Social environment and its main characteristics. Influence of social culture

The environment has a formative influence on a person. The wisdom has long been known: a person is formed by his entire life. Of particular importance is social environment - spiritual and material living conditions. They have a special type of pedagogical cause-and-effect relationships, patterns, called social-pedagogical. The action of these cause-and-effect relationships brings broad and significant Personality-forming pedagogical results:

- educational: affect citizens’ understanding of the surrounding world, events and processes occurring in society and its spheres, understanding of their place in the world and society, broaden their horizons, increase awareness in various fields of knowledge, create conditions for self-education, etc.;

- educational: form political and moral beliefs, attitudes towards the Motherland, its history, prospects, people, government bodies, politics, certain state and public institutions, events, professions, labor, religions, social groups, nationalities, activate and change motives of behavior, form moral views and behavioral habits, commitment to universal human values, certain traditions, customs, ways of spending leisure time, push to decisions and actions, form cultural and aesthetic views and tastes, etc.;

- educational: enrich with knowledge on various issues life, activity and behavior, as well as everyday and professional skills and abilities, etc.;

- developing: socialize needs, interests, inclinations, improve physical qualities, affect the level of development of intelligence, culture, morality, professional and business abilities, etc.

Human upbringing is especially susceptible to social and pedagogical influences.

Feature socio-pedagogical influences on the individual - in their prevailing spontaneity, uncontrollability, and randomness. In addition, if in specially organized pedagogical institutions the solution of pedagogical problems is carried out by professional teachers, properly trained educators, then socio-pedagogical influences are exerted by people who usually do not have pedagogical training (managers, officials, government officials, economic workers, workers of means mass media, parents, members of various social groups, etc.). These influences are such that they turn everything upside down in a person, erasing much of the positive that was formed in him at school and institute through the efforts of many good teachers and educators. If judges judged people, and doctors treated them with the same degree of subjectivity and pedagogical illiteracy with which they are often treated in life, at work, in various institutions, then all the innocent would have been convicted long ago, and the sick would have died. Raising the question of overcoming spontaneity and pedagogical incompetence still sounds weak and is drowned in the roar of life and the difficulties of society.

The practice of real life of a person in a certain social environment is school of Life(“school of family”, “school of professional activity”, “school of leisure”, etc.). Its influence on the formation of personality interacts with what special pedagogical institutions of society and its spheres do and achieve and often competes with them. The strength and results of the influences of the “school of life” and targeted pedagogical influences often do not coincide. Thus, schoolchildren receiving general education within the walls of a general education educational school, simultaneously undergo “family school”, “street school”, “disco school”, “school of informal peer associations”, “school information technologies"(Internet, computer games), "school of television and video production", etc. Their education, upbringing, training and development are usually not the arithmetic sum of all these schools, but the dominant influence of one of them.

The natural environment also has a certain pedagogical impact. In the pedagogical literature it is rightly noted that one can conditionally speak of “pedagogy of the mountains”, “pedagogy of the Volga”, “pedagogy of the sea”, “pedagogy of the steppes”, because childhood and life spent in the peculiarities of such an environment have a unique educational, educational and developmental effect. influence on people.

Human development in interaction and under the influence of the environment itself general view can be defined as a process and its result socialization, i.e. the assimilation and reproduction of cultural values and social norms, as well as self-development and self-realization in the society in which he lives. Socialization has an interdisciplinary status and is widely used in pedagogy, but its content is not stable and unambiguous.

Socialization occurs: 1) in the process of spontaneous interaction between a person and society and the spontaneous influence on him of various, sometimes multidirectional, circumstances of life; 2) in the process of influence by the state on certain categories of people; 3) in the process of purposefully creating conditions for human development, i.e. education; 4) in the process of self-development, self-education of a person.

An analysis of numerous concepts of socialization shows that they all, in one way or another, gravitate towards one of two approaches that diverge from each other in understanding the role of the person himself in the process of socialization (although, of course, such a division, firstly, is very conditional, and secondly , quite coarse).

The first approach affirms or assumes a person’s passive position in the process of socialization, and considers socialization itself as a process of his adaptation to society, which shapes each of its members in accordance with its inherent culture. This approach can be called subject-object (society is the subject of influence, and man is its object). The origins of this approach were the French scientist Emile Durkheim and American - Talcott Parsons.

Proponents of the second approach proceed from the fact that a person actively participates in the process of socialization and not only adapts to society, but also influences his life circumstances and himself. This approach can be defined as subject-subjective. The Americans can be considered the founders of this approach. Charles Cooley And George Herbert Mead.

Based on the subject-subject approach, socialization can be interpreted as development and self-change of a person in the process of assimilation and reproduction of culture, which occurs in the interaction of a person with spontaneous, relatively guided and purposefully created living conditions at all age stages. The essence of socialization is combination adaptation (adaptation) and isolation of a person in the conditions of a particular society.

Adaptation (social adaptation) is the process and result of the counter-activity of the subject and the social environment (J. Piaget, R. Merton). Adaptation involves coordinating the requirements and expectations of the social environment in relation to a person with his attitudes and social behavior; coordination of a person’s self-esteem and aspirations with his capabilities and with the realities of the social environment. Thus, adaptation is the process and result of an individual becoming a social being.

Separation is the process of autonomization of a person in society. The result of this process is a person’s need to have his own views and the presence of such (value autonomy), the need to have one's own affections (emotional autonomy), the need to independently resolve issues that concern him personally, the ability to confront those life situations that interfere with his self-change, self-determination, self-realization, self-affirmation (behavioral autonomy). Thus, isolation is the process and result of the formation of human individuality.

From the above it follows that the process of socialization contains an internal, not completely resolvable conflict between the degree of adaptation of a person in society and the degree of his isolation in society. In other words, effective socialization requires a certain balance of adaptation and differentiation.

Socialization of a person in modern world , having more or less obvious features in a particular society, in each of them it has a number of common or similar characteristics.

In any society, human socialization has features at various stages . In the most general form, the stages of socialization can be correlated with the age periodization of a person’s life. There are different periodizations, and the one given below is not generally accepted. It is very conventional (especially after the stage of adolescence), but quite convenient from a socio-pedagogical point of view.

We will assume that a person in the process of socialization goes through the following stages: infancy (from birth to 1 year), early childhood (1-3 years), preschool childhood (3-6 years), primary school age (6-10 years) , junior adolescence (10-12 years), senior adolescence (12-14 years), early adolescence (15-17 years), adolescence (18-23 years), youth (23-30 years), early maturity (30- 40 years), late maturity (40-55 years), old age (55-65 years), old age (65-70 years), longevity (over 70 years).

Socialization, as already noted, is carried out in various situations that arise as a result of the interaction of many circumstances. It is the cumulative influence of these circumstances on a person that requires him to behave and be active. Factors of socialization are those circumstances under which conditions are created for the processes of socialization to take place. As there are many circumstances and options for their combination, there are also many factors (conditions) of socialization. A.V. Mudrik identified the main factors of socialization, combining them into four groups:

First - megafactors (mega - very large, universal) - space, planet, world, which to one degree or another through other groups of factors influence the socialization of all inhabitants of the Earth.

Second - macro factors (macro - large) - a country, ethnic group, society, state that influence the socialization of everyone living in certain countries (this influence is mediated by two other groups of factors).

Third - mesofactors (meso - average, intermediate), conditions of socialization of large groups of people, distinguished: by area and type of settlement in which they live (region, village, city, town); by belonging to the audience of certain mass communication networks (radio, television, etc.); according to belonging to certain subcultures.

Mesofactors influence socialization both directly and indirectly through the fourth group - microfactors . These include factors that directly influence specific people who interact with them - family, peer groups, educational organizations, various public, state, religious and private organizations, microsociety.

Microfactors, as sociologists note, influence human development through the so-called agents of socialization, i.e. persons in direct interaction with whom his life takes place. At different age stages, the composition of agents is specific. Thus, in relation to children and adolescents, these are parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, peers, neighbors, and teachers. In adolescence or early adulthood, the number of agents also includes a spouse, colleagues at work, study and military service. In adulthood, one’s own children are added, and in old age, members of their families are added.

Socialization is carried out using a wide range of funds, specific to a particular society, social stratum, age of a person. These include, for example, methods of feeding and caring for a baby; methods of reward and punishment in the family, in peer groups, in educational and professional groups; various types and types of relationships in the main spheres of human life (communication, play, sports), etc.

The better organized social groups are, the greater the opportunities to have a socializing influence on the individual. However, social groups are unequal in their ability to influence a person at various stages of his ontogenetic development. Thus, in early and preschool age, the family has the greatest influence. In adolescence and young adulthood, the influence of peer groups increases and is most effective; in adulthood, the class, work or professional collective, and individuals take first place in importance. There are socialization factors whose value remains throughout a person’s life. This is a nation, mentality, ethnicity.

In recent years, scientists have been attaching increasing importance to macrofactors of socialization, including natural and geographical conditions, since it has been established that they influence the formation of personality in both direct and indirect ways. Knowledge of macrofactors of socialization allows us to understand the specific manifestation of the general laws of development of an individual as a representative of Homo sapiens.

Socialization factors are a developmental environment that must be designed, well organized and even built. The main requirement for a developmental environment is to create an atmosphere in which humane relations, trust, safety, and the opportunity for personal growth will prevail.

Socialization of a person is carried out in the process of his interaction with diverse and numerous factors, organizations, agents, using various means and mechanisms.

The self-change of a person throughout his life, and in general, his socialization.

In line with the subject-object approach to understanding socialization socialization is generally understood as the formation of traits specified by status and required by a given society. Socialization is determined as the individual’s effective conformity to social regulations.

Other researchers have a different view of socialization, but also in line with the subject-object approach to socialization. The essence of their position is that, since a person cannot be prepared in advance for the various demands that he will encounter in life, socialization should be based on his assimilation not just of the sum of various role expectations, but of the very essence of these requirements.

From this point of view, the key to successful socialization can be considered the formation of behavioral models in a person, including the main elements of institutional requirements and regulations. American psychologist and teacher L. Kohlberg emphasized that this type of socialization prevents role conflicts in the future, while conformal adaptation to one’s environment in the event of a change makes them inevitable.

In numerous studies, more and more attention is paid to identifying not those circumstances and characteristics that ensure a person’s compliance with the requirements imposed at a given stage of his development, but those that ensure successful socialization further. For example, socialization is considered as the assimilation by an individual of attitudes, values, ways of thinking and other personal and social qualities that will characterize him at the next stage of development. This approach, which the American researcher A. Inkels called “looking ahead” (studying what a child should be like now in order for him to be successful as an adult), is very characteristic of the development of empirical research today.

