Socio-psychological barriers to creating an inclusive educational environment in an agricultural university

Inclusive education involves the training of persons with disabilities in general educational institutions – together with their normally developing age-mates. The willingness of the educational process stakeholders to participate in the establishing and development of an inclusive educational environment is determined by their worldview, personal characteristics, understanding and acceptance of the very idea of inclusion. The introduction of inclusive education in our country is not efficient enough due to the reluctance of teachers, parents and students to function in the inclusive education environment. In order to identify prerequisites and approaches to the formation of an inclusive educational environment in higher education institutions, the authors carried out a questionnaire survey on attitudes to inclusive education and diagnosed personal characteristics affecting the effectiveness of communication. The study involved 124 2nd year students of Russian State Agrarian University-Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. As a result, the socio-psychological barriers to the development of inclusive educational environment in agrarian higher education institution were revealed: insufficient awareness of this problem and low communicative tolerance towards people with disabilities. To eliminate the barriers it is necessary to form a stable motivational and value attitude to inclusion, to disclose the possibilities of creative self-realization of the subjects of inclusive educational environment, to expand their horizons, to get acquainted with the options of socialization of persons with disabilities, to learn specific rules and techniques of communication with them. The implementation of inclusion at the level of vocational education requires changes in the parameters of the educational environment of vocational educational institutions, the development of an inclusive environment, corresponding to the opportunities and needs of all its stakeholders.

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