Sports activities to create inclusive environment for children with disabilities and health limitations

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PhD, Associate Professor G.N. Tkhazeplova1
PhD, Associate Professor A.M. Tkhazeplov1
Postgraduate student R.L. Tkhazeplov1
Postgraduate student Kh.Kh. Margushev1
1Berbekov Kabardino-Balkarian State University, Nalchik

Keywords: inclusion, adaptive sport school, adaptive physical education and sports, disabilities and health limitations, inclusive education service.

Background. The Russian educational system gives a high priority to inclusivity assurance initiatives among its key policy goals. Experts urge the policy-makers to respect the special cultural needs of the children with disabilities and health limitations as most of them are tested with poor cognitive activity, immature educational motivations, low working capacity, poor communication, inadequate emotionality, responsibility, dependability and independence (Narzulaev, 2010). As required by the valid provisions for the education service accessibility for people with disabilities and health limitations, an inclusive school education project shall be duly budgeted to take every effort to secure an accessible education service and barriers-free educational environment for successful socialization and progress of students with disabilities and health limitations. At this juncture, however, the national inclusive education system is still in progress and we can still see a gap between the growing social demand for the inclusive service, on the one hand, and the still insufficient service system that fails in some aspects to meet the demands from the inclusive education process subjects, on the other hand.

Objective of the study was to analyze the most promising elements in an adaptive sport school service in the context of inclusive education service for children with disabilities and health limitations.

Methods and structure of the study. We analyzed, for the purposes of the study, the relevant study reports, formal statistical reports of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic government agencies, plus used the relevant inclusive education service modeling tools.

Results and discussion. Our prior study reports analyzed only the issues of children with disabilities and health limitations training in the general education school system. It should be noted, however, that the problems highlighted in these studies are no less relevant for the republican Adaptive Sport School, the only state government institution in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic which mission is to secure multisided physical rehabilitation and socialization of children with disabilities and health limitations and serve as a progress driver for the adaptive physical education and sports in the Republic. The adaptive sport school trains children with different health issues who demonstrate great competitive accomplishments including medals won in the municipal, regional, federal and international competitions for children with disabilities, qualifications for the Russian national deaf taekwondo team, republican (KBR) team of archers with musculoskeletal disorders, etc.

Thus, Tatiana Zhilova, adaptive sport school student, was ranked fourth at the 2017 (XXIII) Summer Deaflympics in Turkey (Samsun). Madina Satushieva and Tatyana Zhilova won gold medals in the 49-kg and 67+kg weight classes in 2019 Russian Taekwondo Championship in Krasnoyarsk for hearing impaired athletes – with a great support from their families and healthy peers. Our practical experience shows that families need to be supported no less than their unhealthy children, since a parental hostility or reluctance to the special health needs and developmental issues of their children and little if any emotional support may give rise to disharmonies in the children’s socializing process up to maladaptive personality traits including anxiety, aggression, marginalization etc. [2, p. 8].

The adaptive sport school trainers and teachers, in their efforts to improve the family climate for the children with special health needs, meet and communicate with the families to explain what the parents could do to facilitate the child’s progress at every stage of the training process; analyze the current needs of the families (whether or not they need support to transport the child to adaptive sport school; what is their income level, if there are some other children to take care of, etc.); organize mass cultural, entertainment and team sport/ game events; and offer practical support and help, including via all kinds of sponsorships. The Elbrus municipal district authorities, for instance, offer summer training camps at the Sokol Health Rehabilitation Center for the athletes with disabilities and health limitations with special health/ rehabilitation/ progress facilitating and motivational provisions.

The inclusive education service system shall give a special priority to the IPES motivations of children with disabilities and health limitations with a special priority to the key elementary motivations like: improve the physical fitness; improve the movement control skills and movement freedom on the whole; overcome shyness in the peer social contacts/ communication and, when possible, establish closer friendly relations with them in special progress facilitating environments; develop immunity to potential negative attitudes from peers and adults; demonstrate progress in coping with the health conditions by due mental and physical efforts, despite "every new skill seeming more difficult"; develop sensitivity to own health conditions and trainers’ recommendations even if they run counter to own desires; work hard for physical progress and success in the disabled sports; and build up the knowledgebase formed at general education school despite whatever pessimistic forecasts.
We have seen many times progresses in the family attitudes when the children show improvements in the physical, moral and mental conditions including progresses upon long-term treatment and rehabilitation courses in other medical institutions. The family expectations are demonstrated by the school achievements and growing demand for the adaptive sport school service enjoyed at present by more than 120 children from many Republican cities.

It should be mentioned that success of the innovation education policy with its "sustainable innovative culture" cannot but depends on the dynamic and harmonized historical and cultural progress of the region, with the inclusive education models designed to factor in the local/ national cultural specifics of the region [3, 4]. Thus the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic government decided to hand over part of the sports equipment and accessories procured under the state program “Accessible Environment in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic” to the municipal districts and counties to facilitate progress of the republican adaptive physical education and sports system.

