Alacrity of Preschool Education Teachers to Work with Children in Inclusive Groups

: To make preschool inclusion successful and to have children gain the expected benefits, teachers need to be provided with functional teacher training programs that foster positive attitudes and provide them with a meaningful experience. The purpose of the study was to investigate the readiness of educators of preschool education institutions in Kyiv to work in inclusive classrooms. In the process of integration into the European community, Ukraine has focused on educational reforms, in particular, the creation of conditions for the introduction of inclusive education in educational institutions. The parameters of the research are taken into account, such as attitude to the idea of inclusion, possession of the necessary arsenal of pedagogical practices, understanding of barriers and ways to overcome them on the way to the organization of inclusive education. A structured questionnaire of preschool teachers attempts to reveal their attitudes towards inclusive education in general and to assess the conditions that promote or hinder the emergence of willingness and willingness to work in an inclusive group. The results of the study showed that a significant number of educators have a negative attitude to the idea of inclusion, believing that children should study in special groups or in special institutions (but not boarding schools). Educators name a number of barriers that prevent them from being positive about inclusive education, and underestimate their readiness for such work.


INTRODUCTION
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (2009), ratified by Ukraine, have made radical changes in their treatment of people with special needs. This first comprehensive treaty of the 21st century has changed the paradigm of attitudes and approaches to the problems of persons with disabilities. The Convention and the Optional Protocol became part of the Ukrainian legislation and initiated changes in education, intensified the activities of public organizations (Saloviita 2018).
The innovative Law of Ukraine "On Education" (2020) was adopted, which opened a wide field for the introduction of inclusion in the education system. The law provides for equal access to education, regardless of age, sex, race, health, disability citizenship, nationality, political, religious or other beliefs, skin color, place of residence, language, origin, social and property status, criminal record, as well as other circumstances and signs. Article 20 states that educational institutions, if necessary, shall form inclusive and/or special groups and classes for the needs in the city of Kyiv; the vast majority of them are educated in special groups and institutions, and only a small part (339 people) attend preschool institutions with 120 inclusive groups in their structure. Last year, there were 90 such groups and they raised about 200 children with special educational needs. There is a tendency to increase the number of inclusive groups and children in them requires a comprehensive approach to improving the professional competence of educators and, first of all, to find out their readiness and willingness to work in such groups (Dias and Cadime 2016).
Despite significant changes in the organization of inclusive education, creating conditions for people with disabilities, opinion polls show that more than half of Ukrainians (54%) see the existence of a real problem in Ukraine restricting the rights of people with disabilities and this situation needs immediate change. The European Research Association has concluded that the main initiators of inclusive education for children with disabilities based on the principles of equal opportunities are parents and NGOs, while educational institutions do not demonstrate such an attitude (Talanchuk 2015).
There is a lot of research in the world scientific literature on inclusive education and the readiness of educators/teachers to work in inclusive groups of educational institutions. The presented research reflects the specifics of socio-economic conditions, historical and mental features of the country where it was carried out. Ukraine is only taking the first steps in organizing inclusive education, trying to get rid of the totalitarian past and build its own effective educational model. This requires an in-depth analysis of the approaches, efforts, and results that have been made in this direction in other countries (Anke de, Sip, and Minnaert 2011).
The study of scientific research makes it possible to identify and analyze the social model of attitudes to disability, which convincingly and diversely considers the problem of a person with special needs in society and overcoming existing barriers. A significant step in the implementation of inclusive education was the acquaintance of the pedagogical community with the ICF -the international classification of functionality, which means focusing not on the diagnosis of the person, but on his ability to develop and actively participate (Purdue 2009;Dorji, Bailey, and Paterson 2019).