It has become quite common to believe that socialization will be successful if an individual learns to navigate unforeseen social situations. Various mechanisms of such orientation are considered. One of them is based on the concept of “situational adaptation” - “when entering a new situation, an individual connects the new expectations of others with his “I” and thus adapts to the situation.” However, this approach turns a person into a kind of weather vane (which happens, but not always).

Within subject-subject approach is considered , that a socialized person is not only adapted to society, but is also able to be the subject of his own development and, to some extent, of society as a whole.

Thus, American scientists M. Riley and E. Thomas, Special attention pay attention to the presence of a person’s own value orientations. They believe that difficulties in socialization arise when role expectations do not coincide with the individual’s self-expectations. In these cases, a person must carry out role replacements or restructuring of value orientations, strive to change self-expectations and be able to leave previous roles.

In line with the subject-subject approach, the personality characteristics that ensure successful socialization are: the ability to change one’s value orientations; the ability to find a balance between one’s values and role requirements (being selective about one’s social roles); orientation not towards specific requirements, but towards an understanding of universal moral human values.

Thus, a mature personality can be considered a socialized personality. The main criteria for maturity and socialization of an individual: self-respect (self-esteem), respect for people, respect for nature, the ability to predict, the ability to approach life creatively (flexibility and at the same time stability in changing situations, as well as creativity).

From the point of view of social pedagogy socialization in general terms can be interpreted as follows: in the process and as a result of socialization, a person masters a set of role expectations and prescriptions in various spheres of life (family, professional, social, etc.) and develops as a person, acquiring and developing a number of social attitudes and value orientations, satisfying and developing your needs and interests. The socialization of a person is manifested in the balance between his adaptation and isolation in society.

Within the framework of the problem of socialization as a result of socialization in general, the question of education as a result of relatively socially controlled socialization stands apart.

At the everyday level, good manners are understood quite unambiguously and one-sidedly, as evidenced by dictionaries: “A well-mannered person, raised in the usual rules of secular decency, educated” (V.I. Dal). “Good breeding is the ability to behave; good manners" (Dictionary of the Russian language. - M., 1957). “Educated - someone who has received a good upbringing and knows how to behave” (ibid.).

Characterizing education at a theoretical level is very problematic due to the variety of interpretations of the concept of “upbringing.” All known attempts to characterize good manners using empirical indicators raise one or another objection. More or less correctly, this is done in relation to certain aspects of education (for example, education, professional training, attitudes and value orientations in various spheres of life, etc.). However, the identified level of a person’s education or his social attitudes, for example, in the field of interethnic interaction, etc., do not always correspond to his real social behavior.

Socialization has a “mobile character”, i.e. the formed socialization may become ineffective due to a variety of circumstances.

Fundamental or very significant changes occurring in society, leading to the breakdown or transformation of social and (or) professional structures, which entails changes in the status of large groups of the population, turn their socialization into ineffective for the new conditions. Moving a person from country to country, from region to region, from village to city and vice versa also makes socialization problematic.

Changing roles, expectations and self-expectations in connection with a person’s transition from one age stage to another can also make the formed socialization ineffective in children, adolescents, and young men.

The socialization of children, adolescents, and young men in any society takes place under different conditions. The conditions of socialization are characterized by the presence of certain numerous dangers that have an impact on Negative influence on human development. Therefore, objectively, entire categories of children, adolescents, and young men appear who become or may become victims of unfavorable conditions of socialization.

A.V. Mudrik conventionally identifies real, potential and latent types of victims of unfavorable conditions, which are represented by different types and categories of people.

Real victims disabled people have unfavorable socialization conditions; children, adolescents, young men with psychosomatic defects and deviations; orphans and a number of categories of children under the care of the state or public organizations.

Potential but very real victims can be considered children, adolescents, young men with borderline mental states and with character accentuations; children of migrants from country to country, from region to region, from village to city and from city to village; children born in families with low economic, moral, educational levels; mestizos and representatives of foreign national groups in places of compact residence of another ethnic group.

Latent victims unfavorable conditions of socialization can be considered those who were unable to realize the inclinations inherent in them due to the objective circumstances of their socialization. Thus, a number of experts believe that high talent and even genius “falls” on the lot of approximately one person out of a thousand born. Depending on the degree of favorable conditions of socialization, especially in the early stages of life, this predisposition develops to the extent that makes its carriers highly gifted people, in approximately one person out of a million births. But in fact, only one out of ten million becomes a genius, that is, the majority of Einsteins and Tchaikovskys are lost along the path of life, because the conditions of their socialization (even quite favorable) turn out to be insufficient for the development and realization of the high talent inherent in them. Since neither they themselves nor their loved ones even suspect this, they can be classified as a latent type of victims of unfavorable conditions of socialization.

The named types of real victims are not always presented “in their pure form.” Quite often, a primary defect, a deviation from the norm, or some objective life circumstance (for example, a dysfunctional family) causes secondary changes in a person’s development, leading to a restructuring of life position, and forming inadequate or defective attitudes towards the world and oneself. Often, one characteristic or circumstance overlaps with others (for example, a first-generation migrant becomes an alcoholic). An even more tragic example is the fate of graduates of orphanages (most of them are social orphans, that is, those who have parents or close relatives). Among them, up to 30% become “homeless,” up to 20% become criminals, and up to 10% commit suicide.

Some signs and circumstances that make it possible to classify a person as a victim of unfavorable conditions of socialization are permanent (orphanhood, disability), others appear at a certain age stage (social maladjustment, alcoholism, drug addiction); some are irremovable (disability), others can be prevented or changed (various social deviations, illegal behavior, etc.).

1 The concept of raising children and students in the Republic of Belarus // Problems of education. – 2000. - No. 2.

Social rehabilitation of children with disabilities

The most important factor and condition for the development of a child is the social environment. Social environment- everything that surrounds us in social life and, above all, people with whom each individual is in a specific relationship. The social environment has a complex structure, which is a multi-level formation, including numerous social groups that have a joint impact on the mental development and behavior of the individual.

These include:

1. Microenvironment.

2. Indirect social formations affecting the individual.

3. Macrosocial structures - macroenvironment.

The microenvironment is the immediate environment, everything that directly affects a person. In it he is formed and realizes himself as a person. This is a family, a kindergarten group, a school class, a production team, various informal communication groups and many other associations that a person constantly encounters in everyday life.

Indirect social formations affecting the individual. These are formations that are not directly related to the individual. For example, the production team where his parents work is directly connected with them, but only indirectly - through the parents - with the child.

Macroenvironment is a system of social relations in society. Its structure and content include a combination of many factors, among which in the first place are economic, legal, political, ideological and other relations. The named components of the macroenvironment influence individuals both directly - through laws, social policy, values, norms, traditions, mass media, and indirectly, through influence on small groups in which the individual is included.

Relationships between people have a wide range. Both on the scale of the macroenvironment and in the microenvironment, they are multiply mediated. For example, a grandfather or grandmother may not always be with the child. But a father’s story about his grandfather and his qualities as a person can have no less impact on the child than direct contact with him.

In addition to the above classification, there are types of social environment that differ according to the principle of the location of the group in the structure of social relations. Based on this, they distinguish the work, student, school social environment, etc. Each of the listed types of social environment is characterized by certain psychological characteristics that leave an imprint on the personality of a person, as well as groups of people.

There are also a number of other features that can be used to distinguish the type of social environment. For example, according to the division of labor, they distinguish between urban and rural environments, environments characterized by physical or mental labor. For various types of activities - production, political, scientific, artistic, pedagogical, etc.

A specific social environment is socially psychologically the totality of relationships between an individual and a group.

The social environment into which a child finds himself acts as a determining factor in the realization of his needs and requests, and is the most important condition for the revelation of his social essence as a person. However, a child acquires socio-psychological qualities only through his own experience, communication, through direct contact with peers and adults in the family, in kindergarten, school, on the street due to his own activity.

The social environment in relation to the individual is of a relatively random nature. For example, parents, when choosing an educational institution for their child, may choose not the one that is located close to home, but the one that is located near the grandmother’s house, since due to their employment they cannot pick up the child from school. But this accident plays an extremely important role in the socio-psychological plan, since the character and characteristics of certain individuals and the characteristics of groups leave an imprint on their relationships, since the child finds himself in the socio-psychological atmosphere inherent in a given group.

The social environment is active; it influences a person, captivates him, and infects him with appropriate behavior patterns. It can encourage, and sometimes force, certain actions. However, this impact of the social environment on the individual is not always directed in the right direction and, often, does not meet the goals of the child’s upbringing and development. To reduce its unpredictability and negative impact on the child’s personality, attempts are made to make it manageable. Recently, the concept of “developing social environment” or abbreviated “developmental environment” has appeared in the psychological and pedagogical literature.

What is meant by this concept?

In broad terms, a developing social environment is understood as a certain community of people or an organization created for the purpose of implementing specific educational and developmental tasks and providing an opportunity for children, adolescents and young men to reveal their personal potential. Based on this understanding, any educational institution or organization can be classified as a developing social environment. This social environment can be called educational, school, kindergarten, etc. The developing social environment is complexly organized. It can have different organizational forms and differ in its content and focus.

According to the form of organization, these can be kindergarten groups, a class in a general education or special school, groups of children in out-of-school institutions: music, art, sports and other schools, sections, studios, various centers, etc.

The content of the developing social environment is determined by the system of various relationships of the child with peers, older children and adolescents, teachers, educators, parents of other children, adults who interact with them, and many other factors. The content of these relationships can be of a different nature: moral (ethical), intellectual (cognitive), aesthetic, everyday.

The direction of communication and the established relationships between interacting individuals also represents significant variability, which is based on their need-motivational sphere. In one case, this may be a pronounced desire to satisfy one’s cognitive need, in others - to compensate for an existing defect, in others - the child may be attracted not to what adults are trying to give, but to various pranks, aimless pastime, etc.

The named characteristics of the developing social environment are set from the outside and determined by the goals and objectives of training, education and development. A child or adolescent who finds himself in such a developing social environment seems to wide choose ways of intellectual, physical, aesthetic, moral development. However, the child himself is not able to decide what to do and what to prefer. In order for him to develop a stable motivation for a particular type of activity, he needs the intelligent help of an adult, and happiness falls to the child who happens to have a person nearby who can interest and captivate him in the right direction.

Along with a broad understanding of the developmental social environment, there is a narrower definition that can be designated by the term “special developmental social environment.”

A special developmental social environment is an organization of children’s life activities in which, through a certain system-forming component, a special socio-psychological atmosphere is created that promotes the manifestation of a harmonious combination of relationships between the child and the social environment, and which encourages children to be active and purposeful.

