"Social model" in the education of children with disabilities

Ахмадова М., д. філос. з пед. наук, викладач кафедри психології та педагогіки Нахічеванського державного університету, Нахічевань, Азербайджан

Інклюзивна освіта - це процес загальноосвітнього розвитку. Це означає, що освіта має бути доступною для всіх з точки зору задоволення різноманітних потреб усіх дітей. Вона також забезпечує освіту для дітей з особливими потребами. Концепція інклюзивної освіти базується на принципі прав людини. Відповідно до Конвенції з прав людини, держави мають створити систему освіти, в якій право на освіту поширюється на кожну дитину. Азербайджанська Республіка підписала Конвенцію з прав людини У 1992 році і взяла на себе зобов'язання захищати право кожної дитини на освіту, яка проживає в нашій країні.

У статті розглядається «соціальна модель» розвитку служб підтримки дітей з обмеженими можливостями. Зазначається, що відповідно до цієї моделі усі діти, незалежно від стану здоров'я, сімейного стану, навичок, віросповідання, раси, мають рівні права в освітньому процесі та у житті. При цьому дитина не зобов'язана брати участь у сімейному житті, ходити в школу, бути готовою до праці. Більше уваги приділяється адаптації середовища до його можливостей, створенню системи суспільних відносин для розвитку її здібностей.

Підсумовуючи, підхід суспільства до інклюзивної освіти має змінитися на краще, щоб діти з обмеженими можливостями в Азербайджані могли легше та швидше інтегруватися в суспільство, навчаючись разом з іншими дітьми. За ними слід регулярно спостерігати, визначати додаткові спеціальні програми та підручники для їх навчання, навчити достатню кількість персоналу для роботи з ними, розвивати їх навички та створювати сприятливі умови для більш комфортного проживання і гарне місце на ринку праці. Тому що збільшення бажання таких дітей жити підвищить їхній успіх.

Ключові слова: діти-інваліди; спеціальні школи; соціальна модель; інклюзивна освіта; загальноосвітні школи.

Аннотация

In this regard, the main objectives of the study are as follows: The main objectives of the study:

1. To identify opportunities for children with disabilities to be involved in inclusive education.

2. To identify preschool institutions and schools, both in the country and in the regions, taking into account the number of children with disabilities.

3. Investigate special programs, textbooks and staff to work with children with disabilities.

The theoretical backgrounds / Теоретичні основи дослідження / Теоретические основы исследования. The theoretical basis of the research is a set of scientific and theoretical provisions on the involvement of children with special needs in inclusive education and their adaptation to social life through the application of the social model. In this regard, pedagogical opportunities, functions of inclusive education, past experience and new perspectives, pedagogical methodological literature in this direction were analyzed and relevant generalizations were made. The results were compared with the results of a number of relevant studies. Observations were made in many educational institutions in Azerbaijan in order to study the relevant content Observations are based on how the quality of education changes when children with disabilities are involved in the educational process with other students. In order to study in detail the system of imparting knowledge to students on the relevant topic, a number of documents of the university were studied and analyzed.

social teaching adaptation children disabilities

Every citizen has the right to education in the Republic of Azerbaijan. There are no restrictions in the field of education. The purpose of education is to ensure that such students have a certain social status and affirm their social significance. Article 5.2 of the Education Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan states that "the state guarantees access to education and non-discrimination to every citizen, regardless of gender, race, language, political beliefs, nationality, social status, origin, health opportunities." [11, p. 12] But the desire to acquire knowledge, to improve that knowledge, to affirm one's social significance, to take a certain position in society does not become a reality for everyone. Such people include children with disabilities.

After Azerbaijan gained independence, the education of children with disabilities came to the fore in our country. The problem of education of such children is one of the priorities of the education policy of the Azerbaijani state, as well as attracting the attention of teachers, psychologists and pedagogues. The policy pursued by national leader Heydar Aliyev in this area is now successfully pursued by President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. During the years of independence, Azerbaijan has acceded to international agreements and conventions on human rights, especially children's rights, and has made a number of commitments in this regard. One of these commitments is to organize education at all levels to ensure the right of children with disabilities to education without discrimination. Relevant decisions have been made in our country in order to implement the tasks arising from these documents.

The transition of the national education system to a qualitatively new stage implies the involvement of all children, as well as children with disabilities, in the process of education, upbringing and development. The preparation of such children for life, the formation of the necessary social adaptive behavioral habits in them, the creation of a socially active personality are among the urgent problems of education. Because the approach to children with disabilities is radically different from previous periods. These children are students involved in special education due to their disabilities. But the "special education” approach for such children has already begun to change, and a completely new, modern approach has emerged. In other words, the idea that a child with a disability should be educated at home is no longer valid in modern education. Although in our society and in our education, there is an idea that it is right for such children to study only at home, of course, as the work done in this area increases, so do the perceptions. Approaching the problem from this aspect, it is necessary to both increase the work to be done and increase awareness.

