Proceedings of the 2nd International Education Conference
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Communication of special teachers in Kazakhstan: from medical to social model of disability
Zulfiya Movkebayeva, Natalya Syuy-fu-shun, Darkhan Bilyalov, Bibigul Dyussenbayeva
ABSTRACT:
The article analyzes the features of verbal communication of teachers with special education in Kazakhstan, including their ideas about the qualities of a professional’s speech, features of communication with children with special education needs and their parents, ideas about unacceptable things in communication with them. By analyzing the stigmas and stereotypes in their speech and the terms they use when describing children with disabilities, it was possible to identify a widespread adherence to the medical model of disability, which is more often manifested among teachers with extensive professional experience than among novice teachers, since they received professional training in conditions of focus on special education, segregation of children with special education needs and the widespread spread of the medical model. The study used a semi-structured interview. The authors’ choice of this research method was based on the understanding that the presence of stereotypes, attitudes and stigmas are often not recognized by a person and therefore distort the results of formalized questions, but can be identified using qualitative methods. According to the authors, the connotations of vulnerability, inferiority, and deliberate emphasis on the fact that “they are like everyone else” used when describing children with special needs and their needs indicate a medical understanding of disability, focusing on the shortcomings and shortcomings of children with special needs, rather than on their abilities. The differences revealed through interviews between the understanding of disability and special educational needs among experienced teachers and teachers with little work experience indicate that the spread of inclusive education and inclusive culture contributes to the wider dissemination of the social model of disability.
keywords: attitudes of special teachers; communicative competence of special teachers; inclusive communication skills; model of disability; teachers with special education in Kazakhstan