Perspectives of inclusive education in Russia

Iarskaia‐Smirnova, Elena; Romanov, Pavel

doi:10.1080/13691450601143732

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(4 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For a long time, education for children with disabilities was based on Soviet 'defectology principles', and even in 1990 special needs education was very resistant to change (Grigorenko, 1998;Thomson, 2002;Iarskaia-Smirnova and Romanov, 2007). The stigma associated with mental health, in general, in Russia (see Shek et al, 2010), makes the situation regarding access to education for children with developmental disabilities very complex.…”

Section: Education Of Children With Disabilities In Russiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Between withdrawal and resistance: parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia for children with developmental disabilities and autism

Кузнецова

Garapshina

Mukharyamova

2021

JCS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose This paper aims to fill the gap in social sciences research on parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia. It focusses on the barriers that children with developmental disabilities and autism face in preschool education in Russia and highlights the emerging facilitators of inclusive education. Design/methodology/approach It uses a modified labelling approach analysing strategies of withdrawal and resistance. The research included semi-structured interviews with parents of children with Down syndrome, Rett syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in 2013–2014 and 2018–2019 and semi-structured interviews with professionals in Tatarstan, Russia. The data analysis was based on constructivist methods and grounded theory. Findings Although Russian law guarantees equal access to education for every child and requires the development of inclusive education, children with developmental disabilities, including autism, are often stigmatised at the preschool stage, both in special needs and mainstream institutions. Parents use various strategies to navigate access to preschool education and try more than one strategy from secrecy and withdrawal to resistance. Parents challenged the mainstream educational structures in Kazan and established groups for children with autism in some mainstream kindergartens and classes in mainstream schools. Research limitations/implications There should be informational support for parents with different options for special needs education, providing integrative and inclusive education. It is necessary to increase the number of trained specialists in special needs and mainstream kindergartens in Russia for children with developmental disabilities and ASD. More study is required to overcome stigmatisation and increase tolerance towards persons with developmental disabilities in Russia both on a national and local level. Practical implications The research findings can be useful for countries which have recently recognised ASD and do not have inclusive preschool educational practices and where labelling towards children with developmental disabilities is still common. The study recommends that resources are required to provide free or affordable preschool education for children with developmental disabilities. It is also crucial to help parents navigate preschool education and select the best options for each child’s needs. Social implications This study’s findings add value to the importance of addressing the stigma towards people with disabilities within professional groups and broader society, which form barriers for preschool education and in some cases result in withdrawal from preschool education. To overcome the stigmatisation of children with developmental disabilities in preschool education, it is necessary to establish modern targeted pedagogical approaches and training for professionals and informational campaigns for the broader audience. Originality/value The paper is novel as there was no sociological research into preschool education of children with developmental disabilities in Russia. It argues that the parents’ experiences are much broader than just interactions with special needs or mainstream education. Parents navigate across special needs institutions, specialised groups in mainstream and private kindergartens, mixed groups in mainstream kindergartens and home education with various strategies from secrecy and withdrawal to resistance and challenge. Preschool education for children with developmental disabilities in Russia is hindered by a lack of professional resources and the stigma embedded into professional and societal responses.

show abstract

Section: Education Of Children With Disabilities In Russiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Between withdrawal and resistance: parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia for children with developmental disabilities and autism

Кузнецова

Garapshina

Mukharyamova

2021

JCS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In order to fully understand the implications that Vygotsky's 'Defectology' theory has on inclusive education, it would be relevant to briefly explore how 'defectology' initially manifest in the Russian education system. Iarskaia-Smirnova and Romanov (2007) claim that up until the 1990s, the term 'defective' or other derivative forms, were used to describe Russian students with special needs. Difficulties arise in examining how Russian 'defectology' theory used in Russia during the 1950s and into the 1960s, manifest in Kosovo's inclusive education, and are only made more prominent by the ongoing political tensions and unrest.…”

Section: Russia 'Defectology' and Kosovomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These students, particularly those with physical disabilities, were placed into schools designed specifically for students with those needs, resulting in the development and practice of segregated schools. Children were then given one of two classifications of learning: 'capable' or 'incapable' (Iarskaia-Smirnova & Romanov, 2007), both of which are divisive by nature and embody the essence of segregation. This segregation manifests as students with special needs remaining at home due to a culmination of "negative attitudes throughout the community, generally towards people with intellectual, sensory, and physical differences" (p. 489).…”

Section: Russia 'Defectology' and Kosovomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kosovo presents a challenging example to analyse in terms of inclusive education, as there many other environmental occurrences that require consideration. Kosovo children with additional needs to this day, still face discrimination in the classroom, more so because educators are so underprepared and unwilling to teach them (Iarskaia-Smirnova & Romanov, 2007). For Kosovo, survival has been its central focus amidst its political instability and war (Bartlett et al, 2004).…”

Section: Russia 'Defectology' and Kosovomentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Inclusive Education: Origins, ‘Defectology’, and Kosovo’s Experiences of Inclusive Education

Joubert¹,

Harrington²

2019

IJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vygotsky (1993) first identified the theory of ‘Defectology’ to understand and describe children with special and additional needs, but essentially categorized them as ‘defective’ (Bartlett et al., 2004; Thomazet, 2009). It is with Vygotsky’s theory in mind that inclusive education frameworks in Kosovo and Russia are critically examined: whilst they both present similar methods of educating students with additional needs (Bartlett, Power & Blatch, 2004), analysis of these methods against their contrasting socio-political environments, requires careful consideration and attention.

show abstract

“…Reviewing micro support is how parents are able to deliver students with special needs at the school gate of inclusive education providers with full support commitment, and macro support is the readiness of an organizing school in providing full service and facilities and providing a conducive social environment for students with special needs. One indicator of successful learning in inclusive classes is the active participation of all students in the class [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Environment of Special Needs in Inclusive Primary School: A Descriptive Research with Phenomenology Approach

Pradipta¹,

Ummah²,

Dewantoro³

2018

Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Early Childhood and Primary Education (ECPE 2018)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The social environment in the inclusion school setting is not as we expected because the incident of bullying until persecution still occurs and the targets are students with special needs. The method used in this research is descriptive research with phenomenology approach. The results of the study found two main findings. First, there is lack of preparedness of the institution of inclusive school education so that there is a deep understanding on all components of the institution of the inclusive school organizer. Second, one of the impacts of the components makes the providers of inclusive education in regular schools be incapable in creating a conducive, safe, and comfortable social environment for children with special needs as it will interfere with the children's learning process.

show abstract

Perspectives of inclusive education in Russia

Cited by 16 publications

References 5 publications

Between withdrawal and resistance: parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia for children with developmental disabilities and autism

Between withdrawal and resistance: parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia for children with developmental disabilities and autism

Inclusive Education: Origins, ‘Defectology’, and Kosovo’s Experiences of Inclusive Education

Social Environment of Special Needs in Inclusive Primary School: A Descriptive Research with Phenomenology Approach

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About