Regional Formation and Development Studies

Processes of inclusiveness in the implementation of education, trends, and the prevailing experiences of creating inclusion in educational institutions, in the life of an institution’s community, and in educational practice, have created new challenges and opportunities for teachers. The following article shows preschool teachers’ experiences of inclusive education in developing children’s communication competence. A qualitative research strategy was chosen for the empirical study. Preschool teachers, who work in the inclusive education group and have experience of working with children with autism spectrum disorders, participated in a semi-structured interview. Teachers’ experience of inclusive education has been analysed on the basis of the following aspects: an assessment of the situation in the context of inclusive education; the organisation of children’s communication competence activities in inclusive education; preschool teachers’ feelings and their experiences; and the advantages and disadvantages of inclusive education experiences in developing children’s communication competence. The research findings show that it is difficult for teachers to work in inclusive education groups, because educational institutions lack specialists, teachers lack competencies, motivation and educational tools, and parents are not satisfied with the educational situation.

The qualitative and quantitative analysis of canine therapy with children with special educational needs is presented in this article. Canine therapy sessions were carried out in two groups of participants. The 1st group consisted from children with behavioural-emotional problems, the second group – consisted from children who have disability of intelligence and have diagnosis confirmed by physicians. The qualitative and quantitative analysis confirmed positive social, emotional, psychological and educational changes in both groups of children. Relatively greater changes are observed in the group of children with disability of intelligence. The parents of first group of children evaluated their behavioural-emotional difficulties before and after canine therapy sessions. There were no significant differences in mothers scores of children behavioural-emotional difficulties before and after canine therapy sessions, fathers’ scores of behavioral-emotional difficulties of children are lower after canine therapy sessions, and significantly lower are scores of anxiety / depression difficulties after canine therapy sessions.

Strategic documents (Description of Pre-school Children’s Achievements, 2014; State Strategy for Education in 2013–2022, 2014; Concept of Good School, 2015; Methodological Recommendations for Pre-school Education, 2015; etc) state the need to create conditions for children to actively work, investigate, create, discuss, and learn to solve problems, etc. This changes the classic approach to the quality and outcomes of pre-school education. The article analyses teachers’ attitudes towards the possibilities for applying active learning methods in developing children’s language skills at pre-school age. The findings of the qualitative research have revealed that pre-school teachers look for the most effective, child-friendly education methods and tools in order to ensure the success of children’s language education and their optimal achievements according to the children’s abilities. From a teacher’s point of view, pre-school children whose teachers apply active learning methods have the following opportunities for language education: to think creatively, experience the joy of education, take responsibility, investigate and solve problems, work in pairs and/or groups, learn to believe in themselves, use media, develop responsible media usage habits, etc. The findings of the research reveal that children’s language education possibilities using active learning methods are highly dependent on the teacher’s competencies, creativity and willingness to work in a different, non-traditional way.