Inclusive Culture as an Indicator of the Readiness of University Specialists to Support Inclusive Higher Education

Abstract

The effectiveness of inclusive higher education is determined by a complex of interrelated factors, including the readiness of university staff for inclusion. Taking into account the requests of the state and society, the strategy for the development of education in Russia, the central place in discussing the readiness of university staff for inclusion should take an assessment of the level of development of the inclusive culture as an integral indicator of inclusive competence and personal readiness, which became the goal of this study. The study was implemented on the basis of the Resource Educational and Methodological Center of the North-Western Federal District for people with disabilities of the Cherepovets State University from 2017 to 2023. The pilot study involved 1680 students graduated from the Resource Educational and Methodological center from 2017 to 2023, they filled a questionnaire to assess the level of inclusive culture. The representative sample is represented by 200 employees of 28 universities of the Northwestern Federal District. The results of the study showed that an inclusive culture is a specific neoplasm, the result of professional and personal development of specialists. The level of inclusive culture differs depending on the type of professional activity, it differs in the qualitative composition of the characteristics of representatives of the administration, teachers and educational support staff. Education on the topic of inclusion has a positive effect on the personal readiness for inclusion of university staff. However, the state of inclusive competence has a significant variability of characteristics within the surveyed sample and demonstrates the need for psychological and methodological support and diverse formation for university staff.