Individual Learning Paths of Students with Disabilities

Фотографии: 

ˑ: 

E.M. Golikova, associate professor, Ph.D.
A.N. Kozurman, associate professor, Ph.D.
Orenburg State Pedagogical University, Orenburg

Keywords: students with disabilities, adaptive physical culture, sports and health technologies.

Relevance. Due to the problems of people with disabilities in the 21st century it became relevant to understand their nature, characteristics and capabilities. They became general scientific and are studied in the areas of psychology, pedagogics, medicine, philosophy, etc. Scientists are analyzing new data on the state of various images of a person with disabilities. The issues of professional training of future specialists within the modernization of society need special attention to be paid to the changes in the field of higher education. So it is necessary to reconsider and optimize the structure of education and introduce innovation, the health-preserving orientation of which is the main measure of efficiency of an educational system. These requirements are most relevant in relation to students with disabilities. University entrants have health problems and diseases that affect their adaptation, development of professional competences and values to be formed by the graduation from an institution of higher education.

Adaptation of a student with disabilities is a rather complex process requiring individual methods. Effectiveness of adaptation of such students depends on organization of micro-social interaction. In this regard, a student has to possess general knowledge, value system, perspectives, motivations of a deeply moral humanistic orientation. Formation of adaptation mechanisms in students with disabilities while learning is focused on the gradual integration related to assimilation of the content of educational program. Such integration of functions in student's mind and activity brings him to a qualitatively brand new level - self-government during own educational activity. The problem is relevant due to the objectives of optimization of the process of entry of yesterday's schoolchild into the system of intra-university relations, that is implementation of adaptation technologies. Adaptation technologies are aimed at reproduction of the processes of involvement of an individual into groups, communities, new social environment, activities, relationships and are characterized by correlation of the wish of a subject with his capabilities and the reality of social environment, their development trends [2].

Stable long-lasting adaptation is characterized by the availability of the necessary reserve for providing the new level of functioning of the system, stability of functional structures, close interrelation between the regulatory and executive organs of the human body, which is especially relevant for young students with disabilities. In HVE practice among students with disabilities special attention should be paid to the implementation of health-saving technologies that ensure formation of the need for physical enhancement (based on interest and attraction), system of knowledge of foreign cultural values related to physical culture, system of motor abilities and components of basic personal culture [2].

Health-saving technologies are based on the personality-centered approach. Since they are realized basing on personality development situations, they are associated with those vital factors, owing to which students learn to live together and effectively work in a team. They imply participation of a student in the assimilation of the culture of human relations, in the formation of health-saving experience, which is gained by means of gradual extension of the sphere of communication and activity of a student, development of his self-regulation (from external control to internal self-control), formation of self-consciousness and proactive approach to life based on education and self-education, formation of responsibility for own health, life and health of other people [3].

The use of health-saving technologies resulted in the creation of the stable motivation and need for healthy and productive lifestyle, physical self-improvement, achievement of maximal adaptation to ever-changing conditions of modern society. University education implies the use of educational technologies, interchangeable with adaptation and health-saving technologies, in education and training of young students with disabilities or those aligned with them [1].

The fundamental aspect of educational technology is the attitude of a student with disabilities in the educational process, teacher's attitude to him. And here, a teacher needs to use the personality-centered approach during the organization of the educational process and the pedagogical influence characterized by the humanistic and psychotherapeutic orientations, the objective of which is to provide all-round, free and creative development of the human personality. The focus is on giving a student an option of freedom of choice and self-government, which ensures the attitude of a subject, partner, not just an object of the pedagogical influence.

Thanks to the allocated technologies the essence of health-saving, adaptation and educational technologies, and also those technologies ensuring their integrated combination during training of students with disabilities in higher educational institutions, was revealed.

