered such information.
… I am not sure if it is my deficiency or transferred to me from my parents but I am prejudiced.I say 'Disabled?How is he/she going to do it?'I think disabled people are disadvantaged.

Table 9 .
Psychomotor Outcomes.There are ramps for disabled people at the entrance of stores, malls.I had been obsessed since childhood with walking over those ramps.Since this class I have never done that.I do not use them anymore.