An example of such a special developmental social environment is the experience of developing a child’s personality accumulated by A.S. Makarenko in organizing the training and education of street children in a children's colony. One of the most important system-forming components of the special social environment created by him is, in our opinion, the phenomenon of “responsible dependence”.

To understand some of the features of the process of social rehabilitation of children with disabilities, it is of interest that L.I. proposed in the 60s. Umansky such a form of organizing the life activities of schoolchildren during extracurricular time as “multi-age groups”. The idea and creation of these units was based on the assumption that when children communicate and interact different ages Favorable conditions are created for the accelerated development of younger schoolchildren and the formation of positive moral qualities in adolescents.

Around the same time, L.I. Umansky proposed another form of a special developmental social environment for training school leaders, which was implemented in the organization of the “Komsorg” camp for high school students. Ideas about creating a special developmental environment were developed and continued by his students A.S. Chernyshev, L.I. Akatov, E.A. Shanin and others. Currently, in Kursk, where this form of special developmental social environment first appeared, such associations of youth and schoolchildren as “Vertical”, “Monolith”, a camp for children with mental retardation, etc. have been created and are functioning.

Their functioning is based on the optimal combination of meaningful and exciting recreation for children with the simultaneous solution of a program of special training, developmental and educational tasks developed for each camp.

Forms of special developmental social environment can also include institutions and centers designed to carry out social rehabilitation of children and adolescents with disabilities. The same purpose is served by various training sessions, where both developmental and correctional tasks are solved; specially organized play activities, during which the priority is given to those useful for the child’s entry into real life actions and deeds; meetings that serve to develop the necessary communicative qualities in children.

Another form of organizing a special developmental social environment, which has recently gained recognition in working with adolescents and high school students, is educational psychodiagnostics. This form of work is based on the principle of self-knowledge and self-development based on the analysis and use of data obtained through psychodiagnostic procedures.

So, the social environment is a complex multi-level formation, a concrete manifestation of social relations that have developed in society, in which a specific person lives and develops. But in order for the social environment to influence the child purposefully and contribute to the formation of personality traits necessary for effective entry and successful interaction with it, the creation of special, specially oriented conditions is required. Such conditions for organizing social rehabilitation of children with developmental disabilities are a special developmental social environment.

Attitudes towards children with disabilities in society

The first stage includes the period from ancient times until the 18th century. We find information about this period in legends, myths, proverbs, fairy tales, and other oral and written sources. People saw this or that defect, first of all, as a great misfortune of a person, whom they treated with superstitious fear and compassion. Along with a similar attitude towards abnormal people, there was a belief that people with defects, for example, the blind, have mystical powers, they allegedly have access to special spiritual knowledge and vision.

The second stage begins with the era of enlightenment (XVIII century). During this period, medieval mystical ideas and prejudices became a thing of the past, giving way to rapidly developing science, the accumulation of knowledge in various fields obtained on the basis of experience and experiment. In theoretical terms A New Look realized in the doctrine of the vicariate of the senses. According to this view, the loss of one of the functions of perception, the deficiency of one organ is compensated by an increase in the functioning and development of others. However, research in this area has found this theory to be untenable. At the same time, a significant step forward was made in the view of a child with life limitations. The empirical approach to the study of human physical disabilities has led to significant discoveries. The practical consequence of these views was the appearance of a special alphabet for the blind (Braille alphabet), which allowed the blind to open access to culture and social life.

The third, scientific stage in understanding the psychology of an abnormal person began with the work of the Austrian psychologist A. Adler and his school. They substantiated the significance and psychological role of an organic defect in the process of development and personality formation. According to his views, if any organ, due to morphological or functional inferiority, cannot cope with its work, then the central nervous system and mental apparatus take on the task of compensating for the difficult functioning of the organ. A mental superstructure is created over a defective organ or function, striving to ensure the vital activity of the organism in this or a threatening link. Upon contact with external environment there is a conflict caused by the inadequacy of an organ or function with its tasks, which leads to increased morbidity and mortality. This conflict also creates additional incentives for overcompensation. The defect thus becomes the starting point and the main driving force of the mental development of the individual. If the struggle ends in victory for the organism, then it not only copes with the difficulties created by the defect, but also rises in its development to highest level, creating from insufficiency - giftedness, from a defect - ability, from weakness - strength, from low value - super value.

A significant contribution to understanding the developmental features of abnormal children was made by V.M. Bekhterev, L.S. Vygotsky, A.R. Luria, B.N. Zeigarnik and many others. Currently, the main directions for studying children with one or another defect have been determined. Special schools and rehabilitation centers have been created and operate everywhere for mentally retarded children, children with loss of vision, hearing, speech, and with impaired functions of the musculoskeletal system.

However, in general, society’s attitude towards children with developmental disabilities cannot be considered optimal. The degree of rejection of abnormal children is influenced mainly by two factors: demographics and the defect itself. For example, according to a number of studies, city residents are more negatively disposed towards abnormal children and adolescents than residents of small villages. Villagers more often show selflessness and altruism towards them.

As for specific defects, according to L. Pozhar, mental retardation is considered the least acceptable in society, then blindness is indicated in the available literature, deafness is in third place, musculoskeletal disorders are in fourth place, and speech disorders are in fifth place.

The results of a study conducted under our direction largely confirmed these data. Thus, 68 percent of schoolchildren stated that it was impossible to be friends with a mentally retarded peer. At the same time, 73 percent of respondents could make friends with a blind person, 72 percent with a cripple, 78 percent with a person with poor speech skills, and 70 percent with a deaf person. Moreover, the opinions of girls and boys are somewhat different. Girls in grades 7 and 9 and all students in grades 11 put mental retardation first in their reluctance to communicate with abnormal peers. Then there are hearing defects, speech, vision and musculoskeletal disorders. But boys in grades 7 and 9, respectively, put hearing impairment in first place. All other defects are approximately the same for them.

From the data obtained, we can conclude that for adolescents and high school students, the first place in a negative assessment is given to those qualities of a defective peer that most interfere with communication and the establishment of certain interpersonal interactions.

The negative attitude of society towards children and adolescents with physical defects, as well as increased doses of pity and attention, not only create life inconveniences for them, but also negatively affect the formation of their personality. Their development is inextricably linked with the need for self-affirmation in the appropriate social environment. Unfortunately, normal children often reject a child with a defect and this most important social need is thus not realized.

A state of unsatisfied self-affirmation leads, as a rule, to deformation of the personality, to the emergence of moral instability and emptiness. If this need is satisfied, then the path opens to the realization of the individual’s capabilities in various decisive areas of life and work.

The critical point in the life of an anomalous child, regardless of what defect he suffers from, is the period when he begins to realize that his external characteristics are different from other people and, in this regard, tries to anticipate the consequences of these differences for him. If people around the child do not in any way focus attention on the defect and the inconveniences it brings to the child, moral and mental tension gradually subsides. If a child becomes an object of ridicule and bullying from peers and others, a severe internal conflict arises, the consequences of which can be difficult to predict.

Thus, the social status of people with disabilities is still very low. Their actual inclusion in social life will require a lot of time, financial resources, and additional efforts. One of these areas is social rehabilitation as the process of returning and introducing people to social life.

No less important is the problem associated with changing public opinion towards persons with disabilities. The press, radio, television, and other media must join forces to instill in the population a respectful attitude towards all people who find themselves in a difficult situation due to a physical or mental defect. The feeling of inferiority that arises in them due to a lack of understanding of their problems prevents them from living and taking advantage of opportunities human life, and children develop qualities that do not allow them to effectively interact with the social environment.

Adaptation of children and adolescents in the social environment

The concept of “adaptation” (from the Latin word adapto - adapt) is the adaptation of the body to external conditions. In modern social psychology this concept interpreted broadly. The individual, according to A.V. Petrovsky, initially has a desire for an internal goal, in accordance with which all manifestations of his activity without exception are activated. This internal goal is revealed in the concept of the adaptive orientation of all mental processes and behavioral acts. This includes the processes of an individual’s adaptation to the natural and social environment, the processes of self-adaptation (self-regulation, subordination of higher interests to lower ones) and others.

Depending on the interpretation of the individual’s life goals, the following options for the possible direction of adaptation are distinguished:

1) homeostatic option - the adaptive outcome is to achieve equilibrium;

2) hedonic option - the adaptive outcome consists of pleasure and avoidance of suffering;

3) pragmatic option - the adaptive outcome consists of practical benefits and success.

All particular aspirations in relation to the general internal pre-established goal are assessed as adaptive and non-adaptive. The concepts of “adaptability - non-adaptation” are revealed as tendencies in the functioning of a purposeful system and are determined by the correspondence - discrepancy between its goals and achieved results.

Adaptability is expressed in the coordination of the goal and the results of efforts to achieve it.

Non-adaptiveness consists in the fact that opposite relationships develop between the goal and the result of an individual’s activity: the intention does not coincide with the action, the plan with the execution, the incentive to action with its results. The idea of a discrepancy between goal and outcome is the defining characteristic of maladaptation.

The named contradictions in the problem of non-adaptation are inevitable and irremovable, but they manifest not only negative tendencies, but also progressive ones: this is the source of the dynamic existence of the individual, his development. So, if the goal is not achieved, then this encourages continued activity in this direction. Non-adaptiveness can also act as maladaptation: in case of constant failure when trying to realize a goal or in the presence of two or more equally significant goals.

In connection with the broad interpretation of the concept of “adaptation”, several types are distinguished: physiological, psychophysiological, mental, social. In relation to the process of social rehabilitation, mental, socio-psychological and social adaptation are of greatest interest.

Mental adaptation is expressed in the restructuring of the dynamic personality stereotype in accordance with the new environmental requirements.

Socio-psychological adaptation is the optimization of the relationship between an individual and a group, the convergence of the goals of their activities, value orientations, the individual’s assimilation of the norms and traditions of groups, and entry into their role structure.

Social adaptation is a constant process of an individual’s active adaptation to the conditions of the social environment.

The named types of adaptation, although they have their own specific characteristics, manifest themselves as a single whole, in a single process of the child’s adaptation to new life situations. The process of adaptation to the surrounding social environment is continuous. However, it is usually associated with dramatic changes that occur in an individual’s life path.

The child receives his first lessons in adapting to interacting with people in the family, in the circle of friendly, well-meaning relatives and friends close to him. But social life is not limited to the family. Important steps for entering social life are preschool, school, formal and informal communication groups, inclusion in labor activity, starting a family and much more. And each time, in each new association, the individual has to maintain or acquire anew his socio-psychological status.

