Preparedness of Teachers as the Main Factor of Success of the Inclusive Process in Education ⁹⁷²⁶

The article discusses the preparedness of teachers in secondary schools to implement inclusive education for children with disabilities as one of the main issues that calls for the development of training programs and psychological support for participants of the inclusive process. The article presents the data illustrating the basic parameters of professional and psychological preparedness of teachers to include a "special" child in the educational process. The professional challenges of a teacher that are associated with a lack of knowledge on the development specifics of children with special educational needs and methods and technologies addressing those challenges, as well as psychological difficulties of emotional acceptance of such children are described. The authors particularly address the development of integrated support from the experts in the field of correctional pedagogy, special and educational psychology for teachers in general education, who are entering the inclusive process. The article discusses the need to develop a set of programmes for dynamic assessment of parameters of the inclusion process in secondary schools, and authors believe that preparedness of teachers for professional work in terms of inclusion should be considered as one of them.

Keywords: inclusive education, preparedness of secondary school teachers, psychological preparedness, professional preparedness, success of inclusive process, professional transformation

Column: Perspectives of inclusive education