Reduction of health-saving, adaptation and educational technologies used during education and training of students with disabilities made it possible to determine the structure of their integrated use in the context of university education. Taking into account the contingent of students, the following technologies turned out to be the most appropriate for the current category of students:

– health-saving (motor activity support and vitamin fortification, healthy nutrition organization);

– health-improving (physical training, cold water treatment, gymnastics);

– health educational technologies (inclusion of the corresponding topics into general studies);

– teaching the philosophy of healthcare (facultative courses in students’ personality development, extra-curricular and non-academic activities, festivals, contests, etc.)

The selected technologies can be presented hierarchically by the criteria of student's subjective involvement in the educational process.

– extra-subjective: technologies of rational organization of educational process, technologies of formation of health-saving educational environment and so on;

– intending student's active subjective stand: different kinds of gymnastics, health educational technologies, teaching the philosophy of healthcare;

– intending student's passive stand: massage, exercise machines and so on.

In training of highly-qualified young specialists sports and health activity contributing to the formation of a healthy style and way of life of the rising generation seems to be the most appropriate.

The health-saving technologies for students with disabilities implemented during their classes were arranged as follows:

  • by the nature of activity: health saving technologies can be both individual (highly specialized) and complex (integrated).
  • by the area of activity: individual health-saving technologies can be medical (technologies of disease prevention; correction and rehabilitation of somatic health; sanitary and hygienic technologies); health-promoting educational (teaching and educational); social (technologies of organization of healthy and safe way of life; prevention and correction of deviant behavior); psychological (technologies of prevention and psychological correction of mental disorders of personality and intellectual development);
  • integrated health-saving technologies: technologies of complex disease prevention, health correction and rehabilitation (sports and health and valeological); health-promoting educational technologies; technologies contributing to the formation of a healthy way of life.

Organization of training activity does not typically ensure proper adaptation of students to the specific environment of professional school. Because of inadequate approaches to the organization of the educational process focused on solution of the problems of adaptation of students, disagreement of teachers in their actions, lack of attention to the solution of this problem on the part of management, it is rather difficult for students to adapt to the educational process. In view of these conditions the technologies of successful adaptation were implemented in the educational process of young students with disabilities (Figure 1).

Fig. 1. Technologies of successful adaptation of students with disabilities in higher educational institutions

Certain conditions are required to develop the qualities needed for personality self-development of students with disabilities.

We determined a set of pedagogical conditions with regard to the major components of professional adaptation: "adaptive environment", "adaptable element", "adaptive situation" and "adaptive need". In this case, we searched for the conditions of effective professional adaptation of an individual allowing for the effect of: educational and quasi-professional environment, in which students implement their physical culture and sports activities; surrounding objects, which students interact with; a set of socially important personal qualities of students.

Conclusions. The most effective conditions of using health-saving, adaptation and educational technologies intended to form the socio-professional competence in higher educational institutions are:

•  formation of the learning environment that helps students get involved in the educational process;

• establishment of general (especially learning) skills of students;

• creating an effective environment within the group, conditions necessary for activity and involvement of maladjusted students in various types of it;

• implementation of socio-pedagogical adaptation by persons directly related to this: teachers, psychologists, sociologists, parents;

• involving all students in the process of adaptation.

References

  1. Avdienko, G.Yu. Vliyanie meropriyatiy psikhologicheskoy pomoshchi studentam v nachal’ny period obucheniya na uspeshnost’ adaptatsii k obrazovatel’noy srede vuza (The effect of measures of psychological assistance to students in initial period of training on the successful adaptation to university educational environment) // Vestnik prikhoterapii. – 2007. – № 24. – P. 8–14.
  2. Antipova, L.A. Pedagogicheskie tekhnologii uspeshnoy adaptatsii lichnosti studenta v protsesse obucheniya v vuze (Educational technologies of successful adaptation of student's personality in the course of university studies) / L.A. Antipova // Kazanskiy pedagogicheskiy zhurnal. – 2008. – № 2. – P. 52–56.
  3. Pedagogika zdorov’ya: monografiya (Health pedagogics: monograph) / L.A. Akimova, E.M. Golikova, N.V. Sokratov, P.P. Tissen. - Orenburg: Express-pechat', 2013.

Corresponding author: gks-07@mail.ru