Among the main factors that determine the degree of success of a child’s entry into the social environment are the characteristics of the child himself and the characteristics of the microsocial environment in which he is included. The individual characteristics of the child, on which the effectiveness of his adaptation depends, include his need-motivational sphere (needs, goals, motives, attitudes, etc.), emotional and intellectual properties, as well as some characterological and typological features.

Depending on the structure of the child’s need-motivational sphere, two main types of adaptation process are distinguished: active and passive.

Active type of adaptation. It is characterized by the child or adolescent’s determination to establish contacts with peers or other people, and an active search for comrades based on common interests. Children of this type are not disappointed by temporary setbacks, but are encouraged to be more active.

Passive type adaptation is characterized by uncritical, conformal acceptance of the goals and value orientations of the group.

The type of adaptation significantly affects the child’s socialization and his assimilation of social experience. Based on the typological approach to the study of personal characteristics, the following types of personality formation and its interaction with the environment are distinguished: harmonious, dominant, sensitive, conformal, anxious, introverted and infantile. They determine selective sensitivity to various pathogenic influences and determine the effectiveness of the child’s adaptation to the environment (E.M. Aleksandrovskaya, 1987).

1. Harmonious type of personality formation. In children of this type, all personal properties are equally formed. They are sociable, self-confident, successfully control their behavior, and have low levels of anxiety and tension. However, despite all the stability of their personal structures

The concept of "social environment"

The most important factor and condition for the development of a child is the social environment. The social environment is everything that surrounds us in social life and, above all, the people with whom each individual has specific relationships. The social environment has a complex structure, which is a multi-level formation, including numerous social groups that have a joint impact on the mental development and behavior of the individual. These include:
1. Microenvironment.
2. Indirect social formations affecting the individual.
3. Macrosocial structures - macroenvironment.
The microenvironment is the immediate environment, everything that directly affects a person. In it he is formed and realizes himself as a person. This is a family, a kindergarten group, a school class, a production team, various informal communication groups and many other associations that a person constantly encounters in everyday life.
Indirect social formations affecting the individual. These are formations that are not directly related to the individual. For example, the production team where his parents work is directly connected with them, but only indirectly - through the parents - with the child.
Macroenvironment is a system of social relations in society. Its structure and content include a combination of many factors, among which in the first place are economic, legal, political, ideological and other relations. The named components of the macroenvironment influence individuals both directly - through laws, social policy, values, norms, traditions, mass media, and indirectly, through influence on small groups in which the individual is included.
Relationships between people have a wide range. Both on the scale of the macroenvironment and in the microenvironment, they are multiply mediated. For example, a grandfather or grandmother may not always be with the child. But a father’s story about his grandfather and his qualities as a person can have no less impact on the child than direct contact with him.
In addition to the above classification, there are types of social environment that differ according to the principle of the location of the group in the structure of social relations. Based on this, they distinguish the work, student, school social environment, etc. Each of the listed types of social environment is characterized by certain psychological characteristics that leave an imprint on the personality of a person, as well as groups of people.
There are also a number of other features that can be used to distinguish the type of social environment. For example, according to the division of labor, they distinguish between urban and rural environments, environments characterized by physical or mental labor. For various types of activities - production, political, scientific, artistic, pedagogical, etc.
A specific social environment is, in socio-psychological terms, a set of relationships between an individual and a group.
The social environment into which a child finds himself acts as a determining factor in the realization of his needs and requests, and is the most important condition for the revelation of his social essence as a person. However, a child acquires socio-psychological qualities only through his own experience, communication, through direct contact with peers and adults in the family, in kindergarten, school, on the street due to his own activity.
The social environment in relation to the individual is of a relatively random nature. For example, parents, when choosing an educational institution for their child, may choose not the one that is located close to home, but the one that is located near the grandmother’s house, since due to their employment they cannot pick up the child from school. But this accident plays an extremely important role in the socio-psychological plan, since the character and characteristics of certain individuals and the characteristics of groups leave an imprint on their relationships, since the child finds himself in the socio-psychological atmosphere inherent in a given group.
The social environment is active; it influences a person, captivates him, and infects him with appropriate behavior patterns. It can encourage, and sometimes force, certain actions. However, this impact of the social environment on the individual is not always directed in the right direction and, often, does not meet the goals of the child’s upbringing and development. To reduce its unpredictability and negative impact on the child’s personality, attempts are being made to make it manageable. Recently, the concept of “developing social environment” or abbreviated “developmental environment” has appeared in the psychological and pedagogical literature.
What is meant by this concept?
In broad terms, a developing social environment is understood as a certain community of people or an organization created for the purpose of implementing specific educational and developmental tasks and providing an opportunity for children, adolescents and young men to reveal their personal potential. Based on this understanding, any educational institution or organization can be classified as a developing social environment. This social environment can be called educational, school, kindergarten, etc. The developing social environment is complexly organized. It can have different organizational forms and differ in its content and focus.
According to the form of organization, these can be kindergarten groups, a class in a general education or special school, groups of children in out-of-school institutions: music, art, sports and other schools, sections, studios, various centers, etc.
The content of the developing social environment is determined by the system of various relationships of the child with peers, older children and adolescents, teachers, educators, parents of other children, adults who interact with them, and many other factors. The content of these relationships can be of a different nature: moral (ethical), intellectual (cognitive), aesthetic, everyday.
The direction of communication and the established relationships between interacting individuals also represents significant variability, which is based on their need-motivational sphere. In one case, this may be a pronounced desire to satisfy one’s cognitive need, in others - to compensate for an existing defect, in others - the child may be attracted not to what adults are trying to give, but to various pranks, aimless pastime, etc.
The named characteristics of the developing social environment are set from the outside and determined by the goals and objectives of training, education and development. A child or adolescent who finds himself in such a developing social environment is presented with a wide choice of paths of intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and moral development. However, the child himself is not able to decide what to do and what to prefer. In order for him to develop a stable motivation for a particular type of activity, he needs the intelligent help of an adult, and happiness falls to the child who happens to have a person nearby who can interest and captivate him in the right direction.
Along with a broad understanding of the developmental social environment, there is a narrower definition that can be designated by the term “special developmental social environment.”
A special developmental social environment is an organization of children’s life activities in which, through a certain system-forming component, a special socio-psychological atmosphere is created that promotes the manifestation of a harmonious combination of relationships between the child and the social environment, and which encourages children to be active and purposeful.
An example of such a special developmental social environment is the experience of developing a child’s personality accumulated by A.S. Makarenko in organizing the training and education of street children in a children's colony. One of the most important system-forming components of the special social environment created by him is, in our opinion, the phenomenon of “responsible dependence”.
To understand some of the features of the process of social rehabilitation of children with disabilities, it is of interest that L.I. proposed in the 60s. Umansky such a form of organizing the life activities of schoolchildren during extracurricular time as “multi-age groups”. The idea and creation of these teams was based on the assumption that through communication and interaction between children of different ages, favorable conditions are created for the accelerated development of younger schoolchildren and the formation of positive moral qualities in adolescents.
Around the same time, L.I. Umansky proposed another form of a special developmental social environment for training school leaders, which was implemented in the organization of the “Komsorg” camp for high school students. Ideas about creating a special developmental environment were developed and continued by his students A.S. Chernyshev, L.I. Akatov, E.A. Shanin and others. Currently, in Kursk, where this form of special developmental social environment first appeared, such associations of youth and schoolchildren as “Vertical”, “Monolith”, a camp for children with mental retardation, etc. have been created and are functioning.
Their functioning is based on the optimal combination of meaningful and exciting recreation for children with the simultaneous solution of a program of special training, developmental and educational tasks developed for each camp.
Forms of special developmental social environment can also include institutions and centers designed to carry out social rehabilitation of children and adolescents with disabilities. The same purpose is served by various training sessions, where both developmental and correctional tasks are solved; specially organized play activities, during which actions and deeds that are useful for the child’s entry into real life come first; meetings that serve to develop the necessary communicative qualities in children.
Another form of organizing a special developmental social environment, which has recently gained recognition in working with adolescents and high school students, is educational psychodiagnostics. This form of work is based on the principle of self-knowledge and self-development based on the analysis and use of data obtained through psychodiagnostic procedures.
So, the social environment is a complex multi-level formation, a concrete manifestation of social relations that have developed in society, in which a specific person lives and develops. But in order for the social environment to influence the child purposefully and contribute to the formation of personality traits necessary for effective entry and successful interaction with it, the creation of special, specially oriented conditions is required. Such conditions for organizing social rehabilitation of children with developmental disabilities are a special developmental social environment.