Recent reforms in both pre-school and secondary education have raised new hopes for parents of children with disabilities. We noted above that purposeful steps have been taken in this direction in our country, and these steps have helped to eliminate the existing difficulties in this area.

Experts believe that children with disabilities do not feel helpless when they grow up with their healthy peers and participate in the learning process. Such children strive to act, speak, act, and gain strength and energy as healthy children. By adapting to the environment in which they find themselves, they feel that they are a useful person for society.

It should be noted that currently the development of support services for children with disabilities is determined by the "social model". From the mid-80s of the twentieth century to the present - it is called the "social model” [6, p. 5]. According to this model, all children, regardless of their health, marital status, abilities, religion, race, have equal rights in the educational process and in life. At the same time, the child is not obliged to participate in family life, to go to school, to be ready to work. More attention is paid to the adaptation of the environment to its capabilities, the creation of a system of social relations for the development of its abilities.

The concept of "inclusive education" is often encountered in the field of education. Inclusion in English means "join". The concept of "joining" is associated with the transition to a "social model".

Inclusive education is the involvement of children with disabilities in the same classroom as healthy students by creating special conditions in a general education institution and through special training [10]. This form of education is important for the healthy adaptation of children with disabilities to society, ensuring that general education is accessible to all. It ensures the right of both healthy and unhealthy people to equal education, which contributes to the protection of social equality in society and the provision of education and other special needs of children with disabilities. When children with disabilities participate in the learning process with other peers, they develop a sense of understanding and respect for each other [7].

Although inclusive education, which is expanding in the world, is not yet fully formed in our country, certain steps have been taken to establish and develop this type of education.

One of the most successful projects implemented by the Ministry of Education is the project on inclusive education. Thus, the implementation of the "Inclusive Education Project" in our country began in 2005. The Ministry of Education and UNICEF have been implementing joint inclusive education projects in Azerbaijan since 2005 on the basis of the Development Program for the Organization of Education for Children with Special Needs in the Republic of Azerbaijan. 3 pilot projects have been launched since. 268 children with disabilities were involved in inclusive education during the implementation of projects in 15 secondary schools and 13 preschools.

The Action Plan of the State Strategy for the Development of Education (2015-2023) provides for the development and implementation of targeted additional education programs for inclusive education in preschool and general education institutions [1].

In 2015, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) analyzed the work done on inclusive education. As a result, the organization of education for children with disabilities has entered a new phase. Interactive processes in the special education system were implemented in 2016, and effective work was done to improve the quality of inclusive education in the development of creative potential of children with special needs. In order to involve children with disabilities in general education together with other children, the implementation of the project "Application of inclusive education at the level of primary education" in the Republic of Azerbaijan began in the 2015-2016 academic year. For this purpose, 4 children with disabilities were admitted to the first grade, with two classes in each of the pilot inclusive schools (schools No 138; 220; 202 and 252 in Baku). 86 students were involved in inclusive education in 4 general education institutions in Baku.

According to the Action Plan of the project, inclusive education training was organized in Germany for principals of pilot schools, teachers of experimental classes, special education specialists, and a two-week training was held in Baku by four professors from the University of Oldenburg, Germany. Awareness-raising seminars on special and inclusive education were held for parents of children with disabilities living in the area where the schools are located, and speech therapy services were established in those schools.

On December 14, 2017, the “State Program for the Development of Inclusive Education for Persons with Disabilities in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2018-2024” was approved [5]. The aim of the program is to ensure the right of persons with disabilities to education on an equal footing with others at all levels of education and to create a barrier-free environment for their education. A working group was established to discuss the draft documents, the results of the research and studies, and to prepare relevant proposals.

In May 2018, the project "Improving the skills of teachers in the field of inclusive education" was launched. In this regard, it is planned to improve the teaching opportunities and pedagogical resources of teachers in the field of inclusive education in Baku, Guba, Sheki, Jalilabad, Agjabadi and Shamakhi districts. The project activities were carried out in 4 areas - improving the curriculum and materials on inclusive education, capacity building of teachers and support staff, creating resources for them, improving the policy on inclusive education and organizing public awareness events. In order to provide access to inclusive education resources for teachers and support staff at the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University and its branches, Inclusive Education Centers were established. In addition, an information booklet and other educational materials on the legislative basis of inclusive education in the country were prepared.

At the same time, trainings were organized to improve the skills of teachers and support staff, and these trainings were used by primary school teachers, secondary school principals, teachers and students working in the pedagogical faculties of universities.

