Readiness of teachers in rural schools to implement inclusive education: the experience of Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

The introduction of inclusive education in the post-Soviet countries takes place unevenly within the framework of the historical approach to the development of special education for children with disabilities. A long way has been done in the Kyrgyz Republic over the past 20 years, but the formation of an inclusive education system is at the very beginning. This is due to many objective reasons; however, one of the most important is the training of qualified personnel, psychological, pedagogical, methodological and moral readiness of educational specialists to work with children with developmental disabilities. This article is devoted to the study of the readiness of teachers of rural secondary schools for inclusive education. The main focus of the study was on identifying the level of personal and motivational readiness, which includes the level of effective empathy, social and pedagogical tolerance, the level of readiness to interact and accept the educational characteristics of children with disabilities and developmental disabilities, especially with mental disabilities. And it was especially important to identify how ready teachers working in rural remote schools are. In the course of the study, such methods as questionnaires and surveys of primary school teachers were used, as well as the focus group method was used. The results of the study showed a difference in the preparation of teachers for the implementation of inclusive education in cities and villages of the Kyrgyz Republic.Recommendations are given on the need to improve (strengthen) the content of professional development programs for teachers living at a distance from special education centers with practice-oriented modules for preparing for inclusive education and interacting with children with developmental disabilities, including disabilities and/or mental disorders.