Attitudes towards children with disabilities in society

The concept of “disabled” at all times meant “unfit for work,” and for the state, which was forced to spend certain funds on them, they became dependents. Peculiar difficulties in communication and interaction with them also arose among the people around them. History shows that the view of children with disabilities has changed as scientific knowledge and society as a whole have developed. In this regard, the condition is divided into three stages: mystical, naive-biological] and scientific, the comparison of which allows us to better understand the trend in the development of society’s relations towards people with disabilities.
The first stage includes the period from ancient times until the 18th century. We find information about this period in legends, myths, proverbs, fairy tales, and other oral and written sources. People saw this or that defect, first of all, as a great misfortune of a person, whom they treated with superstitious fear and compassion. Along with a similar attitude towards abnormal people, there was a belief that people with defects, for example, the blind, have mystical powers, they allegedly have access to special spiritual knowledge and vision.
The second stage begins with the era of enlightenment (XVIII century). During this period, medieval mystical ideas and prejudices became a thing of the past, giving way to rapidly developing science, the accumulation of knowledge in various fields obtained on the basis of experience and experiment. In theoretical terms, the new view was realized in the doctrine of the vicariate of the senses. According to this view, the loss of one of the functions of perception, the deficiency of one organ is compensated by an increase in the functioning and development of others. However, research in this area has found this theory to be untenable. At the same time, a significant step forward was made in the view of a child with life limitations. The empirical approach to the study of human physical disabilities has led to significant discoveries. The practical consequence of these views was the appearance of a special alphabet for the blind (Braille alphabet), which allowed the blind to open access to culture and social life.
The third, scientific stage in understanding the psychology of an abnormal person began with the work of the Austrian psychologist A. Adler and his school. They substantiated the significance and psychological role of an organic defect in the process of development and personality formation. According to his views, if any organ, due to morphological or functional inferiority, cannot cope with its work, then the central nervous system and mental apparatus take on the task of compensating for the difficult functioning of the organ. A mental superstructure is created over a defective organ or function, striving to ensure the vital activity of the organism in this or a threatening link. When in contact with the external environment, a conflict arises caused by the discrepancy between the insufficient organ or function and its tasks, which leads to increased morbidity and mortality. This conflict also creates additional incentives for overcompensation. The defect thus becomes the starting point and the main driving force of the mental development of the individual. If the struggle ends in victory for the organism, then it not only copes with the difficulties created by the defect, but rises in its development to a higher level, creating giftedness from insufficiency, ability from a defect, strength from weakness, super value from low value.
A significant contribution to understanding the developmental features of abnormal children was made by V.M. Bekhterev, L.S. Vygotsky, A.R. Lu-ria, B.N. Zeigarnik and many others. Currently, the main directions for studying children with one or another defect have been determined. Special schools and rehabilitation centers have been created and operate everywhere for mentally retarded children, children with loss of vision, hearing, speech, and with impaired functions of the musculoskeletal system.
However, in general, society’s attitude towards children with developmental disabilities cannot be considered optimal. The degree of rejection of abnormal children is influenced mainly by two factors: demographics and the defect itself. For example, according to a number of studies, city residents are more negatively disposed towards abnormal children and adolescents than residents of small villages. Villagers more often show selflessness and altruism towards them.
As for specific defects, according to L. Pozhar, mental retardation is considered the least acceptable in society, then blindness is indicated in the available literature, deafness is in third place, musculoskeletal disorders are in fourth place, and speech disorders are in fifth place.
The results of a study conducted under our direction largely confirmed these data. Thus, 68 percent of schoolchildren stated that it was impossible to be friends with a mentally retarded peer. At the same time, 73 percent of respondents could make friends with a blind person, 72 percent with a cripple, 78 percent with a person with poor speech skills, and 70 percent with a deaf person. Moreover, the opinions of girls and boys are somewhat different. Girls in grades 7 and 9 and all students in grades 11 put mental retardation first in their reluctance to communicate with abnormal peers. Then there are hearing defects, speech, vision and musculoskeletal disorders. But boys in grades 7 and 9, respectively, put hearing impairment in first place. All other defects are approximately the same for them.
- From the data obtained, we can conclude that for adolescents and high school students, the first place in a negative assessment is given to those qualities of a defective peer that most interfere with communication and the establishment of certain interpersonal interactions.
The negative attitude of society towards children and adolescents with physical defects, as well as increased doses of pity and attention, not only create life inconveniences for them, but also negatively affect the formation of their personality. Their development is inextricably linked with the need for self-affirmation in the appropriate social environment. Unfortunately, normal children often reject a child with a defect and this most important social need is thus not realized.
A state of unsatisfied self-affirmation leads, as a rule, to deformation of the personality, to the emergence of moral instability and emptiness. If this need is satisfied, then the path opens to the realization of the individual’s capabilities in various decisive areas of life and work.
The critical point in the life of an anomalous child, regardless of what defect he suffers from, is the period when he begins to realize that his external characteristics are different from other people and, in this regard, tries to anticipate the consequences of these differences for him. If people around the child do not in any way focus attention on the defect and the inconveniences it brings to the child, moral and mental tension gradually subsides. If a child becomes an object of ridicule and bullying from peers and others, a severe internal conflict arises, the consequences of which can be difficult to predict.
Thus, the social status of people with disabilities is still very low. Their actual inclusion in social life will require a lot of time, financial resources, and additional efforts. One of these areas is social rehabilitation as the process of returning and introducing people to social life.
No less important is the problem associated with changing public opinion towards persons with disabilities. The press, radio, television, and other media must join forces to instill in the population a respectful attitude towards all people who find themselves in a difficult situation due to a physical or mental defect. The feeling of inferiority that arises in them due to a lack of understanding of their problems prevents them from living, taking advantage of the opportunities of human life, and children develop qualities that do not allow them to effectively interact with the social environment.

Adaptation of children and adolescents in the social environment

The concept of “adaptation” (from the Latin word adapto - adapt) is the adaptation of the body to external conditions. In modern social psychology, this concept is interpreted broadly. The individual, according to A.V. Petrovsky, initially has a desire for an internal goal, in accordance with which all manifestations of his activity without exception are activated. This internal goal is revealed in the concept of the adaptive orientation of all mental processes and behavioral acts. This includes the processes of an individual’s adaptation to the natural and social environment, the processes of self-adaptation (self-regulation, subordination of higher interests to lower ones) and others.
Depending on the interpretation of the individual’s life goals, the following options for the possible direction of adaptation are distinguished:
1) homeostatic option - the adaptive outcome is to achieve equilibrium;
2) hedonic option - the adaptive outcome consists of pleasure and avoidance of suffering;
3) pragmatic option - the adaptive outcome consists of practical benefits and success.
All particular aspirations in relation to the general internal pre-established goal are assessed as adaptive and non-adaptive. The concepts of “adaptability - non-adaptation” are revealed as tendencies in the functioning of a purposeful system and are determined by the correspondence - discrepancy between its goals and achieved results.
Adaptability is expressed in the coordination of the goal and the results of efforts to achieve it.
Non-adaptiveness consists in the fact that opposite relationships develop between the goal and the result of an individual’s activity: the intention does not coincide with the action, the plan with the execution, the incentive to action with its results. The idea of a discrepancy between goal and outcome is the defining characteristic of maladaptation.
The named contradictions in the problem of non-adaptation are inevitable and irremovable, but they manifest not only negative tendencies, but also progressive ones: this is the source of the dynamic existence of the individual, his development. So, if the goal is not achieved, then this encourages continued activity in this direction. Non-adaptiveness can also act as maladaptation: in case of constant failure when trying to realize a goal or in the presence of two or more equally significant goals.
In connection with the broad interpretation of the concept of “adaptation”, several types are distinguished: physiological, psychophysiological, mental, social. In relation to the process of social rehabilitation, mental, socio-psychological and social adaptation are of greatest interest.
Mental adaptation is expressed in the restructuring of the dynamic personality stereotype in accordance with the new environmental requirements.
Socio-psychological adaptation is the optimization of the relationship between an individual and a group, the convergence of the goals of their activities, value orientations, the individual’s assimilation of the norms and traditions of groups, and entry into their role structure.
Social adaptation is a constant process of an individual’s active adaptation to the conditions of the social environment.
The named types of adaptation, although they have their own specific characteristics, manifest themselves as a single whole, in a single process of the child’s adaptation to new life situations. The process of adaptation to the surrounding social environment is continuous. However, it is usually associated with dramatic changes that occur in an individual’s life path.
The child receives his first lessons in adapting to interacting with people in the family, in the circle of friendly, well-meaning relatives and friends close to him. But social life is not limited to the family. Important steps for entering social life are preschool, school, formal and informal communication groups, inclusion in the workforce, starting a family, and much more. And each time, in each new association, the individual has to maintain or acquire anew his socio-psychological status.
Among the main factors that determine the degree of success of a child’s entry into the social environment are the characteristics of the child himself and the characteristics of the microsocial environment in which he is included. The individual characteristics of the child, on which the effectiveness of his adaptation depends, include his need-motivational sphere (needs, goals, motives, attitudes, etc.), emotional and intellectual properties, as well as some characterological and typological features.
Depending on the structure of the child’s need-motivational sphere, two main types of adaptation process are distinguished: active and passive.
Active type of adaptation. It is characterized by the child or adolescent’s determination to establish contacts with peers or other people, and an active search for comrades based on common interests. Children of this type are not disappointed by temporary setbacks, but are encouraged to be more active.
The passive type of adaptation is characterized by uncritical, conformal acceptance of the goals and value orientations of the group.
The type of adaptation significantly affects the child’s socialization and his assimilation of social experience. Based on the typological approach to the study of personal characteristics, the following types of personality formation and its interaction with the environment are distinguished: harmonious, dominant, sensitive, conformal, anxious, introverted and infantile. They determine selective sensitivity to various pathogenic influences and determine the effectiveness of the child’s adaptation to the environment (E.M. Aleksandrovskaya, 1987).
1. Harmonious type of personality formation. In children of this type, all personal properties are equally formed. They are sociable, self-confident, successfully control their behavior, and have low levels of anxiety and tension. However, despite the stability of their personal structure, improper upbringing can disrupt the natural process of personality development. If signs of uncertainty are detected, it is recommended to pay attention to the microsocial situation of their appearance and development and try to eliminate or reduce traumatic factors.
Among children of the harmonious type, a special group stands out, characterized by an increased level of excitement and motor activity. Such children benefit from constant motor discharge to relieve overstrain.
2. Socially oriented personality type. Like the harmonious type, it has a stable personality structure. Children of this type are distinguished by their diligence and conscientiousness, but they are distinguished by their strong dependence on the situation and the need to act in accordance with existing norms of behavior. A conflict situation arises if they cannot cope with the academic load. In children of this type, the development of verbal intelligence suffers according to the type of socio-pedagogical neglect and cultural developmental delay. Children of the conformal type do not strive so much for successful mastery educational activities, as much as to the social encouragement of their actions and deeds. They may be satisfied with a low rating if they are not criticized for it. They are friendly and responsive, which is what they demand from others.
3. The dominant type of personality formation. A distinctive feature is the desire for independence and independence, self-affirmation. Most are boys. They are restless, often violate discipline, trying in every possible way to attract the attention of others. There are two variants of the dominant type: the first includes children prone to leadership; the second includes children who exhibit introverted traits. They are vain and expect high praise for their achievements. For children of this type conflict situation may arise if the people around them make an attempt to suppress and subjugate them. In response, they may show aggression, get into fights and other conflicts.
4. Anxious type. Characterized by increased emotional instability, excessive excitement, and anxiety. The leading activity for them is communication. Psychotraumatic situations are associated with failures in learning, especially in communication. Emotional disturbances manifest themselves as reactions of anxiety and self-doubt. Increased anxiety and tension in children of this type is most often caused by biological factors- unfavorable intrauterine development, consequences of infectious diseases in early childhood, etc.
5. Introverted type. Features of this type are the focus on cognitive activity. They are distinguished by a high level of intelligence, but they are withdrawn and uncommunicative, as a result of which they exhibit increased excitability, anxiety and tension. Collective forms of work are not very acceptable for them. According to the level of activity, children of this type are divided into two subgroups: active and passive. Passive option - characterized by absent-mindedness and withdrawal. Active - increased excitability, sometimes aggressive forms of behavior appear. In such children, insufficient self-control can reduce productivity. The way you respond to conflict depends on the level of activity. The passive option is typically characterized by self-isolation, while the active option is characterized by a reaction of protest, aggression towards others, and sometimes emphasizing one’s own inadequate infallibility.
The microsocial environment into which an individual adapts is qualitatively extremely diverse. It can appear to him as alien or close, benevolent or aggressive, favorable or unfavorable. When a child or adolescent enters a favorable environment, certain prerequisites are created for the realization of social needs: each, taking into account his own individual characteristics finds common interests, close comrades, and acquires a certain socio-psychological status.
Children who have certain life limitations, due to developmental defects, have difficulty interacting in the social environment, are limited in their ability to respond adequately, and experience difficulties in achieving goals within the framework of existing norms. These difficulties become especially noticeable at those moments in life when there is a need to change habitual stereotypes of adaptive behavior. The most critical period for a child with disabilities is, for example, the beginning of school, when he needs to demonstrate his ability to learn and communicate.
Other reasons that make it difficult to fulfill his social needs may include:
- violations of intellectual functions, asynchrony of their formation (T.A. Vlasova, M.S. Pevzner, 1971);
- behavioral disorders associated with the child’s increased need for movements and the inability to control them;
- various neurodynamic disorders. Most often, their consequences manifest themselves in the form of hyperexcitability syndrome or psychomotor retardation, as well as in the form of instability of mental processes (emotional instability);
- personal characteristics of children formed at previous stages of development (the ability to contact other people, possess the necessary communication skills, the ability to determine for oneself the optimal position in relation to them), as well as integrated personal formations - self-esteem and level of aspirations.
An important aspect of socio-psychological adaptation is the child or adolescent’s acceptance of a social role in the microenvironment in which he adapts.
A role in social psychology is defined as a social function of an individual in a system of interpersonal relationships. The individual performance of a role by a person has a certain personal coloring, depending on the knowledge and skills of being in a given role, on its significance for him, on the desire to more or less meet the expectations of others. The range and number of roles is determined by the variety of groups, activities and relationships in which the child is included. In this regard, the following are distinguished:
1) Social roles, determined by the child’s place in social relations. For example, for parents, a child is a son or daughter; for teachers - pupil, student; for peers - comrade, classmate, etc.
2) Interpersonal roles, determined by the individual’s place in the system of interpersonal relationships (leader, outcast, etc.).
Active roles performed in this moment, and latent, manifested in a given situation; official roles - with the performance of duties in groups that include the subject, and informal roles associated with spontaneously arising relationships and activities.
The effectiveness of adaptation significantly depends on how adequately the individual perceives himself and his social connections: a distorted or underdeveloped self-image leads to adaptation disorders, the extreme expression of which is considered to be autism.
Considering that the basis of socio-psychological maladjustment and symptoms of mental dysontogenesis in children are common biological and social causes, their psychological and pedagogical correction and prevention should include a set of targeted influences focused both on the family and on the treatment and prevention of somatic disorders, correction of intellectual , emotional and personality disorders, creating a favorable climate in groups of children, normalizing interpersonal relationships, etc.

