peculiarities of the conceptualization of inclusive education in Kazakhstan.

Abstract

The current paper examines features of the conceptualization of inclusive education in educational policies, scholarly literature, as well as in the pedagogical community of Kazakhstan. Analysis of the strategic documents and literature demonstrates that the idea of inclusion in the context of Kazakhstan is limited to inclusion of children with special needs that is due to historical factors. However, the issue of including children from other vulnerable groups is usually left unexamined. The results of the qualitative study have shown that the current narrow interpretation of inclusion at the national level is reflected among the majority of teachers and schools leaders. Moreover, the predominant form of inclusion of children with special needs is integration through special classes, which do not involve significant changes in teaching philosophy. As the successful implementation of educational policies on the ground depends on accurate shared understanding of inclusion among stakeholders, it is recommended to reconsider the content of the concept of inclusive education, taking into account the Kazakhstani context.