Ukraine has significant socio-cultural resources for the successful implementation of inclusive learning ideas. However, in real life there are significant contradictions between the declared ideas and the real state of affairs. One of such contradictions is the discrepancy (inconsistency) between state plans and projects for the development of inclusive education and the willingness of educators/teachers to work in such groups, which requires the latter to understand and accept humanistic ideas of inclusive education, good orientation in the specifics of inclusive culture and sufficient skills. inclusive practice (Gezer and Aksoy 2019).
The first part of our study is devoted to the theoretical analysis of research in different countries that has been done to organize inclusive education, and in particular, in the readiness of teachers to work in inclusive classes/groups. Analyzing the readiness of educators/teachers to work in inclusive classrooms, they focused on the nature of their attitude to the idea of inclusion, their understanding of the barriers that arise along the way and ways to overcome them; idea of owning special pedagogical practices (Majoko 2016).
As part of the study, we were interested in the results of research on the introduction of inclusive education in other countries with more experience than in Ukraine. The research of scientists from different countries was analyzed: Great Britain, Greece, Israel, New Zealand, Germany, the USA, Turkey, which was carried out at different times, starting from the 2000s.
Familiarity with the results of research has shown that most scholars consider the teacher a determinant in the organization of inclusive education, and his positive attitude to inclusive change, which is the basis of readiness to work in such a class, is recognized as a necessary condition (Anke de et al. 2011;Saloviita 2018). Preschool teachers are much more committed to the idea of inclusion than school teachers, who are more focused on the subject and its teaching than on the development of students (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002;Saloviita, 2018).
The fact that the world community of preschool educators is more loyal to the idea of inclusion can be explained by the specifics of the organization of life in the institution, which allows the use of a wide arsenal of forms and methods of working with children, choosing ways to assess academic achievement, tracking child progress.
The professional activity of a teacher at school is regulated by a number of requirements and rules, among which one of the main ones is the responsibility for the quality of education of all children. The presence in the classroom of a child with special educational needs strains and complicates the educational process, requires additional effort and additional resources from the teacher. Those who only have occasional contact with children, such as the school administration, tend to respond positively to the idea of inclusion in most cases (Avramidis and Norwich 2002).
According to researchers, the success of the development of children with special educational needs depends on the attitude of teachers to the integration process, to inclusiveness in it. A positive attitude enhances the child's chances for further integration, to continue classes in another classroom, where inclusion can continue to work successfully. The average efficiency of a child's work in the company of typical peers was determined by the majority of teachers and parents in the range of 70-80%. The authors of the study emphasize the traditional pedagogical expectations: the development of the child's skills to immediately follow the instructions of an adult and answer individual questions, as well as -to fill in workbooks. Unfortunately, such compliance skills are the highest in the minds of teachers, making it difficult for children to integrate into regular classes.
However, the significance and importance of the teacher's perception of the child's integration success contributes to the improvement of the child's behavior and learning effectiveness. Therefore, the findings of the study contain a clear and unambiguous position of the future: teachers will have to learn to more carefully assess the skills of integrated children in the classroom. Otherwise, there is a risk of depriving children of the opportunity to use previously developed skills.
Turning to early millennium research has shown a general global trend: by supporting the idea of inclusive learning in general and even having some experience working with different children, most teachers are particularly wary of working in an inclusive classroom (Avramidis and Norwich 2002). The following data from Greek studies show that teachers believe that successful inclusive education requires adapting existing curricula, a small number of children in the classroom, sufficient correctional support for children in the classroom, parallel audiences, and even teachers who are willing to adopt a child. special educational needs for their class, about 40% believe that it would still be better for her to study in a special education (Zoniou-Sideri and Vlachou 2006).
Studies by Turkish scholars show that inclusive practices are useful for supporting a child's social development, more than half of educators believe that preparation for inclusion promotes student development, but ensuring successful inclusion depends on team training and based on child observations (Gezer and Aksoy 2019).
However, researchers note another pattern: gradually, as the educator/teacher immerses himself in work in an inclusive classroom, masters the ways of organizing the class, changes his attitude to the inclusion of children with special educational needs towards the positive (Leatherman and Niemeyer 2005).
