An eclectic service perspective is in construction to understand different disciplines’ place in the life and how to place harmony between research and practice, and its application to reality by providing service for the field, for the affiliated institution and for the community. Application of my research and teaching lens provides fuel to feed not only my dignity and passion in special education, but also creates a social support circle for the community that I belong. I acknowledge my mission by serving for reconstruction of reciprocal relationship between disability culture and macro culture.
My service for affiliated institute began with volunteering for Special Education Department in University of Kansas (KU) for NCATE/CAEP visiting, in which I had pleasure to meet and have quick words with some academics and professionals from different institutions and universities. Also, I have begun to serve in Turkish Student Association (TSA) at KU as secretary to build a bridge with diverse population of KU and Turkish community in the university particularly. As TSA, our aim is to help the university community to create an intercultural clique by providing concrete and current knowledge about Turkish culture, while establishing positive interactions with diverse cultures within the university. I am currently exploring more opportunities to serve the university better.
My service to the community includes volunteering as a transition specialist for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) for School2Career Coach in San Francisco. This opportunity provided me a valuable chance for application of my academic knowledge about special education field into reality by providing them community access skills such as going to job fairs, and social coffee meetings, etc. Currently, I am considering new opportunities to connect my service for both field and community.
Although I don’t have much previous experience about service for field, I have begun to organize my ideas about it. First of all, I have become a member of American Educational Research Association (AERA) in order to stay informed about current issues and developments in the field, as well as have an opportunity to meet with valuable researchers, and have the chance to serve for editorial boards in field-specific peer-reviewed journals. Also, in collaboration with a Turkish colleague of mine, we are organizing an online information guide for young adults with disabilities, and people in their social support circles such as their families and friends, care providers, employers and colleagues in Turkey. Another technology-based activity that I enjoy is to provide updated knowledge about my research interests as an essential part of my e-portfolio in my blog both in English and Turkish to fulfill the deficiency of knowledge in special education field in Turkey, especially in transition to adult life and self-determination teaching. Additionally, I am exploring opportunities to collaborate with other researchers and non-profit organizations to establish projects related to my research interests, namely, cooperation of transition, self-determination, and technology in special education with application of cultural aspects and backgrounds of individuals with disabilities.
As aforementioned, it is paramount for my educational philosophy to state explicit relation between research, teaching and their application into reality. My service ideas in affiliated institutions, fields and communities are tied to each other to increase social awareness of disability culture both locally in Turkish society and interculturally while guiding adolescents and young adults with disabilities and their social connections in Turkey to have better life expectances from theirselves and from society.
You can see the main reason of why I am totally determined to special education in slideshow. He is my older brother, 42 years old who is fun to be with, have an amazing memory, likes Mercedes and Galatasaray (soccer team from Turkey) and also have cerebral palsy -as the last characteristic for him-.