The Sports and Tourism Committee of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Parliament on its visiting meeting (December 2019), analyzed the situation with the adaptive physical education and sports progress in the Republic and activities of the Adaptive Physical Education and Sports Center, and found the following: growing demand for the adaptive physical education and sports network and rehabilitation facilities to lure the children with disabilities and health limitations in adaptive sports, since only 30% of them enjoy services of the Adaptive Physical Education and Sports Center; insufficient funding of the adaptive physical education and sports system that may hamper its progress for the period up to 2024; shortages of special equipment and accessories, adaptive physical education and sports facilities and large-space venues at the adaptive sport school – that limits the group (diagnose-specific) adaptive physical education services; shortage of professional human resource for the republican adaptive physical education and sports system and, as a result, low quality of the adaptive physical education and sports / health services to the people with disabilities and health limitations in the communities; need for better public awareness/ communication services from the relevant local government agencies, special health institutions, clubs and groups sensitive to the adaptive physical education and sports / health needs of the people with disabilities and health limitations.

Research works under the "Regional innovative inclusive education cluster of Kabardino-Balkarian State University as a network community" Project made it possible to tackle the above problems and contribute to the public awareness of the adaptive physical education and sports issues in the Republic. Analysis of the existing inclusive education service model design [4] made it possible to rate its benefits and drawbacks in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic: it was found, among other things, that the inclusive education service is still limited by the differences in the education service models for healthy children and those with disabilities and health limitations with the relevant education service schedules.

The adaptive sport school trainers tend to believe, however, that the adaptive physical education and sports model has proved its benefits as compared to the traditional education system for healthy children – as the inclusive education makes the healthy children tolerant to the health issues in the groups, help develop high empathy, well communicate with children with disabilities and health limitations and help them in their educational and training needs; whilst the children with disabilities and health limitations develop fair confidence, better socialize, become more open in contacts and trustful in relations with the surrounding people and training personnel. However, there is still a need for sponsorship and specialist service (trainers, psychologists, doctors etc.) for progress; with a special need for a special hotel for children with disabilities and health limitations to stay in the rehabilitation/ precompetitive periods. The hotel could help avoid interruptions in the inclusive education service process and solve multiple everyday transportation problems faced by the children with disabilities and health limitations i.e. improve the accessibility of the adaptive sport school classes and competitions for them.

Conclusion. The inclusive education service progress in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic needs to be based on certain revisions of the fundamental values and ideas about the service at every level of the traditional education system, with a special priority given to promotion of adaptive physical education and sports and expansion of inclusive education environments for progress of children with disabilities and health limitations in the Republic; in order to effectively reap benefits of cooperative multi-professional social grouping and progress facilitating initiatives built up on high trust, respectful recognition of everyone and solidarity, for success in the inclusive culture building process.

References

  1. Narzulaev S.B., Danilova T.B., Shuklova L.A. Inclusive education: problems, experience, prospects. Sibirskiy pedagogicheskiy zhurnal. 2010. No. 4. pp. 242-248 (Correctional pedagogy, special psychology).
  2. Tkacheva V.V. Family of child with disabilities: diagnosis and counseling. M.: Natsionalny knizhny tsentr, 2014. 160 p. (Spetsialnaya psihologiy).
  3. Prud’homme van Reine Creating cultures of sustainable innovation. Journal of Innovation Management (JIM) 1, 1 (2013), pp. 85-107.
  4. Tkhazeplova G.N., Mikhaylenko O.I., Tkhazeplov A.M. (2019). Creating Inclusive Learning Environment at Kabardino-Balkarian State University. The European Proceedings of Social &Behavioural Sciences. Vol. LVIII. Grozny, 136(2019), рр. 1175-1184. Published by the Future Academy.

Corresponding author: tkhagna@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to analyze the most promising elements in an adaptive sport school service in the context of inclusive education service for children with disabilities and health limitations.

Methods and structure of the study. We analyzed, for the purposes of the study, the relevant study reports, formal statistical reports of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic government agencies, plus used the relevant inclusive education service modeling tools.

Results and discussion. The analysis of the current inclusive education model made it possible to take into account the determinants that affect the effectiveness of its implementation in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic: the possibility to group healthy and disabled children into one sporting group is hindered by different approaches to and time spent on training. However, according to the coaches, this form of adaptive physical education has significant advantages over the traditional one for both healthy and disabled children, who feel more comfortable, become more open and trusting to the people around them and to the coaching staff; there is still a need to involve in these activities sponsors and experts - coaches, psychologists, doctors.

The authors conclude that the inclusive education service progress in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic needs to be based on certain revisions of the fundamental values and ideas about the service at every level of the traditional education system, with a special priority given to promotion of adaptive physical education and sports and expansion of inclusive education environments for progress of children with disabilities and health limitations in the Republic; in order to effectively reap benefits of cooperative multi-professional social grouping and progress facilitating initiatives built up on high trust, respectful recognition of everyone and solidarity, for success in the inclusive culture building process.