Readiness Of Teachers To Form Communicative Skills In Children With Disabilities

Abstract

The relevance of our study is due to the fact that at the present stage of the development of special and inclusive education, one of the main tasks is to create optimal conditions for the successful development of communicative competencies in younger students with disabilities. In this regard, this article discusses the readiness of teachers to work with children with special educational needs in the formation of communication skills as the most important condition that largely determines the success of adaptation and socialization in a society of younger schoolchildren with disabilities, contributing to the reduction of negative trends in personality development. . The leading research method is an experiment that allows a new assessment of the personal readiness of teachers for the formation and development of communication skills in younger students with disabilities. In the course of experimental work, the original author's technique was tested. The study participants were teachers of an educational institution. The article presents the peculiarities of teachers' response to the communicative manifestations of their pupils, the influence of teachers' own communicative actions on students. It takes into account the main patterns and individual features of the communicative development of younger schoolchildren with disabilities in the implementation of psychological and pedagogical support and planning of the correctional and educational process.

Keywords: Communication skills, development, junior schoolchildren, limited health opportunities correction, teachers

Introduction

Currently, children with disabilities include children whose health condition prevents the development of educational programs outside of special conditions of education and upbringing.

Social adaptation and integration in society of children with disabilities is the leading direction of the entire correctional and developmental process in special and inclusive education. The most important condition for the social adaptation of students in this category is the possession of communicative skills.

In the course of social adaptation and integration of younger schoolchildren with disabilities, the main problems are the lack of interpersonal communication skills among normal people, the low level of need for such communication, but the most important limiting factor is the imperfection of skills associated with the use of speech as a leading communicative means. They find it difficult to participate in the dialogue through which speech communication is carried out.

The works of Boykov and Boykova (2020), Komandyshko (2019), Romanova et al. (2019) and other specialists are devoted to the problem of the communicative sphere development, the formation in students with disabilities the verbal means of communication by means of psychological and pedagogical correction in educational organizations. According to the authors, communicative activity plays an important role in the development of children with special educational needs, in mastering the norms of socially typical behaviour, emotional development, and in acquiring individual social experience. Without satisfying this social need (communication), the process of personality formation slows down, and may even stop altogether. To implement it, a person needs to have communicative abilities – individual abilities of a person that ensure the effectiveness of her communication and compatibility with other people.

According to Nazarova (2000), Saitbayeva and Graboreva (2018), Slobodchikov (2019), a teacher should pay great attention to the social status and communicative development of his pupils. It is necessary to think about how to interact with students, how to respond to cases of undesirable behaviour of children, how to form the motivation for the communication process.

Problem Statement

The problem of education and training of children with disabilities, including children with disabilities, is very relevant today. Psychological and pedagogical support of these children is traditionally carried out in special (correctional) educational institutions. The leading trend of the current stage of development of the special education system is the integrated (inclusive) upbringing and education of children with special educational needs and normally developing peers. Such an approach to the process of education and upbringing does not imply the artificial inclusion of children with special educational needs in an already established system, but requires the creation of new forms and ways of organizing the educational process.

In both cases, the specifics of the organization of educational and correctional work with children with developmental disorders necessitates the solution of not only educational, but also correctional and developmental tasks. Therefore, a teacher working with children with disabilities should have a higher level of professional competence. This is a necessary condition for improving the quality of the pedagogical process, which is based on the personal and professional development of teachers.

The success of psychological and pedagogical correction and development of the communicative sphere of younger schoolchildren with special educational needs is possible if the features and state of the speech, cognitive and motor spheres of the child are taken into account in the process of formation and development of communicative activity. Children are included in positively motivated, socially meaningful activities that are adequate to their motor and intellectual state. The teacher should provide step-by-step support in the selection of means of communication to all its participants, develop the activity and independence of children in communicative activities, in the use of means of communication.

From the point of view of the activity approach, Shirshov (2005) notes that communicative skills can be considered a set of communicative actions, which is based on the readiness of the individual to communicate and the adequate use of her communicative knowledge in order to transform the surrounding reality.

Our study presents the results of studying the readiness of teachers to form and develop communicative skills in younger schoolchildren with disabilities.

Research Questions

Many domestic and foreign experts note that younger schoolchildren with disabilities have diverse and serious violations in the development of the communicative sphere.

Therefore, it is necessary to search for the most effective techniques, methods of its correction and development in this category of students. To do this, the teacher needs to understand the essence of the communicative sphere and its importance in the successful social adaptation and integration of younger schoolchildren with disabilities.

Leonov (2019), speaking about the importance of human communication for the existence and development of society and the individual, notes that it is largely determined by the function of informativeness. The author considers new information as a means of changing human behaviour in a social environment, and information exchange as a channel of direct and reverse communication.

