Designing New Educational Programs in Special Education

The growing number of children with disabilities studying in various institutional settings has made it necessary to analyze educational programs for special needs teachers in terms of their relevance. In the field of special psychology and correctional pedagogy, traditional specializations (speech-language therapy, oligophrenopedagogy, surdopedagogy) cannot adequately meet society’s needs for psychological and pedagogical support for all types of students with mental and physical health disorders. The authors identified general trends in the training of special education teachers while studying educational programs for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education offered by higher education institutions under the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. Persons with disabilities, whose education and psycho-pedagogical assistance are not given by professional workers, were identified. The factors that influence the development of new educational programs, as well as their validity and importance for providing correctional and pedagogical aid to students with special educational needs, are investigated.