The dissertation substantiates the theoretical and methodological foundations of the formation of gender education of children with intellectual disabilities of middle school age in the context of modern societal challenges. They consist in the development of a harmonious personality through the elimination of outdated stereotypes, the assimilation of modern cultural norms and the promotion of socialization of children with intellectual disabilities. Since the typical female and male traits do not always correspond to the gender of the children, the gender-oriented approach in education is not justified, and currently the individual approach is widespread. Its key aspect consists in taking into account and accepting the personality as it is, and this is one of the main tasks of gender education.
The main concepts of gender education were analyzed and it was established that all the considered terms, namely «sex», «gender», «gender socialization», «gender culture», «gender stereotypes», «gender role», «gender identity», «gender consciousness» reveal the key aspects of the effective development of the future generation in the gender issue. Such a concept as «gender approach» is directly related to gender education and training, as it shows the main direction of actions in these processes: taking into account the characteristics of the individual, his interests and opportunities for self-realization.
The analysis of literary sources emphasizes the need for special research on the gender education of children with intellectual disabilities in order to study it and develop new comprehensive education programs. They will serve to manage the process of personality formation of a child with intellectual disabilities; will contribute to the gender socialization of special school children, which is the process and result of the general and psychosexual development of girls/boys as they enter social relationships. After all, without proper attention to this issue, such negative consequences can be obtained, such as an increase in the risk of forming a negative or diffuse gender role identity, which can be manifested in the choice of negative role models, the inability to plan for the future, which is related to gender self-determination, difficulties in the formation of self- resentment, unwillingness to grow up, disbelief in one's own strength, anxiety and other problems.
The following types of formation of gender consciousness of children with disorders of intellectual development of middle school age are described: modeling of social situations (H. Blech, I. Omelchenko); formation of emotional literacy (O. Babiak); discussion of works of literature and art in the context of modern gender dimensions (O. Gavrylov, V. Levitsky, N. Gavrylova); conducting gender equality lessons; organization of extracurricular work on the formation of gender culture; carrying out targeted activities of adults in the field of harmonizing interpersonal relations of children with intellectual disabilities with classmates to form a team; the development of critical thinking, the system of self-attitudes, the formation of social models of behavior, ideas about gender roles, styles of behavior and the specificity of functional-role and individual relationships in various systems; choice of activity depending on gender.
A model of the formation of gender education of children with intellectual disabilities has been developed, which consists of seven stages. The first stage is an explanation of the difference between an sex and gender; II stage – sexual and gender socialization; III stage – gender homogenization; IV stage – accumulation of knowledge about gender culture and stereotypes; Stage V – accumulation of knowledge about gender roles; VI stage – the formation of a person's gender identity; The VII stage is the formation of a person's gender consciousness.
The result of the educational process is the gender upbringing of the individual, which includes all the achievements of the formation of gender consciousness. The model includes social, psychological, and pedagogical factors affecting the process of forming such consciousness. Social factors include mass media, religion, education, culture and traditions, and family upbringing. Psychological ones include individual characteristics of the personality, socio-psychological processes, personality development, experience of interaction with representatives of different sexes, psychological climate in the family, school, at work, and others.
