Eureka! Institutional Repository

In modern times, with the changing working conditions and the demands of the working environment multiplying daily, influenced by international developments, the social and communicative skills of employees are of the utmost importance for a successful professional career. According to Goleman (2011), the individual needs social and communication skills to cope with and respond to the challenges of the modern market, and also to successfully manage their interpersonal relationships in their professional environment. The importance of these is of particular significance in the sensitive area of special education as special education teachers are encouraged to cultivate through them and develop particular interpersonal relationships with those involved in the learning process, both with their students and with their families, but also with any other body or organization involved that enhances the work of special education and training. By conducting this research work, we are initially attempting to penetrate into the sensitive area of special education, analyzing its content in depth, the changes that have taken place over the years to this day, both in Greece and internationally. We want to define the content of social, communication skills and emotional intelligence and to associate it with the special education teacher and the role he/she is required to play in the field of special education. In particular, we study the extent to which social and communication skills are used by teachers at both levels of special education and their perceptions of them in order to manage their feelings satisfactorily in the conduct of their school activities with the obstacles hampering their work.