Individualization Methods and Processes in Inclusive Education

Abstract

Ensuring the proper quality of inclusive education continues to be one of the most pressing issues requiring fundamental scientific research. The article presents the findings of the study undertaken in 2020–2022 as part of the project for the Russian Foundation for Basic Research — Educational Setting Individualization as a Contributing Factor to the Development of Inclusive Processes in the Education of Children with Disabilities in Urban and Rural Areas. The research seeks to address a major scientific goal of current pedagogy: the theoretical and methodological development, as well as the empirical analysis, of pedagogical mechanisms and conditions for the individualization of the educational process for students with disabilities. The author explores the notion of individualization in the context of an integrative approach. It is seen as a factor that contributes to the availability and high quality of inclusive education by guaranteeing the participation of students with disabilities in the social and educational environment. The article reflects the authors’ methodological foundations for individualization. It also substantiates the psychological and pedagogical mechanisms and conditions that allow for better resourcing of inclusive education, as well as the harmonization of teaching and special educational needs of students with disabilities associated with the specifics of their individual psychosocial development. The authors provide diagnostic tools to assess a teacher’s preparedness for indivi­dualization of the educational process, as well as a preparedness typology generated throughout the research. They develop the notion of inclusive methodological competency of the teacher and define its operational components with the goal of increasing teachers’ individualization skills. Furthermore, the study discusses the authors’ strategy and organizational models for the pedago­gically suitable interaction of subject teachers with the goal of individualizing educational process.