One of the factors influencing the attitude of teachers to inclusive education is called the nature of the child's disability, i.e. the level of its functionality. Most scientific studies argue that the success of inclusion depends largely on the nature of the disease, the ability to adapt, the adequacy of children's behavior in general (Avramidis and Norwich, 2002;Fyssa, Vlachou, and Avramidis 2014;Hasting and Oakford 2003).
The point of view of teachers who deny the possibility of successful education of children with complex physical, mental, behavioral disorders, allowing such participation only for children with minor developmental disabilities. Teachers are unanimous in their rejection of the idea of including children with severe intellectual and sensory impairments (Forlin 1995).
Some studies done at different times suggest that the main reason for the difficulties of adaptation of individual children to inclusive education should not be considered features of developmental disorders, and the unpreparedness of the education system for the education of such children. There is talk of meeting the individual needs of children and this is the best way to succeed in an inclusive classroom (Leatherman and Niemeyer 2005). This is confirmed by a study of recent years, according to which some teachers do not even try to involve children with special educational needs in academically complex activities from the standpoint of their inability, assuming that they will not cope; however, only a small number of them state that the participation of these children largely depends on the organization of the educational process, adaptations and modifications in the classroom (Fyssa et al. 2014).
An important factor that significantly affects the nature of the attitude to the idea of inclusive education is called a weak awareness of the peculiarities of the development of children with special educational needs and pedagogical practices of working with them. Teachers do not have practical skills to adapt and modify programs, do not know how to communicate with children and their parents. They are often busy with things that are not directly related to working with children, and this in turn requires energy and effort. Therefore, inclusion is often seen as an additional burden (Anke de et al. 2011).
Teachers have little idea how to include children with special needs in the general educational process and ensure their equal participation with other children. Some of them believe that they should be accompanied by professionals who are well versed in the development of such children and know how to work with them (Purdue, 2009), noting that the situation would have improved significantly if the curriculum and further postgraduate teacher training focused on the practical training of teachers to work in inclusive classrooms (Hyun and Peterson 2003;Majoko 2016).
Another study (Fyssa et al. 2014) found that more than half of teacher's view inclusion as a process in which a child with special educational needs has to adapt to a virtually unchanged environment, i.e. to curriculum, rules, and the main responsibility for meeting the needs of these children should lie with a special teacher.
The process of organizing the educational process in an inclusive classroom involves individual lessons, for some of the children their share in the total is quite high. In this regard, educators are concerned about maintaining a balance between inclusion and individualization in order to avoid marginalization on the one hand, and to achieve academic success on the other.
The list of barriers to the loyal attitude of teachers to include children with special needs in their classrooms is supplemented by: overcrowded classrooms and a large number of children with special needs in one class, lack of support from colleagues, administration, support staff (Avramidis and Norwich 2000).
A study by Bhutanese scholars identifies playgrounds that are unsafe for children with special educational needs, inaccessible toilets, and overcrowded classrooms (Dorji et al. 2019). Educators feel responsible for meeting the learning and development needs of all children, trying to succeed in the educational process, so they are concerned about developing special programs that can be used for children with special educational needs, training professionals who know such children well and can with them work.
The question of how the inclusion of children with special educational needs can be beneficial or harmful for all children in the class is commonly discussed. A number of studies have shown that such a combination is beneficial for all children in the class and does not lead to any negative consequences. At the same time, the performance of children in a class either increases or has neutral consequences. There are examples of how the behavior of all children has changed positively after inclusion: they began to help those who need it; more trust and cooperation; improved social skills.
It is called a condition for improving relationships between peers: expanding contacts with children with special educational needs, the opportunity to get to know each other better, the organization of joint activities. There are studies that show the negative impact of children with special educational needs who have emotional and behavioral problems on other children, teachers and the school environment (Hasting and Oakford 2003).
