Psychological and pedagogical components of the readiness of children with hearing impairments to learn in the context of updated content of education

Original article

The transition to an inclusive education system for children with disabilities makes it particularly relevant to study the effective- ness of special educational programs being developed and the conditions for their implementation. Also of great importance is the study of the psychological characteristics and readiness for schooling of such children. One of the most common disorders is hearing pathology, which affects all processes of information perception, the formation of thinking, etc. [1; 2]. According to the Information and Analytical Center JSC, out of 3.1 million schoolchildren of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2.3 thousand have hearing loss1.

The problem of teaching children with hearing impairments has been considered by many authors (for example, a review [3]); however, in the context of a significant and continuous change in educational programs, it remains relevant. In particular, in the Republic of Kazakhstan over the past two decades, the amount of educational information to be mastered by deaf and hard-of-hearing children as part of updating the content of education has increased significantly and has become comparable with the curriculum of ordinary schools [4], a trend that is also characteristic of education worldwide [5]. Therefore, comparing the effectiveness of education for children with hearing impairments in the context of the peculiarities of the development of their mental processes and new and classical educational programs, using the example of the model proposed by the Republic of Kazakhstan, is essential.

The modern system of special education operating in most developed countries is characterized by the observance of the principles of accessibility, equal rights and opportunities to choose forms of education, giving preference to full or partial inclusion. L. S. Vygotsky stressed the importance of integrating a child with developmental disabilities into the general educational environment as an effective means of correction and adaptation [6]. He considered the primary goal of special education to be socialization, i.e. the education of the individual in continuous and bilateral contact with society. His ideas formed the basis of modern inclusive education systems, which have long been operating in the USA and Europe and are currently being reflected in CIS countries, including Kazakhstan [7; 8].

Nevertheless, inclusion is not always the optimal form of organizing special education. In addition, as noted by M. T. Doherty, even today there remain many unresolved problems: the lack of a unified pedagogical technology for integrating a child with developmental disabilities into the educational environment of a regular school, the difficulty in adapting curricula and ensuring individualization, the need for a flexible system of correctional care, and an insufficient level of social responsibility and social solidarity [9].

Considering the specific task of teaching children with hearing impairments, it is worth noting that, regardless of the type of educational environment (special school, inclusion in general education, individual classes or at home), any functioning correctional pedagogical system is very sensitive to change [10]. Undoubtedly, for children deprived of the opportunity to hear normally, mastering educational material is significantly more difficult than for their hearing peers and, according to E. A. Ormel, A. M. Bosman and others, they are more likely than conditionally healthy children to be vulnerable to imperfections in educational approaches [11]. Therefore, considering the issue of the modernization of special education (including for the deaf and hard of hearing), it is first necessary to determine the readiness of children for promising reforms.