ВИКОРИСТАННЯ ІНКЛЮЗИВНОЇ ЛІТЕРАТУРИ В ОСВІТНЬОМУ ПРОЦЕСІ ЗАКЛАДУ ДОШКІЛЬНОЇ ОСВІТИ

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of inclusive preschool education, as well as the challenges of fostering a tolerant attitude towards children with special needs. The article highlights the ongoing search for effective tools to develop such tolerance. Among these tools, the authors mention inclusive toys, cartoons about children/people with disabilities, and children's literature. For their research, they focused specifically on children's literature, particularly a specific genre – inclusive literature. In the context of the study, inclusive literature that aims to form the concept of «personal diversity», as well as literature about the lives of children with special educational needs, their adventures, experiences, and desire for life, holds particular interest. The aim of the paper is to reveal the role of inclusive literature in the educational process of preschool institutions. To achieve this goal, a survey of preschool educators was conducted, which revealed that inclusive literature is underutilized in the educational process of preschools. This finding was confirmed by observations of the educational process and analysis of educators’ documentation. The research results showed that educators are insufficiently familiar with this genre of literature and require additional information on how to work with inclusive literature as a tool for fostering a tolerant attitude towards children with special educational needs. Methodological work with educators included three workshops: a mini-lecture with training elements titled «Inclusion – The Path to a Society of Equal Opportunities», a seminar-practicum titled «Inclusive Literature: What It Is and Its Role in the Educational Process of Preschools», and a practicum on the use of inclusive literature in the educational process of preschool institutions.