One study describes specific examples where the behavioral problems of children with special needs negatively affected the general atmosphere and relationships of children in the classroom and teachers did not know how to overcome such a problem. Teachers faced a problem when the usual strategies for influencing children did not work.
Research on the well-being of teachers working in inclusive classrooms has not gone unnoticed. Studies of stress experience are analyzed, it is concluded that the level of stress is little affected by work in inclusive classes; attention is drawn to the fact that this is prevented by teamwork, school management, development of the school on the basis of inclusive values (Weiss, Muckenthaler, and Heimlich 2019).
Inclusion implies the coherence and partnership of families of children with and without special needs. Teachers work even more enthusiastically when they see support and recognition from families. Most parents are positive about the joint learning of all children, but in some cases, they say they do not want to see their child with special educational needs, fearing depression.
The scientific literature discusses the question of the dependence of the nature of the teacher's attitude to inclusive education, depending on his age and experience of pedagogical work. A study by Forlin C. (1995) found that young teachers with little work experience (less than six years) were more inclined to work in an inclusive classroom than teachers with significant work experience. (Stephens and Braun 1980). Significantly better results in terms of readiness to work with children in an inclusive classroom are shown by teachers who have at least some previous experience in an inclusive classroom (Zoniou-Sideri and Vlachou, 2006).
Thus, the analysis of scientific research on the readiness of preschool teachers to work in inclusive classrooms showed the existence of global trends in this issue, in particular, ambiguous, often wary, and even negative attitude to the organization of inclusive education by teachers and parents; For most participants in the educational process, barriers are overcrowded classrooms, insufficient help from special educators, low level of mastery of special pedagogical practices, difficulties in adapting and modifying educational materials, low level of support from colleagues and parents. Teachers of inclusive classes need constant support and training, which should be practice-oriented.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study lasted from the first half of 2019 to the first half of 2020, the empirical phase lasted for six months (September 2019 -February 2020) and covered research activities on respondents -educators of municipal preschools in all ten districts of Kyiv.
The study included two main stages: 1st stagetheoretical, the purpose of which was to get acquainted with international experience in the organization of inclusive education; Stage 2 -empirical (ascertaining), the purpose of which was to assess the readiness of teachers of preschool education in Kyiv to implement inclusive forms of education in order to identify weaknesses and further develop the necessary strategy to improve their professional competence, which can be implemented within the Institute postgraduate pedagogical education of University named after Borys Hrinchenko in Kyiv. The effectiveness of the approaches used to form the readiness of teachers of preschool education to work in inclusive groups will be reflected in the next scientific article.
The study used the methods of structured written survey (questionnaire), research interview and mathematical data processing, which gave the opportunity to see the statistical picture of the studied phenomenon. The optimal combination of methods provided in-depth information on the attitude of preschool teachers to inclusive education in general and assessed the conditions that promote or hinder the emergence of willingness and willingness to work in an inclusive group. This allowed us to analyze not only the external organizational and pedagogical facts, but also the internal motivation, attitude, self-esteem, awareness of barriers and resources for working in an inclusive group.
In the process of empirical research, two questionnaires (closed questionnaires) were used, the first of which contained 8 questions with 33 possible answers and was offered to educators of preschool institutions working in municipal institutions in groups of general development of children; the second, which contained 7 questions with 38 possible answers, was intended for educators of inclusive groups. The difference between the questionnaires was that the latter included questions related to self-assessment of one's own professional experience as an educator of children in an inclusive group.
Through questionnaires it was planned to collect information about the place and experience of respondents, attitudes to where children with special educational needs should study, awareness of the importance of inclusion for all children, self-assessment of readiness to work in an inclusive group in general and ability to perform certain components of inclusive education. assessment of the contributions of various organizations in preparation for work in an inclusive group and a declaration of their own attitude to such work. Details of the content and objectives of the questionnaire are given in Table 1.