An integral part of the process of social rehabilitation of children with disabilities is education. It is designed to provide them with access to knowledge, cultural and historical heritage accumulated by humanity, to prepare them for professional activities, and to make relationships with people around them more accessible and civilized.
In Russia, compulsory basic education is general secondary education. Without it, a person turns out to be unprepared to receive a professional education and, thereby, to the conditions of modern life. Therefore, the issue of school education for people with disabilities is one of the most important and most fully considered in the legislation of many developed countries.
The Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 1993, emphasize that the education system for persons with disabilities should be part of the general education system. If the system of general school education does not adequately meet the needs of all people with disabilities, special training is provided. But at the same time, it should be aimed at preparing students for studying in the school education system. The quality of such training should meet the same standards and goals as training in the general education system, and should be closely related to it. This approach is necessary to ensure that disabled people have equal opportunities with healthy people not only in receiving education, but also in future employment, since if these systems are separated, disabled people will find themselves isolated.
In 1995, the law “On the social protection of disabled people in the Russian Federation” was adopted. It establishes the provision that the state ensures that disabled people receive basic general, secondary (complete) general education, primary, secondary and higher vocational education in accordance with the individual rehabilitation program for the disabled person.
Most children with disabilities study and undergo rehabilitation in specialized institutions run by three departments: the Ministries of Education, Labor and social development and healthcare of the Russian Federation. Their activities are regulated by the Model Regulations on a Special Correctional Educational Institution for Students and Pupils with Developmental Disabilities.
Special education in our country has developed historically and represents a branched system, including horizontal and vertical structures.
The so-called horizontal structure takes into account the psychophysical development of the child and the specifics of the defect. Taking into account this approach, the following educational institutions exist:
- special (correctional) educational institutions for children with developmental disabilities;
- special educational institutions for children and adolescents with deviant behavior;
- boarding schools and orphanages for orphans and children left without parental care;
- boarding houses for persons with profound physical and mental disabilities;
- special technical schools and vocational schools where disabled people receive vocational training.
The vertical structure is based on the age characteristics of students and includes 5 age levels:
- period of early infancy (from 0 to 3 years);
- Preschool period (from 3 to 7 years);
- period of compulsory education (from 7 to 16 years);
- period of secondary education and vocational training (from 15 to 18 years and up to 21 years for the blind, deaf, and with musculoskeletal disorders);
- period of training for disabled adults.
Children with developmental disabilities under the age of 3 are raised at home, in nurseries, orphans - in orphanages. Corrective work with them is carried out in various early intervention centers, rehabilitation or habilitation centers and psychological, medical and pedagogical consultations.
For preschool children there are the following institutions:
- special daycare and 24-hour kindergartens;
- correctional orphanages;
- special groups in mass kindergartens;
- specialized rehabilitation centers;
- preschool groups in special schools (for children with hearing, vision, musculoskeletal, and intellectual impairments).
Special (correctional) school institutions for children with developmental disabilities implement programs of primary general, basic general, secondary (complete) general education. These institutions are integral part education systems and provide the opportunity to receive education within special state educational standards, and also simultaneously solve special problems of a correctional nature, providing education, training, treatment, social adaptation and integration of children with special needs.
The forms of education within the framework of a specific special program, taking into account the needs and capabilities of children with developmental disabilities, may be as follows:
- special (correctional) school (day or evening);
- special (correctional) boarding school;
- rehabilitation centers;
- correctional class at a general education institution;
- individual - in a general education institution;
- training at home;
- external study;
- training in a hospital setting;
- preventive schools.
Receiving secondary and vocational education for persons with developmental disabilities is possible in the following institutions:
- special secondary schools;
- special production workshops;
- social and labor rehabilitation centers;
- special vocational schools.
For children and adolescents with deviant behavior, there are 3 types of special educational institutions:
- special educational school;
- special vocational school;
- special (correctional) general education school and special (correctional) vocational school for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities (mental retardation and light forms mental retardation) who have committed socially dangerous acts.
At their core, specialized children's institutions are deeply humane. In them, children receive medical, social, and rehabilitation assistance, which is provided by qualified specialists of the relevant profile: teachers, educators, social workers. At the same time, they cannot fully replace other social institutions. The microenvironment of specialized institutions, which is an isolated space, a kind of “reservation” from healthy peers, also has negative aspects. Communicating only in their own environment, children, first of all, do not receive the necessary experience of interaction with other people living in ordinary conditions, which subsequently gives rise to significant social difficulties for them. For many children, being separated from their family becomes a serious challenge. Rare contacts with parents often cause them irreparable mental trauma.
Currently, the special education system is actively searching for ways to improve its effectiveness. Measures are being taken to improve the vertical and horizontal structures, new types of special institutions for children experiencing difficulties in learning, communication, behavior (including non-governmental ones) are appearing, fundamentally new multidisciplinary and multifunctional rehabilitation centers are being created that provide social, pedagogical and psychological assistance and support for children of different ages with various developmental disabilities.
The development of special education, according to L.M. Shipitsyna, can be carried out on the basis of two approaches: differentiation and integration (see diagram 4.1.).
Differentiation is carried out in the process of improving the existing 8 types of special (correctional) institutions, as well as the emergence of new ones, such as special schools for children with autism, with deviant behavior, etc.
Integration presupposes social integration, i.e. inclusion of disabled children into our society, as well as integrated education. There are two models of integrated learning: internal and external. Internal integration * is integration within the special education system, and external integration involves the interaction of special and mass education.
The named types of integration are in the development stage in our country and are transitional from differentiated education of children in special institutions to integrated education. Determining start dates

