Teacher–parent interaction as part of the digital socialization of students with disabilities

Abstract

Teacher–parent interaction concerning digital socialization of students with disabilities is of particular importance given the active digitalization of education. Scientists in Russia and other countries emphasize the significance of digital socialization for children and adolescents, highlighting its features, components, and pedagogical aspects of practical implementation. The purpose of this work is to identify the psychological, pedagogical, organizational, and methodological features of teacher–parent interaction regarding the digital socialization of students with disabilities. In our research, we analyzed, generalized, and systematized the results of theoretical studies, and carried out a survey of more than 300 teachers and 400 parents of students with intellectual disabilities and hearing, visual, and speech impairments from various regions of the Russian Federation. The survey method was chosen as the most effective way to obtain representative data on the actual practice of integrating students with disabilities into the digital world at various educational institutions of the Russian Federation. The questionnaires included questions aimed at identifying teachers' and parents' readiness to implement digital socialization with students with disabilities, as well as the specifics of interactions between teachers and parents regarding the development of digital literacy in children. Our findings showed that a teacher’s lack of competence in digital socialization and a deficiency of systematic work on raising parental awareness on digital education and training are major obstacles to a successful digital socialization of students with disabilities. The study identified weaknesses in teacher–parent interaction regarding digital socialization of students with disabilities and put forward potential solutions to emerging problems.