In addition to the questionnaire, a structured indepth interview method was used for educators working in general development groups and inclusive groups and participating in a previous survey. Respondents were invited to participate in the interview, who showed different attitudes to the idea of inclusion based on the results of the questionnaire. This strategy is explained by the fact that we tried to get a holistic picture of the readiness of different educators, both those who work in inclusive groups and those who work in groups of general development of children, but at any time can start working in inclusive; both those who are positive about such work and those who today do not accept this version of the educational process.
It was important to understand the internal motivational and external organizational and pedagogical factors that determine the nature of the attitude to inclusive education and affect the level of readiness to work in such groups. The information obtained will be reported to the Department of Education of the city of Kyiv and used to develop the content of training programs for teachers of inclusive groups.
The content of the interview and the organization of the procedure focused on modern requirements and approaches to the development of such a research method. The requirements for the procedure were met: the interviews were conducted in the usual conditions for preschool teachers (but in separate rooms); educators from different districts were invited (but all from municipal preschools); to reduce the possible influence of the interviewer's personality on the results, it was carried out by 3 researchers; the duration of the interview did not exceed the permissible norms; respondents' answers were recorded on a Dictaphone.
In the course of the interview, they tried to clarify the information of the respondents about where children with special needs should be educated (the nature of the answer indicated whether the position had changed since the last survey) and why; how the respondent assesses his / her own level of readiness to work in inclusive groups, why; it was suggested to identify barriers and explain exactly how they affect work; what nosologies the respondents work with and what difficulties and barriers exist in working with such children.
The results of the interviews were analyzed by categories, taking into account the differences: in the attitude of educators to the opportunities for children Assess your level of readiness to work in an inclusive institution Questionnaire 1 Determine the professional selfesteem and professional competence of the teacher ranking from the lowest score (1) to the highest (5) Assess your readiness to implement certain aspects of inclusive education Questionnaire 2 Where do you think children with special educational needs should be educated?
To determine the attitude of teachers to the problem and readiness for innovation selective from the offered variants Do you think that the presence of children with special educational needs in the regular group is an additional educational resource for all children?
Questionnaires 1, 2 Identify difficulties that level significant motives ranking from the lowest score (1) to the highest (5) Assess the level of barriers, barriers to the implementation of inclusive education Questionnaire 1 Determine the quality of the information space ranking from the lowest score (1) to the highest (5) Evaluate the contributions of different organizations or individuals to familiarizing you with the specifics of working in an inclusive group Questionnaires 1, 2 Identify the state of self-determination of the educator's readiness to change activities selective from the offered variants Would you like to work in an inclusive group of preschool education?
Questionnaire 1 with special needs to attend different educational institutions; existing barriers to the implementation of inclusive education; readiness of educators to work in inclusive groups with children from 2 to 7 years.
For a holistic approach and depth of analysis, reliability of information and understanding of contradictions, 329 women educators (optional) of different ages with different work experience (from 1 year to 30 years and more) working in different preschools in Kyiv were interviewed. Of these, 242 people work in groups of general development of children (conditionally separated in category VZ) and 87 people who work in inclusive groups (conditionally separated in category VI). Each respondent was assigned a code, depending on the group in which the educator works (educators working in groups of general development of children (VZ -242); educators of inclusive groups (VI -87).
Ahead of a detailed analysis of the written survey, it can be argued that the sample of respondents reflects the general population, i.e. is representative (due to operational validity, relative homogeneity, adequacy); The views expressed by the participants reflect the overall real situation with the readiness to work in inclusive groups of preschool education institutions in Kyiv.
