Theoretical and practical approaches to the implementation of inclusive education: current research

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the works of Ukrainian scientists who were engaged in studying of the issue of inclusive education implementation in Ukraine.
The number of children with special educational needs is increasing every year in Ukraine. These are children with disabilities, gifted children and children with features of psychophysical development. For such a category of children, traditional approaches to education are not suitable, as outdated post-Soviet approaches to education do not correspond to the physical and intellectual abilities of children, do not take into account the peculiarities of their perception, the area of immediate development.
The organization of education of this category of children was began to engage in Ukraine relatively recently, in the twentieth century. Accordingly, the categorical apparatus is not fully prescribed, the theoretical and methodological foundations of the formation of the newest approaches to the organization of educational process in institutions with inclusive education are not covered, the approaches to work with children with special needs are not clearly defined.
A number of Ukrainian scientists, such as O. Balakhonova, L. Biletska, V. Zasenko, A. Kolupayeva, Y. Nayda N. Teplova and others, have studied the problems of inclusive learning, the tendencies of its implementation and the main stages of its implementation in educational institutions. In their works researchers consider the change of value orientations in education, the change of the educational paradigm to the humanistic, which causes the consideration of inclusive education as an innovative tendency in modern education. They paid special attention to the issues of improving the content, forms and technologies of educational activities, the argumentation of the expediency of the use of specific educational means. Each of the scientists studied a specific segment of the problem, based on the foreign experience of their colleagues.
The author of the article argues that at the present stage of updating of the traditional forms of education and upbringing of children with special educational needs, changes in the vocational training of future teachers become necessary.
The article focuses on the problem of inclusive education staffing, the need to create a team of specialists to work together with a child with special educational needs in each case in particular. After all, effective cooperation of teachers and families of children with special needs is extremely important for the successful implementation of inclusive programs in educational institutions. Team partnerships provide the receiving of comprehensive, coordinated, flexible, affordable and relevant services.
The need for training of inclusive education personnel is substantiated in a number of scientific works of scientists from different fields of science, which the author mentioned in the article. Thus, in their research, they explored the issue of preparing of future professionals to fulfill their professional responsibilities in inclusive education. In particular O. Gnoevska and S. Mironova considered the training of specialists of psychological and pedagogical profile, I. Demchenko and Z. Shevtsiv described the problems of preparation of teachers of primary classes, O. Martynchuk focused on training of specialists of special education, G. Pershko studied the issues of preparation of social pedagogues and N. Sofij argued the need of students’ integrated support with special educational needs.