The thesis solves the scientific problem of conducting a comprehensive analysis of theoretical and methodological foundations of socialization of students with special educational needs in the school environment in the late XX – early XXI century (behaviorism, neobehaviorism, social learning, dialectical materialism, psychoanalysis, psychosocial development, looking-glass self, genetic epistemology, psychotherapeutic psychology, humanistic psychology, genetic psychology, sociobiology, cognitive psychology, cultural activity, theory of ecological systems), which explain the development and socialization of personality in the context of psychoanalytic, sociogenetic, cognitive, individual, cultural-centered areas and through the prism of socialization of people with special educational needs.
The priorities of international policy in the field of social and educational integration of people with special educational needs are differentiated due to general trends in the development of national educational systems in the global dimension, including the following aspects: transformation of national social and educational policies for people with special educational needs; restructuring and reorganization of the classical system of special education; ensuring cooperation of public structures, families, schools in matters of education and upbringing of children in this category; adaptation of software and methodological support to the needs of students; improving the professional training of teachers to work with children with special educational needs.
The research identifies the key aspects of socialization of a person with special educational needs in the theory and practice of general secondary education of foreign countries and strategic guidelines of socialization in the context of the educational process in the domestic socio-educational school environment covering determinants (axiological, organizational-pedagogical, psychological-pedagogical, sociological) and models of inclusive education. Modern approaches to the implementation of the system of inclusive education are identified, which provide for the application of three models of organization of the educational process: cooperation and/or integration of special and regular schools, creation of differentiated classes, full inclusion. Strategies for the organization of educational inclusion are analyzed, the potential of physical culture and physical education in the socialization of students with special educational needs are explored. Based on the characteristics of the education system, adaptive strategies, institutional principles and pedagogical priorities, methodological approaches to the socialization of students with special educational needs in the environment of general secondary education are identified, namely desegregation, integration-mainstreaming, integration-inclusion.
The essence and content of teacher competence by analyzing his/her role and functions in ensuring the socialization of students with special educational needs in general secondary education are described. The components of his/her readiness to work in an inclusive classroom are studied, the potential of innovative methods during the design of the culture of the school environment and the development of the content characteristics of teaching and education are highlighted. Prospects for improving the socialization of students with special educational needs are outlined considering modern socio-educational paradigms, namely conceptualization of secondary school as an institution for all school-age children, close integration of general and special education systems, organized structures of psychological and pedagogical assistance, program adaptation, educational -methodological, logistical, organizational support.
Scientific definitions of “socialization”, “needs”, “students with special educational needs”, “inclusion”, “inclusive education”, “models of socialization”, “socialization strategies”, “culture of school environment”, “student-friendly school with special educational needs” have been clarified.
Scientific provisions on the socialization of an individual, covering the degrees, stages, types, mechanisms, impacts, models, types, and factors, as well as theories and practices of socialization of students, based on the peculiarities of teachers’ interaction with students with special educational needs, and analysis of the culture of school environment through the prism of the Ukrainian educational policy have gained further development.
New facts, theoretical ideas, and approaches to the study of the process of socialization of students with special educational needs in the school socio-educational environment at the end of the XX – the beginning of the XXI century have been introduced into scientific circulation.