Support for innovative projects related to inclusive education is increasing in Azerbaijan. For this purpose, another project was launched in 2019 with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The project, called ”1001 voice stories”, is developing new resources for children aged 5-16, both from high school textbooks and classical and world literature. Several videos have been made in this regard and made available to children.

The "Voice Textbook” project, the winner of the 2nd grant competition of the Ministry of Education on development and innovations in education, continues successfully today. The idea of "Voice textbook”, an innovative project of Nofal Shirinov, a teacher of Azerbaijani language and literature at Kalbajar district secondary school No 19, was approved. In this project, the literary texts in the literature textbook of the 6th grade were read in the studio by professional announcers and readers in accordance with the requirements of perspective planning and posted on the website. Students can learn the audio texts by listening to them on the site. There is also a mobile application related to the project. Parents can also download the book to their phones. It should be noted that this project aroused great interest and was supported in providing opportunities for the education of children with special needs.

However, there are many challenges faced by people with disabilities that pose serious challenges to the development of an inclusive society and to the education of the general population. The main problem in this area is the lack of an inclusive education system in our country. Education of children with disabilities together with their healthy peers is successful when general school teachers who teach children with disabilities are fully aware of the characteristics of children's education and upbringing and conduct classes taking into account the corrective orientation of the education system.

One of the main problems in this area is the fact that the number of children with disabilities in preschools and secondary schools in our country is relatively small. Serious problems in involving these children in such institutions, especially in the regions, parents' preference for home education, and the lack of special programs and textbooks make it difficult to involve such children in inclusive education. Libraries for people with disabilities can also provide informational and methodological assistance to secondary school teachers. One of the main factors that can lead to significant improvements in the lives of children with disabilities is the creation of accessible infrastructure. The structure of transport and the construction of streets and roads create serious difficulties for people with disabilities to move independently. In this regard, it should be noted that in the absence of accessible infrastructure, educational programs can not have any serious effect.

Finally, it should be noted that according to research, there are about 60 children with disabilities in Azerbaijan. Only 12,000 of them are involved in education, including 1,105 in special schools, 2,664 in special boarding schools, 7,750 at home and 268 in inclusive education. UNICEF estimates that 54.0 of the 72,000 children with disabilities registered in Azerbaijan are of primary and secondary school age. In other words, only 20% of registered school-age children with disabilities receive education. Only 14,638 of them are involved in education. About 9,355 people study at home, 2,558 in special schools and about 2,725 in special boarding schools. In other words, 4 out of every 5 children with disabilities are out of school.

Conclusions and prospects for further research / Висновки та перспективи подальших досліджень / Выводы и перспективы последующих исследований

School is not just a place where children learn. Children are formed at school both mentally, mentally and socially. In this regard, the role of school in children's lives is undeniable. A well-established education system is one of the conditions for the success of the school. It is in such a modern education system that children must acquire both the linguistic and technological knowledge and the skills necessary to make the right choices during the school years and for the rest of their lives. At the heart of these skills is the ability to think critically, research, analyze, draw conclusions, and implement them.

The role of inclusive education in the development of these skills in children with disabilities is undeniable. Because the basis of inclusive education is a society with equal rights, an environment where there is no hate speech, a fair and individual approach, the breaking of negative stereotypes. Of course, students should be taught to work in a team or team, to be impartial, empathetic, friendly and not to see differences as an obstacle. This means the social development of society. Such an education is the embryo of a society full of trust, hope, free from negative situations such as fear, humiliation, psychological and physical violence, and discrimination.

The education of children with disabilities is important precisely because it is as if they are out of the public eye, spend most of their time at home, and cannot socialize. This prevents their integration into society. Such children do not attend school and are unable to participate in various activities. They cannot find the necessary conditions to develop their skills. And in many cases, parents are unable to prepare their children for life at a good level due to financial difficulties and low levels of education. These children have a hard time finding work in the labor market in the future.

It should be noted that in order for children with disabilities in Azerbaijan to be more easily and quickly integrated into society by studying with other children, the society's approach to inclusive education must change for the better.

Prospects for future research in this area: We can say with confidence that the large-scale implementation of projects calling on society to be humane and sensitive, using the experience of other countries, will have a significant impact on the formation of "as a member of society” thinking in children with disabilities. When they grow up with their healthy peers and participate in the learning process, they do not consider themselves useless, helpless, try to act like them, talk, act, gain strength, adapt to their environment and feel that they are an individual and a useful person.

References (translated and transliterated) / Список використаних джерел / Список использованных источников

1. «Azdrbaycan Respublikasinda tahsilin inkipafi иzra Dovlat Strategiyasi» nin hdyata kepirilmasi ila bagli Faaliyyat Plani. Baki §ahari, 19 yanvar 2015-ci il №995.