Social dimension of the inclusive process in the primary schools in Gevgelija

Abstract

Introduction: The peculiar nature of the social functioning of the students with disabilities accentuates the remarkable role that the inclusion in primary schools plays into enhancement of their social adaptation. Regarding the fact that this type of educational practice is of a recent nature, alongside the primer attention being given to refinement of the academic skills as opposed to the social capabilities of the students, it is of great importance to investigate the methods to be used for social adjustment of this population, relying on the existing habilitation resources as part of the inclusive classroom. Methodology: The subject of the study focuses on the teaching strategies and techniques employed by the junior- and intermediate/senior-grade teachers, based on their in-service trainings, as well as the strategies and techniques used by the special educators in the primary schools in Gevgelija. The population comprises of 59 examinees, out of which 57 belong to the teachers’ subgroup (25 junior-grade teachers and 32 intermediate/senior-grade teachers), and 2 examinees are special educators/defectologists. Results: The results clearly indicate the existence of significant difference between the types of strategies used by the junior-grade teachers, as well as difference between the types of strategies used by the teachers and the special defectologists. However, such significant difference between the intermediate/senior-grade teachers was not confirmed statistically. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the professional in-service training affects the type of choice of teaching strategies and techniques for teaching social skills to students with disabilities in the designated primary setting. The teachers were to employ greater diversity of strategies than the defectologists, even though the latter showed use of certain strategies and techniques that were not noted in the teachers’ answers, such as: soothing, social stories and the PECS-method