Abstract:

The aim of the conducted research is to improve the quality of training of professionals, who would ensure efficient implementation of the objectives of inclusive education. For this purpose it is necessary to have a clear vision on how future teachers, psychologists, defectologists understand aims and objectives of inclusion and what is their attitude towards it. The results of the empirical research on the attitude of pedagogical high school students to implementation of inclusive education in schools and preschool educational institutions are provided in the article. The empirical base of the research is based on the data obtained through the survey of students, who study in a pedagogical institute in different profiles: primary school teachers, preschool teachers, speech and language therapists, psychologists. The questionnaire was developed and adapted by the authors of the research.

The results of the research showed that the level of inclusive competence of respondents depends on the profile of their study program. Teachers of preschool education assess their inclusive competence rather high, slightly lower assessment of this indicator was shown by primary school teachers and speech and language therapists, while psychologists had the lowest results. At the same time, preschool and primary school teachers express the need for the improvement of competence level, while speech and language therapists and psychologists strive for the improvement of competence level to a lesser extent. Factor analysis of inclusiveness factors revealed a four-factor structure of the studied phenomenon, which includes such factors as: resources of inclusiveness; psychological discomfort working with children having health restrictions; low level of educational environment readiness to inclusiveness; the need to differentiate between general and inclusive education. As a result of two-stage cluster analysis four homogeneous groups of respondents were distinguished, who have different vision on inclusive education. In the first group there are students, who see the resources of inclusiveness in interaction with general education, but who understand that at first it is necessary to ensure appropriate technical and organizational and methodological conditions. The second group of respondents have barriers of internal and external nature: working with children, who have health restrictions, causes discomfort, on the other hand – educational environment is not prepared for the solution of the objectives of inclusiveness. The respondents, which make the third group, see possibilities and resources in inclusive education, but they have difficulties in perception of children with health restrictions. In the fourth group of respondents there is a correlation between the factors of resources of inclusiveness, low level of the readiness of educational environment and existence of barriers working with children having health restrictions. This differentiation allows to formulate the objectives of students` training on implementation of inclusive education, to make changes in the content of studies, development of competences.

Keywords:

Inclusive education, attitude to inclusive education.