The work of Emelyanova et al. (2018) emphasizes that for the harmonious psychophysical and personal development of younger schoolchildren with disabilities, their successful schooling and further socialization in society, it is necessary to form and develop communicative skills.

Considering the readiness of teachers to work with children in conditions of special (correctional) education, Karynbaeva et al. (2017) point to the need for teachers to be able to control their own behaviour and emotional reactions, as well as the ability to interact, quickly establish appropriate communication, contact with students.

French and Chopra (2006), Winch (2004) note that the results of the professional activity of a teacher working with children with disabilities largely depend on the set of skills used by the teacher to achieve their goals most fully, in particular, the ability to know the student's personality, to organize joint communicative activities.

Loader and Hughes (2017), Sarapulova (2017) consider the problem of a teacher's readiness to work with children with special educational needs as a condition that largely determines the success of joint (integrated) learning. In the structure of teachers' readiness for the implementation of the basic general education program with the participation of students with disabilities, the authors, along with cognitive, identified a personal component.

Yakovleva (2019) writes about the personal readiness of a teacher for inclusive education of children with disabilities. She notes that only the teacher's knowledge of the basics of sciences and methods of educational work is not enough. After all, all his knowledge and practical skills can be transferred to students only through a system of live and direct communication with them. Through communication in the pedagogical process, an elusive, but extremely important system of educational relationships develops, which contribute to the effectiveness of education and training.

This fact emphasizes the need for a deeper experimental and practical study of teachers' understanding of the importance of the problem of formation and development of communicative skills in younger schoolchildren with disabilities.

In our study, the idea is significant that teachers' consideration of the individual characteristics of the communicative development of each student will contribute to the creation of optimal conditions for effective correctional and developmental work and reduce negative trends in the development of the personality of younger schoolchildren with disabilities.

Purpose of the Studу

The purpose of this study was to study the attitude of teachers to the problem of communicative development of students with disabilities. The realization of this goal allowed us to obtain a significant amount of factual data on the personal and professional readiness of teachers for the formation and development of communicative skills in children with special educational needs.

Research Methods

The study was conducted on the basis of the regional state autonomous educational institution "Center of Education "Steps" (Birobidzhan). It was attended by 20 teachers.

In order to determine the level of awareness by teachers of the importance of the problem of developing communicative skills in younger students with disabilities, we used the method of questioning. We offered teachers who took part in the experiment to answer 9 questions, which were divided into 3 blocks, in each block there were 3 questions. Answering questions 1-3, the respondent showed whether he pays attention to the communicative manifestations of students, questions 4-6 made it possible to find out how teachers react to the communicative manifestations of students, questions 7-9 made it possible to determine how much the respondent pays attention to their own communicative manifestations when interacting with students with disabilities.

Teachers were asked to fill out a form in which it was necessary to choose an answer corresponding to the degree of severity of this quality. The survey was conducted in an individual form.

In the process of processing the results of the study, the answers of teachers were evaluated as follows. Answers "always" and "often" to questions - statements with positive content (1, 4, 5, 6, 7), and the answers "never" and "rarely" to questions that have a negative meaning (2, 3, 8, 9), they corresponded to a high level of readiness for the formation and development of communicative skills among students, for the implementation of productive communication with them. The answers "rarely" and "sometimes" showed an average level of awareness of the importance of the communicative development of younger schoolchildren with disabilities, which is characterized by a neutral, indifferent attitude to the communicative capabilities of students, a tendency to situational behaviour. The answer "never" testified to a low level of awareness of the importance of pedagogical communication, disinterest in the development of students' communicative skills, unwillingness to analyze and understand the causes of certain behavioural manifestations of schoolchildren in various communicative situations.

Findings

The results of the survey of teachers showed that not all respondents fully realize the importance of developing the communicative sphere of students with disabilities for their successful integration and socialization in society. Accordingly, they cannot always create conditions conducive to the optimal development of communication skills in children of this category.

Thus, 40% of the responses of teachers of the educational institution were attributed to a high level. Basically, they have a higher special (defectological) education, their work experience in the specialty is on average from 10 to 20 years. Such teachers are quite attentive to the communicative manifestations of students, create conditions for productive interaction of students in the classroom. Communicating with them, students experience mostly positive emotions.

When answering the questionnaire questions, teachers have repeatedly noted that they always take into account the level of formation of students' communicative skills, notice if pupils are experiencing difficulties and cannot quickly and correctly navigate in the conditions of communication, try to help them. Thus, the answers of the respondents of this group indicate that they are aware of the need to consider the communicative factor in the organization of the educational process, which is important in the development of the personality of students with disabilities. They pay attention to the verbal and non-verbal manifestations of their students, try to build correctly communication methods, evaluate their effectiveness and respond by adapting their communicative behaviour. These teachers take into account the basic laws and individual characteristics of the communicative sphere in the process of psychological and pedagogical support for the development of students. They are also able to independently resolve conflict situations arising between pupils, adequately respond to them and teach children conflict-free resolution of problematic situations and the ability to find the right style and tone of communication. Consequently, such teachers practically do not experience difficulties in organizing the educational process. They do not need consulting help, but on the contrary, they can become an example for other teachers who do not always consider and implement the communicative factor in the correctional and educational process.

