Abstract:

As democratization processes are taking place in society, more and more countries consider the assurance of equal opportunities as their priority aim. Attention to the reform of the education system is emphasised in both international and Lithuanian strategic documents (Salamanca Declaration (1994), UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006); Lithuanian Progress Strategy „ Lithuania 2030“), etc. They define the need to implement inclusive education that ensures that every child has an opportunity to participate in the educational process that meets his or her learning capabilities and needs. As the number of students with special educational needs in primary classes increases, the roles of teachers are changing too, and there is a need for continuous development of competencies. Many scientific articles analyze the efforts and problems of inclusive education in general education schools, however, the aspects of development of teacher‘s competence are not widely presented and analyzed. This article focuses on the experience of primary school teachers, revealing the development of their competencies to work with children with special educational needs in the context of inclusive education. A qualitative research is presented the aim of which is to reveal the attitudes of primary school teachers toward the development of competencies through inclusive education. The analysis of the data of the qualitative research (semi-structured interviews with 25 primary school teachers) revealed the opinion of teachers about the necessary competencies while implementing inclusive education as well as the most effective forms of their development. According to the teachers, they lack the skills to recognize the special needs of a child, to individualize and differentiate the educational process during the lesson, to apply teaching material, to cooperate with both parents/guardians and specialists, etc. It turned out that teachers improve their competencies in various trainings, conferences, they also read specific literature, search for information on the Internet, consult with educational support specialists and etc. In conclusion, it can be stated that not theoretical but practical classes, sharing of good experience, discussion of various practical situations, and cooperation with specialists are the most effective ways to improve teachers' competence.

Keywords:

Primary school teachers, competence, inclusive education, improvement.