Approaches to research in social empowerment of adolescents with special educational needs

Abstract

Social, political and economic changes taking place in Russia affect the socialization of youth. We believe that the aim of education is to help adolescents, including those with special educational needs, acquire skills of social and physical stability, find the meaning of life, and develop a proactive attitude. The study aimed to analyze the features of social empowerment of today’s adolescents with special educational needs in the educational setting. Ideas developed by biological and human sciences (e.g., physiology, pedagogy, psychology) make a good foundation for the research in social development of adolescents with special educational needs. Thus, to diagnose the characteristics of social empowerment we used Differential Emotions Scale (SDE) developed by K. Izard and adapted by A. B. Leonova, Rokeach Value Survey and the projective methodology What? Why? How? The participants of the experiment were adolescents with musculoskeletal disorders and normal intelligence aged 10–15 years studying in inclusive and special schools. The experiment proved that adolescents with special educational needs have difficulties in expressing and differentiating emotions. They show predominantly negative and simple emotions. Emotions are not necessarily used to program or accompany activity, nor are they aimed at maintaining sustainable behavior. Consequently, remedial educational activities for students with special educational needs should target formation and development of skills related to social empowerment. The article informs practice as the reported experimental results can be used to update adapted general and vocational education programs for students with special educational needs in the light of compliance with federal adapted educational programs.