The structured interview was attended by 15 educators working in regular and inclusive groups and participated in a preliminary survey, of which 3 respondents -from category VZ and 12 -from category VI. Respondents were invited to participate in the interview in equal proportions, who showed a positive and negative attitude to the idea of inclusion according to the results of the questionnaire. This strategy is explained by the fact that we tried to make a holistic picture of the readiness of different educators, both those who work in inclusive groups and those who work in ordinary ones, but can start working in inclusive groups at any time; both those who today believe that children should be brought up in inclusive groups and those who oppose it.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The question of the determinants of educators' attitudes towards inclusive education, which are related to their work experience, seems to be important. The results showed that most respondents have 20-30 years of experience working with preschoolers in general developmental groups. The picture of educators of inclusive groups differs sharply: among them 42% of people have work experience of up to 5 years. This trend may speak in favor of the ability to learn, interest in changes in education, a sense of potential and professional resources to work in more difficult conditions. Educators with 30 years of experience or more are wary of this choice. Only 8.9% of them found their interest in working with children with special educational needs.
One of the reasons for anxiety and negative attitude towards work in inclusive groups is the feeling of insufficient preparation for such work. Those who have made their choice in favor of inclusive education are optimistic. Self-esteem is defined by most of them as average and higher, while educators who work in groups of general development of children assess themselves less optimistically: self-esteem is average and lower.
The answers of educators also differ significantly regarding the location of children with special educational needs. The respondents had inconsistencies, differences, and even polarity in relation to the creation of inclusive groups. Even among those who already work in inclusive groups, only about half of the respondents have a positive attitude to the education of children in inclusive groups of children with disabilities (46.26%). Among educators of general development groups, 41.32% prefer to limit children's education to special institutions or special groups of general development institutions. Educators working in groups of general development of children adhere to the extreme degree of choosing the place of stay of a child with special educational needs in closed institutions (special boarding schools) -6.19%: half of them believe that there is no use in staying in a group with children with there are no special needs and that the presence of such children in the regular group cannot become an additional educational resource (52.47%).
Those who have tried themselves as educators of an inclusive group have a different opinion. 76.11% of them are convinced that the presence of such children is a significant and powerful resource for the whole community, which can and should be used. And only 1.49% of such respondents believe that a child's stay in special boarding schools is possible.
All teachers are aware that working in inclusive groups requires special training, creating conditions, penetration and understanding of the situation. Given that the idea of inclusive education is only gaining ground in Kyiv, educators are aware that risks are inevitable and sometimes seem insurmountable. Among others, we identified the most visible and common risks and asked respondents to assess them.
Equally important difficulties, which are taken into account by educators of both category VZ (66.11%) and category VI (34.32%) -the size of groups where the number of children significantly exceeds the norm. It is worth noting that overcrowded groups in preschools in Kyiv are a widespread and long-standing phenomenon.
Every second educator who does not work in an inclusive group complains about the lack of specialists to support the development of children with special needs. Such teachers identify the inclusive group with the specialized groups of PEI. For example, in speech therapy, where a teacher-speech therapist, qualified in accordance with the established nosology of students, plans, organizes, structures and systematically implements the content of pedagogical influence, and the educator continues to implement individual tasks during the day in various fragments of the child's life. In this part of educators there is a warning that in the absence of a suitable specialist, they will not cope and will not be able to meet the needs of the child. Respondents openly admit that they still lack knowledge, fragmentary understanding of nosography, and lack of practical experience.
Teachers of both categories showed a critical view of their own level of awareness about working in inclusive groups: this is the middle level.
All teachers are aware that each individual child needs different from traditional approaches, methods, ways of its socialization.
More than half of the educators of category VI accept the idea of inclusive education, understand the need to create inclusive groups, welcome their annual increase in the space of the capital's preschool education. And only one in three VZ educators share these views.
Educators working in inclusive groups rely on social acceptance and approval of their choices. However, they do not believe that the choice of place of work or social status is significantly/decisively influenced by relationships with colleagues. Unlike their colleagues, educators of category VI in the first place bring the importance of relationships in the team. We assume that they understood the specifics of working in inclusive groups, among which one of the main ones is the ability to work in a team, provide support to others and feel it themselves, together discuss complex issues of education of individual children.
