Extracurricular cultural and leisure activities as a means of developing readiness of the regional society for inclusive education (Astrakhan region case)

The research looks at the arrangement issues of extracurricular cultural and leisure activities of children with disabilities. The study highlights that these activities can play a motivating role in fulfilling the personal potential of children with disabilities, enriching their social experience. The paper deals with the implementation of inclusive education, its specific features in Astrakhan region due to the prevailing multicultural characteristics of this entity and the desire of society to preserve old social attitudes. The authors present the survey findings in relation to the readiness of society (represented by parents, teachers and children’s community) for inclusive education. These results demonstrate the low regional readiness to accept the ideas of inclusion. Based on the regional festival project, the research proves that collaborative cultural and leisure activities of children with disabilities and their peers without special needs can be effective when addressing the challenges of inclusive education.