45% of the responses of teachers working with students with disabilities were at the average level. Teachers with higher or secondary education belong to this level. their work experience in the specialty averaged from 1 to 3 years and from 20 to 25 years. Their answers to the questionnaire questions give us reason to believe that they do not always pay attention and respond adequately to the communicative manifestations of their students. Answering the question of whether they feel independent of the mood of their pupils, their character, the expression of their behaviour, teachers said that they often do not pay attention to it. Answering the question of how they feel when they make remarks to a child about non-compliance with the rules of communication, bad behaviour, teachers said that they practically do not think about it. Other teachers answered like this: "If I make a remark, I will definitely comment and try to convince him that his behaviour does not contribute to establishing contact, creating goodwill and reasoned communication." The answers of the respondents indicate that, when organizing psychological and pedagogical support for the development of students, they do not always consider the communicative aspect. Also, teachers do not always pay attention and, accordingly, react to the communicative manifestations of their pupils. Their ability to navigate in situations of communication is insufficiently formed. These respondents in the educational process do not always take into account the main patterns and individual characteristics of the communicative development of their students, they are not always able to independently resolve conflict situations that arise between students and adequately respond to this. They cannot always find the right style and tone of communication and need the help of experienced teachers. In addition, they noted in their pupils the absence or insufficient development of the need for communication, i.e. these children have a reduced motivational component of their communicative ability. Consequently, this group of teachers’ experiences difficulties in organizing the educational process. They need consulting assistance, which will be aimed at studying the individual characteristics of pupils, at expanding the range of communication tools that a teacher can use in their professional activities, depending on the situation of communication, at forming ideas about communication skills among younger students, considering the structure of communication activity and links of the communication act.

15% of the answers of the educational institution teachers correspond to a low level of awareness of the importance of developing the communicative sphere of students with disabilities. This group was mainly made up of teachers with work experience of either less than one year, or with more experience, but without special education. Such teachers rarely pay attention to the communicative development of their students, treat the difficulties of pupils in establishing contacts with their peers quite calmly, do not react to them, and are not internally disposed to receive feedback from students in all situations, i.e. are not fully focused on their internal activity, which leads not to the exchange of meaningful, affective and evaluative information, but to its one-way movement. Communication with such teachers can have a harmful effect on the communicative development of students. Answering the question of whether they worry if the teacher does not fully manage to organize such communication with schoolchildren in the classroom, which creates the best condition for the development of student motivation and the creative nature of educational activities, for the correct formation of the student's personality, provides an emotional learning climate, teachers said that "More often I do not worry, why should I spoil my health, I am an elderly person," or they answered that "I rarely worry, I know my subject perfectly, I have good discipline in the lesson, students learn the material, let the young ones learn from me." Analyzing the answers of these respondents, we concluded that when organizing the educational process, they do not realize the subject-subject nature of communication. Some of them have theoretical knowledge on this problem, but cannot do it in practice, others are convinced that the peculiarities of the communicative sphere of students with disabilities do not play any role in the organization of their education, upbringing and development. Consequently, such teachers need consulting assistance, which can be carried out at methodological associations, consultations, training, specially organized classes in group and individual forms.

After the survey, a clarifying conversation was held with the respondents in an individual form, during which we found that, nevertheless, most of them attach particular importance to identifying and correcting violations of the students’ communicative sphere, observing the basic principles of pedagogical interaction. The teachers of this educational institution emphasize that it is important not only to be aware of the characteristics of the psychoverbal, sensory development of each student, when organizing the learning process but also to know and take into account the level of formation of their communication skills, which will create optimal conditions for effective correctional and developmental work. They also pay special attention to consolidating the practice of cooperation in building pedagogical interaction, modelling upcoming communication with students in the process of preparing for a lesson, extracurricular activities, analyzing the implemented communication system and modelling a new communication system for upcoming activities.

Conclusion

So, when studying the level of teachers' awareness of the importance of the problem of communicative development of students with disabilities, we found that the organization of the educational process does not always consider the communicative factor, which is important in the development of the personality of students. At the same time, the process of psychological and pedagogical support for the development of children with disabilities should involve knowledge and consideration of the basic laws and individual characteristics of the communicative development of students. The data obtained will be taken into account when conducting further consulting and methodological work with the teachers who study the peculiarities of their pupils’ communicative skills and create optimal conditions for their formation and development in the educational process.

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