All educators take into account the level of financial remuneration, considering it as an essential sign of motivation to work not only in the inclusive group, but also in the group of general development of children. This feature is twice as often mentioned by educators of the VZ group, proving that the salary is too low.
Analyzing the attitude of teachers to work in inclusive groups, we see this as a prerequisite for conscious choice in favor of such groups, a sign of readiness to accept the idea of inclusive education. However, the survey shows pessimistic views of VZ respondents, unwillingness to change the usual way of working and to acquire the role of educator of an inclusive group. Low wages do not meet the level of expectations, do not cover the costs, complexity and intensity of work in either general or inclusive groups. Teachers are aware that working in a group, where a child with special educational needs is among others, is extremely responsible and intense, requires an understanding of the general behavioral picture and requires a wide arsenal of pedagogical tools. This is the risk that 83.88% of surveyed teachers in Kyiv block the desire to work in groups with inclusive education and only 16.11% of respondents expressed a willingness to be an educator of an inclusive group.
Among other reasons, we consider how educational structures acquaint teachers with the peculiarities of working in an inclusive group, help them to perceive and accept the introduction of this practice common to the civilized world, acquire practical skills, create a barrier-free environment and more. Such a mission in our society relies on multilevel structures. We tracked the vision of this process and the result according to the answers of the respondents. The activity or availability of educational projects and the participation of educators in them seems to be too low. In the most definite position (5 points) in favor of educational projects responded educators of groups VZ (12.39%) and educators of groups VI (17.91%).
Given these results of the survey, we set a goal to find out what is the professional self-esteem of educators who already work in inclusive groups in Kyiv. It seems important to understand the individual needs and opportunities of children, the ability to work in harmony with children, other teachers, parents, to build individual educational trajectories. Every third educator rated their level as sufficient or high in terms of joint work with the educator's assistant and the successful organization of interaction between children. And the ability to establish a fruitful and friendly interaction of the teacher with parents is well enough witnessed by 25.37% of educators. 41.79% of respondents do it very well. It can be hoped that such self-assessment is a confirmation of the commonality of the two social institutions in terms of the conceptual vision of the problem and the development of tactics for the closest search. Obviously, the problem of a child with special educational needs joining the group was not too difficult or painfully acute, and the preschooler found his place among his peers. It is this circumstance that could be decisive in the formation of a favorable relationship between family and caregivers, which will project cooperation for the future.
All respondents, without exception, understand the importance of organizing interaction between children, on which depends the psychological microclimate in an inclusive group and the desire of children to attend education. Thus, two respondents reported that they manage to organize positive interaction and communication between children with special needs and preschoolers who do not have such needs (VI 5; VI 7). Another interviewee spoke about pedagogical methods and techniques that she thought were more appropriate and effective: "We have no misunderstandings in the interaction between children. However, the educator must constantly monitor the situation in the group so that there are no signs of aggression on the part of the children. The educator must have different forms of communication and then teach all the children in the group" (VI 6).
"We are convinced that working in inclusive groups, the main thing is not to be indifferent to the problems of children with special needs, to study their individual characteristics well and to understand why the child needs help in the first place. It is very difficult, but possible" (VI 1).
"In our group there are children with mental disorders. That's why I have to constantly remind all the children not to hurry when we move in the column. Later, the children themselves suggested that the first to go in the column were children who sometimes lag behind. They will set the pace of movement along the corridor, on the stairs, at the entrance to the hall, and the whole group adjusts to this speed. This was facilitated by the favorable attitude of adults, the manifestations of their care for children with special needs that other children constantly saw and heard. So they wanted to imitate the behavior of adults. Be that as it may, the children themselves took the initiative in creating a new group rule" (VI 3).
One of the educators said: "We have a barrier in the interaction between children and a boy with autism. The children are afraid of him. This is because the boy occasionally shows signs of uncontrolled aggression" (VI 4).