integrated education is decided individually in relation to each child and at the request of his parents. First of all, it depends on the severity of developmental deviations. Thus, children with mild disabilities can be integrated into society from early preschool age and included in integrated education from primary school.
It is advisable to integrate children with more serious impairments (vision, hearing, speech, etc.) into mainstream school after primary education, and for children with severe and complex disabilities, integrated education in a general education school is impossible; it is possible only in a special school, that is, according to the type of internal integration.
A different approach is also needed to the education of people with disabilities in the higher education system. Currently, most higher educational institutions are not prepared to train people with disabilities with various types of pathologies, either organizationally or methodologically, which introduces significant difficulties into this process. Thus, for disabled people with musculoskeletal disorders who use wheelchairs, due to the unsuitability of the premises, it is very difficult to independently get into the building educational institution, and in various offices and auditoriums. Blind students need accompanying persons, especially at the initial stage of their studies. University libraries do not provide special literature for them using Braille, methodological and other manuals.
It should also be borne in mind that the fact that an applicant with disabilities is admitted to study at a higher educational institution does not yet solve the problem of his active social adaptation. He only creates better opportunities for this. Disabled students, as before entering universities, still need additional help from adults.
At the same time, efforts to train people with disabilities in a vocational educational institution and their social rehabilitation may be ineffective if they cannot find a job after graduation. People with disabilities, especially high school graduates, have the opportunity to work. But they need guarantees so that their physical and intellectual potential is in demand and they do not find themselves on the sidelines of life after graduation.
The problem of rebuilding a special school cannot be solved overnight. Despite many difficulties, special institutions strive to improve their work, try to create conditions for the normal life of children, their adequate physical, mental, spiritual and social development.
Children who not only have one or another physical defect, but also serious social and mental disorders, manifesting themselves to varying degrees and in different forms, are admitted to specialized rehabilitation institutions. Most of these children have a deformed need for communication, cognition, play, work in their personal experience, and there are noticeable disturbances in personal development. Many of them are physically weakened, suffer from chronic diseases, have nervous disorders, are depressed, inhibited or overly excitable, and often aggressive. As a rule, they do not have the simplest sanitary, hygienic and household skills.
The primary task of the team of a specialized institution is to study each newly arrived child using psychodiagnostic and other means and to develop an individual program for his rehabilitation based on the data obtained. This approach is necessary in order to ensure a holistic impact on the child’s personality, taking into account his potential capabilities and individual characteristics.
In the process of social rehabilitation, one should constantly take care to reduce the emotional and psychological stress caused by the defect and its consequences. To rehabilitate a child or teenager means removing his fear of communicating with peers and adults, strengthening his ability to act voluntarily and willful efforts, to give him confidence in his strengths and capabilities in learning, playing activities, work. During rehabilitation, you need to ensure that the child or teenager constantly follows the internal rule: “if I want, I can.”
Considering that the family for the child is initially the most important factor mental well-being and development, the most important task of a specialized institution of any profile is to, as far as possible, bring the living conditions of children closer to those at home. To do this, it is important to take care of recreating the functions that the family performs: sanitary and hygienic, household, compliance with traditions, forms of encouragement and reprimand, trust, confidentiality, cooperation with adults, developing a child’s sense of self-worth and dignity, satisfying the need for personalized love and etc.
It is possible to create such conditions for children if a small number of children are included in the groups when they are formed, if they function constantly, they are not united and teachers are not frequently changed. If these conditions are met, the child has the opportunity to communicate with adults and feel more psychologically protected.
The process of social rehabilitation in a specialized institution should be based on the positive capabilities of the child and not go beyond the limits of the difficulties available to him. Correctional classes should be aimed at developing children's cognitive sphere: logical thinking, attention, memory, active vocabulary, as well as developing prosocial behavior skills. Such activities have the greatest effect if they are carried out in natural conditions: in the forest, in a store, in a park, on the street, at a post office, etc.
In order to encourage children to study, it is recommended to use assessments very carefully at first. For example, grades are given not for knowledge, but for the diligence of children, their attitude to classes, gradually including grades for the knowledge and skills acquired by children.
The most important condition for successful social rehabilitation work is the involvement of children in feasible work.
Specialized institutions for children with disabilities have a specific purpose. In order for a child’s stay in it to bring tangible benefits, it is necessary to create a whole range of conditions in it that provide complete social rehabilitation, everyday life, the opportunity to receive education, get involved in work, and medical and psychological assistance. These features of a specialized children's institution require its staff to have a flexible, non-standard approach and adherence to principles focused on the interests and needs of children.
A real alternative to a special school for a disabled person is home schooling. The Education Law stipulates that if it is impossible to educate and educate disabled children in general or special preschool and educational institutions Education authorities and educational institutions provide, with the consent of parents, the education of disabled children according to a full general education or individual program at home. The costs of home schooling are compensated to parents at the expense of the state in the manner determined by the Government of the Russian Federation. But such training requires enormous efforts from parents, and its effectiveness depends mainly on their efforts.
Obtaining an education for people with disabilities is a decisive condition for preparing them for socio-economic life. However, it seems impossible to overcome the difficulties they experience in this case only at the level of a departmental approach. We need a long-term federal program aimed at comprehensive, comprehensive support for people with disabilities, creating for them real opportunities for full development, a decent existence, obtaining education at all stages and including them in different kinds professional activity.

Problems of integration of children with disabilities into the environment of healthy children

Our country has traditionally developed a system for organizing the education of children with developmental disabilities in special educational institutions on the principles of a differentiated approach, based on the specifics directly related to the leading defect.
But such a practice, as research shows (M.V. Gromova, V.K. Zaretsky, 1995), cannot fully satisfy all the diversity and characteristics of the educational needs of such children. About 25 percent of them, due to a number of diseases, can study in mass secondary schools. In addition, the stay of children with developmental disabilities in special institutions, despite the presence in them of a number of positive conditions for the correction of developmental disorders, limits the possibilities of contact with normally developing peers, separates children from their families, which does not allow them to fully use the social aspect of rehabilitation pupils with disabilities. All this makes it difficult for them to develop readiness to overcome life’s difficulties, the ability to plan various aspects of their lives, and interact with people.
In this regard, there is a need to create a more flexible special education system that could develop and function both on the basis of traditionally established forms and on the basis of an integrated approach. The essence of the integrated approach is that children with developmental disabilities are given equal opportunities with their healthy peers to receive the education necessary for their adaptation and full integration into society.
Its legal basis is the documents that define international standards in the field of education of children with disabilities, such as: “Declaration on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”; “Declaration of the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons”; "Convention on the Rights of the Child"; World Program of Action for Persons with Disabilities; “Standard Rules for the Equal Opportunity of Persons with Disabilities” and some others. In these documents, the education of disabled children is considered from the standpoint of the most complete provision of conditions for training and education in integrated educational structures.
Currently, the provisions regarding disabled children contained in these documents are being successfully implemented in Belgium, Great Britain, Canada, the USA, Sweden, Germany and a number of other countries. As the analysis of special education systems conducted by L.M. shows. Shipitsina, each country has its own problems and difficulties in finding the most adequate ways of adaptation and integration of children with disabilities into society.
A distinctive feature of special education in the above countries is as follows:
- it has become more dynamic, is in a state of constant search and implementation of ideas and concepts;
- the development of main directions and development programs is built on the basis and taking into account the national interests, economic opportunities and cultural traditions of countries;
- in order to improve the quality of education, the education of children with special problems is carried out with a focus on an individual approach to students, the development of their personality, and vocational training;
- new approaches are being created to the interaction between mass and special schools, to integrated education, and the development of its forms and methods.
Thus, in Belgium, for children with developmental problems who are able to master the curriculum of an educational school, there is a real opportunity to attend lessons in a regular school, receiving additional help from specialists. Due to the fact that regular schools may not have the necessary specialists for them, the Law on Special Education provides for the organization of interaction between educational mass and special schools in order to receive real help from specialists.
In order for a child with developmental disabilities to attend a public school, a comprehensive diagnosis is carried out to assess his cognitive and educational abilities, methods of completing tasks, social and economic opportunities. Based on the needs of the child, goals and objectives, methods and methods of teaching are determined. Integrated education is carried out in preschool, primary and secondary educational institutions. For children with severe sensory and physical disabilities, integrated learning is limited.
Integrated education for children with disabilities is quite common in France. Here, the involvement of children with developmental disabilities in the educational process can be carried out in four directions:
1. The child studies according to regular school programs, but during his stay at school and outside of school he is provided with additional services: medical procedures, educational measures, etc.
2. The child studies according to regular school programs, but is provided with additional care and receives special education additional program. The most common example is a child with low vision who is in a regular classroom and takes a Braille class.
3. During regular school hours, the child is trained in a special class according to a special program. But for a certain part of the time he studies according to the regular program with students his age. This form of training requires the presence of an appropriate curriculum.
4. The child attends only a special class and studies there according to a special program. But at the same time, he takes a direct part in the life of the school: joint breakfasts, joint visits to educational events, participation in sports games, etc.
In a number of countries, there is a practice of creating additional conditions that facilitate the educational process for both teachers and students with special needs. For these purposes, special integrated programs are being developed. The most commonly used programs are called “Social-pedagogical office”, “Travel teacher”, “Teacher-consultant”.
The essence of these programs is as follows:
1. “Special Office” program. In a regular public school, a socio-pedagogical office is created, in which a special teacher works. The office is equipped with the necessary special aids used in the educational process for abnormal children. The abnormal child is a member of the regular normal class and is sent to a special room when he needs special help.
2. The Traveling Teacher program. When implementing this program, a special teacher “travels” within a certain territory from one school to another, where abnormal children with a certain defect study.
The procedure for such a teacher to visit schools depends on the specific need for him.
3. “Teacher-consultant” program. This type of program is intended for those abnormal children who do not require significant assistance from a special educator. The special educator works as a resource teacher in several schools that he attends.
At the same time, organizing integrated education for children is quite complex and requires a lot of effort. This requires not only changes in the organization of the activities of the schools themselves, but also in the thinking of people, both abnormal and normal - in equal measure.
Of particular interest for understanding the integrated form of education is the experience accumulated in the UK education system, described by L. Pozhar. According to his data, in this country there are approximately 18-20 percent of children from the total number of schoolchildren who need special care. Some of these children, mostly with mild disabilities, attend public schools, but such children are provided with help from special teachers who come to the school or family. Another part of abnormal children also attend mass schools, but for them in these schools a so-called socio-pedagogical “unit” or group is organized. In this group there is, as a rule, one special and a number of auxiliary teachers. In addition, if necessary, other specialists come to the school: speech therapists, deaf teachers, typhlopedagogues, etc., who help solve social and pedagogical problems, as well as school psychologists who solve problems of a social and psychological nature (behavioral disorders, learning disorders, problems associated with the transfer of students to a special school or, conversely, from a special school to a mainstream one). Abnormal children spend most of their time in such schools together with healthy peers, and only part of the time in a special group.
Specific part abnormal children and adolescents study in special schools. In most cases, these are children with more severe forms of defects.
As can be seen from the above, integration does not at all mean the abolition of special schools and the simple transfer of abnormal children from special schools to mass ones. Each of the three forms has its own advantages and disadvantages. But in all forms of children’s education, an important place is occupied by the cooperation of the school with parents, an individual approach to the child is consistently applied and is necessarily developed individual plan work with him depending on his capabilities and abilities, as well as on the capabilities of the given school.
Let's consider a specific example of the implementation of an integrative approach in teaching abnormal children, which was studied by L. Pozhar in one of the schools in Guildford (England).
The school, where over 600 students aged from 12 to 18 years study, provides education for children (30 people) with musculoskeletal disorders. In order for such a school to work according to the principle of integration, it was necessary to solve many organizational, educational, methodological and socio-psychological problems.
First of all, it was necessary to solve the problem of transport both for transporting children to school and within the school. The first problem was solved by the parents, the second by the school. It was necessary to install a freight elevator, remove barriers at the entrance to the school, and place mirrors in the corridors so that strollers would not collide. In addition, it was necessary to adapt the equipment. The height of the tables had to be lowered, handles screwed onto them so that children could pull themselves up to them, special stands were made for teaching aids, and special toilets and washbasins were equipped to make them convenient for disabled children to use.
Two rooms were allocated for this group. In one of them, children meet before the start of lessons, after lessons and during breaks to relax, eat their breakfast, etc. They also leave their things there. In the second room, special teachers help them master some sections educational material. They have specially adapted computers and other aids at their disposal.
In addition to the main special teacher, four auxiliary teachers work at the school and, if necessary, other specialists come. A special teacher accompanies children throughout the school, when they move from one specialized class to another, and provides them with the necessary help right in the classroom. An abnormal child can visit the school principal at any time. The same can be done by parents, who are given the right to attend the classroom and even act as a volunteer teacher.
The healthy children completely accepted the abnormal students from the very beginning. In their free time, they come to their premises to play computer games with them. Some children found friends among the newcomers.
Parents of healthy children were informed in advance that abnormal children would study with their children. Thus, some were prevented Negative consequences established stereotypes towards abnormal children. The friendly atmosphere in the school is also thanks to the efforts of the staff and teachers.
The given examples of the implementation of integrated training for abnormal children indicate that this form of education is optimal for many children with disabilities, without excluding the training of children with more severe forms in special educational institutions. However, to create favorable conditions for this, significant material costs are required, as well as certain physical and moral efforts.
The integration of abnormal children into mass schools can only be successful if the following conditions are met:
1. The necessary material and moral conditions have been created for the life and education of children in a comprehensive school.
2. Integrated learning should only be carried out with mutual consent parents.
3. An abnormal child should be provided with special pedagogical assistance during education. This means that without special teachers working directly in a mass school, integration is impossible.
4. Caring for abnormal children should not be at the expense of caring for other students.
5. Integration should be carried out on the basis effective use all funds at the disposal of this school.
6. An abnormal child must take part in school activities on an equal basis with other students.
7. The same requirements must be imposed on an abnormal child as on a healthy child.
If any of these conditions are not met, integrated learning will not be successful.
The above analysis of the experience of organizing integrated education in the UK indicates that the creation of a conceptual framework and reform of the system of education and upbringing of children with disabilities on the principles of an integrated approach is possible only at the state level.
As for our country, the ideas of transition to education for children and adolescents with life limitations based on the principle of integration are still in their infancy. Integrative approaches to their education, for example, are being pursued by scientists at the Institute of Correctional Pedagogy of the Russian Academy of Education, who consider these problems taking into account the real conditions of the Russian educational system. The concept of integrative learning proposed by them is based on three main principles:
- integration through early correction. It is necessary in the country to create a system for early (from the first months of life) identification of deviations in the development of children and their correction and, due to this, reach such a level of psychophysical development of an abnormal child that would allow him to most adequately “merge” into the general educational environment already at the next stage of age development;
- integration through mandatory correctional assistance for each integrated child;
- integration through reasonable selection of children for integrated education.
With this approach, integration is not opposed to the special education system, but acts as one of the alternative forms within the system, since a child integrated into the general education environment necessarily receives special assistance. Its task is to bring together two educational systems - general and special.
There are examples where, based on an integrated approach, results were obtained that exceeded expectations. For example, in Nizhny Novgorod, the Nordis school has been created for deaf and hard of hearing children and their parents, the main goal of which is the complete rehabilitation of a deaf child. Deaf children who went through this school with their parents not only speak ordinary Russian, but also sing, dance, and play musical instruments. They study in a “regular” school with “normal” children, master the entire school curriculum, and enter higher educational institutions on a general basis through competition.
Education for children with disabilities is also based on the principle of integration in a number of schools in other regions of the country: in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, etc.
The main provisions of their activities are:
- refusal to differentiate training;
- recognition of the rights of any child to study in a regular school;
- maintaining the class as an integrity throughout the entire period of children’s education;
- ensuring student achievement and the required level of education by creating additional forms of education, introducing special lessons and other activities;
- involving parents in jointly eliminating the difficulties experienced by the child.
As practice shows, the integrated approach is useful not only in teaching disabled children, but also healthy children, who gain vital moral experience in communicating with a weaker, less “intelligent”, less capable peer and accept him as an equal.

Control questions

1. Reveal the essence of the concepts “social environment”, “microenvironment”, “macroenvironment”, “special developmental environment”.
2. Reveal the main reasons for rejection and non-acceptance by the social environment of children with disabilities. Name the main ways to eliminate this negative phenomenon.
3. Characterize the essence of the adaptation process in children with disabilities into the social environment. Name the reasons that hinder their adaptation to the environment of healthy peers.
4. Expand the role of education in preparing children for integration into society. What is the special education system in our country?
5. Name the positive and negative aspects of the stay of children with disabilities in specialized boarding institutions.
6. Explain the essence of the concept of “integration of children with disabilities into the environment of healthy children.”
7. Describe the features of foreign experience of an integrated approach to teaching disabled children.
8. Under what conditions is it possible to integrate children with developmental disabilities into mass schools?

Topics for reports and messages

1. Social environment and features of its impact on the personality of a child with disabilities.
2. Problems of integration of children with disabilities into the environment of healthy children.
3. Social and psychological aspects of the development of a child with developmental disabilities in specialized children's institutions.
4. Experience in creating a special developmental environment in the system of comprehensive rehabilitation of children with disabilities in a rehabilitation center.

Literature

1. Akatov L.I., Blinkov Yu.L. On some aspects of an integrated approach to training and social rehabilitation of disabled people // Higher education of disabled people. Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference. St. Petersburg, 2000.
2. Vikhorev D.L. Problems of training and adaptation of disabled children in Russia // Higher education of disabled people. Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference. St. Petersburg, 2000.
3. Possibilities for rehabilitation of children with mental and physical limitations means of education. Collection of scientific papers and project materials. Institute of Pedagogical Innovations RAO. M-, 1995.
4. All-Russian Conference on the Problems of Disabled Children. M., 1999.
5. Zaretsky V.K. Problems of differentiated learning and integration possibilities // Possibilities for the rehabilitation of children with mental and physical disabilities by means of education. M., 1995.
6. Ivashchenko G.M., Mirsogatova M.L., Kamaeva. GL. Organization of social rehabilitation of minors in specialized institutions social protection// Bulletin of psychosocial and correctional and rehabilitation work. 1995. No. 1.
7. Deprived of parental care: Reader / Ed. - comp. B.C. Mukhina. M., 1991.
8. Education of children with developmental problems in different countries of the world: Reader / Composition. L.M. Shipitsyn. St. Petersburg, 1997.
9. Pozhar L. Psychology of abnormal children and adolescents - pathopsychology. M., 1996.
10. Social Psychology/ Ed. A.V. Petrovsky. M., 1987.
11. Shipitsyna L.M. Special education in Russia // Education of children with developmental problems in different countries of the world: Reader / Composition. L.M. Shipitsyn. St. Petersburg, 1997.
12. “School 2100.” Educational program and ways of its implementation / Scientifically edited by A.A. Leontyev. M., 1999.

English environment social; German Milieu, soziales. 1. The totality of material, economic, social, political, and spiritual conditions of existence, formation and activity of individuals and social. groups. There are: macro-environment - socio-economic. system as a whole and microenvironment - direct social. environment. 2. Part of the environment consisting of interacting individuals, groups, institutions, cultures, etc.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Social environment

a set of social conditions of human life that influence his consciousness and behavior. The concept of "S. With." is a specific difference between the more general concept of “environment”, the content of which includes the totality of all conditions surrounding a thing, plant, animal or person and directly or indirectly affecting them. Influence or impact on something or someone is a constitutive feature of the environment, since it always presupposes something in relation to which it exists. Conditions that surround but do not have any impact on a thing, plant, animal or person are not included in their environment. The relative nature of the environment, the specificity of its manifestations are determined not only by the difference in the properties and composition of the elements that form it, but also by the characteristics of what it surrounds and what it interacts with. Thus, for an animal, the influence of the surrounding world is structured in accordance with its hereditary-biological organization and the instinctive, biological attitude towards nature that follows from it. As for a person, here the structure-forming factor of the environment is not his biological qualities, but the forms of objective, practical and spiritual activity he carries out, as well as those social relations within the framework of which they are realized. In this case, the social system, understood as the human environment, should include economic, political, social and spiritual conditions and relationships, territorial and other social communities and associations to the extent that they spontaneously or purposefully, directly or indirectly influence on the consciousness and behavior of the individual. S. s. has a multifaceted structure and, depending on the criteria of division, represents either a set of spheres of social life, or a system of social institutions or social groups, etc. At the same time, the environment can also be considered as a unity of the general, the particular and the individual. Two extreme forms of manifestation of S. s. defined as “macroenvironment” and “microenvironment”. The macroenvironment is understood as the general environment. It includes those factors that, influencing society as a whole, represent prerequisites and conditions of life that are common to all its members. These are, first of all, productive forces, material and ideological relations, classes and social strata, nations, industrial, state-political and other social organizations, the system of public education and upbringing, the media, etc. Along with the listed conditions in the structure of S. With. on the basis of “immediacy of contact”, social spheres are distinguished where a person manifests himself in his individual behavior and which serve as a connecting link in the relationship between the individual and society. This link forms that unique, characteristic only for a given individual, complex of material, spiritual and personal factors, which is defined as the microenvironment. Its most important structural components are: the primary labor or educational team (team, section, school class, student group), party, trade union, Komsomol and other public organizations at the place of work, study or residence, informal interest associations, etc. The nature of the influence of the microenvironment on the formation of personality is determined not only by general social conditions, but also largely depends on special or regional conditions (city, village, town). As the results show sociological research, social and settlement differences significantly affect the material and spiritual conditions of people’s lives, their forms of behavior and communication.

They begin to be conditioned and appear when the interaction of the individual, group and social environment occurs. What is social is everything that surrounds each of us in his ordinary social life. The social environment is an object that in itself is a mediated or non-mediated result of labor.

A social personality throughout his life is influenced by various factors that are determined by the specifics of his environment. Development occurs under their influence.

The social environment is nothing more than a certain formation of specific people at a certain stage of their own development. In the same environment, there are many individuals and social groups, independently and dependent on each other. They constantly intersect, interacting with each other. The immediate social environment, as well as the microenvironment, is formed.

In the psychological aspect, the social environment is something like a set of relations between groups and individuals. It is worth noting the moment of subjectivity in the totality of relationships that arise between an individual and a group.

With all this, the individual has a certain degree of autonomy. First of all, we are talking about the fact that she can move freely (or relatively freely) from group to group. Such actions are necessary in order to find your own social environment that would meet all the necessary social parameters.

Let us immediately note that personality is not absolute at all. Its limitations are related to the objective framework, which also depends on the class structure of society. Despite all this, the activity of the individual is one of the determining factors.

In relation to the individual, the social environment is relatively random. Psychologically, this accident is very significant. Since the relationship of a person with his environment largely depends on his individual characteristics.

The fairly widespread opinion that a socio-economic formation is nothing more than the highest abstraction belonging to the system of social relations is correct. Note that everything in it is based on fixing only global features.

The social environment of a teenager, an adult, and any other person is where a person not only stays, but receives certain attitudes with which he will later live. No one will doubt the fact that our opinion is largely determined by certain internal installations, which themselves were developed under the influence of the social environment in which we spent a long time. Most strong development and intensive consolidation of these attitudes occurs, of course, in childhood.

A person does not completely form himself, since a significant part of him is formed by the social groups in which he belongs. Social influence is always great.