Introduction. The increasing number of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools necessitates the individualisation of educational pathways. The phenotypic heterogeneity of ASD manifestations presents challenges to traditional teaching methods, requiring a shift from the deficit-based medical model to the neurodiversity paradigm. Aim. The present study aims to differentiate the functional deficits and developmental resources of students with ASD in Bulgaria by applying the methodology of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY), with the goal of designing an effective inclusive environment. Methodology and research methods. A cross-sectional observational study included 164 students with ASD, aged 3 to 19 years. Assessments were conducted by multidisciplinary teams of specialists through direct observation using an adapted “Functional Assessment Chart”. The textual data, consisting of free-form descriptions across nine criteria, were analysed using qualitative content analysis (semantic grouping) by three independent experts. Results. Twelve key factors contributing to a supportive environment were identified, including visualisation, structuring of the learning space, time management, and sensory safety. Qualitative analysis revealed that speech, behavioural, and cognitive difficulties tend to be mitigated when students’ strengths – such as visual and practical thinking and selective interests – are engaged. The data support the research hypothesis that targeted adaptation of environmental factors can reduce participation restrictions without relying solely on narrowly clinical interventions. Scientific novelty. For the first time in the Bulgarian educational context, the qualitative content of the functional profiles of students with ASD has been systematically categorised according to the ICF-CY framework. This approach goes beyond the traditional clinical description by embracing the neurodiversity paradigm, thereby highlighting the compensatory mechanisms involved in the child’s interaction with their environment. Practical significance. A practical algorithm and applied recommendations have been developed for mainstream teachers, specialists, and families to collaboratively design an inclusive and safe environment, as well as to conduct long-term, longitudinal monitoring of the child’s development.
Introduction. The internationalisation of higher education in Russia has resulted in a consistent increase in multicultural cohorts within universities. This development has significantly altered the working conditions for teachers of foreign languages and Russian as a foreign language. Nevertheless, the role of the teacher has remained marginal in scholarly inquiry, and the transformation of their professional identity in response to engagement with cultural diversity has been inadequately explored. Aim. The present study aims to elucidate the process of professional identity formation among foreign language teachers within multicultural groups by analysing disorienting events, perceptions of fairness, language policies, and self-definitions in the role of mediator. Methodology and research methods. The methodological foundation of this study is a synthesis of J. Mezirow’s concept of transformative learning and the processual approach to professional identity. The empirical research was conducted within the qualitative paradigm. The primary data collection method comprised semi-structured interviews with 87 teachers from five Russian universities. Results. The findings facilitated the identification of a typology of disorienting events, alongside strategies of fairness characterised by equality and equity. Moreover, various types of language policy were delineated, including monolingualism, pragmatic multilingualism, and translanguaging, as well as forms of professional self-definition, such as the rejection of the mediator role, its acceptance, and the emergence of a hybrid identity. A five-phase model of identity transformation, progressing from a technical to an expert axiological stage, was also elucidated. Furthermore, factors within the institutional context were identified that either facilitate or impede the effective processing of dissonance. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the integration of international concepts of transformative learning, translanguaging, and culturally relevant pedagogy with the Russian tradition of pedagogical axiology and institutional analysis. In addition, a processual model of teacher identity within a multicultural environment is developed and rigorously substantiated. Prac tical significance. The practical significance of the study resides in the development of recommendations designed to support teachers through the various stages of identity transformation. These recommendations include creating opportunities for collegial reflection, mentoring, and the formal institutional recognition of the role of the intercultural mediator.
Introduction . The need to safeguard the worldview sovereignty of Russian education necessitates identifying pedagogical foundations for a scholarly understanding of the value-semantic potential of the future engineer’s personality. Aim. The present study aims to develop methodologies, resources, and mechanisms to shape the value-semantic potential of the future engineer’s personality and to substantiate the decisive role of this phenomenon in ensuring the worldview sovereignty of Russian education. Methodology and research methods. Systemic, axiological, and sociocultural approaches were employed, within which the value-semantic potential is regarded as an internal resource of the personality that determines its capacity to define the goals, norms, and guidelines of educational and professional activity. In the experimental study, the following diagnostic instruments were used: Shalom Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire, Suzanne Maddi’s Hardiness Test, Raymond Cattell’s 16PF Personality Questionnaire, A. A. Seregina’s questionnaire “Level of Manifestation of Infantilism”, and E. F. Bazhin’s “Level of Subjective Control”, among others. A total of 170 students from Bauman Moscow State Technical University participated in the study on a voluntary basis. Statistical processing of the data was carried out using Fisher’s φ-criterion and Spearman’s rank correlation. Results. The specific characteristics of the mediation of the future engineer’s value-semantic potential by social factors (the educational process at a technical university) and individual (personal) factors were established empirically. The study identified (1) differences arising from students’ integration into the university’s educational environment depending on their year or level of study, and (2) the particularity of academic performance in Russian History as a pedagogical predictor of the value-semantic potential of the future engineer’s personality. Problematic questions were formulated that outline prospects for developing a phenomenology of the value-semantic potential of the future engineer’s personality and for diagnosing the worldview sovereignty of Russian education. Scientific novelty . The scientific novelty lies in the introduction of the concepts of the “value-semantic potential of personality” and “worldview sovereignty” into the field of higher education psychology. Practical significance. The practical significance of these findings is their potential application in updating educational programmes, particularly in goal setting, design, and the development of assessment procedures aimed at the systematic formation of the value-semantic potential of the future engineer’s personality.
Introduction. The development of classes with a psychological-pedagogical focus emphasises the importance of the early identification of prerequisites for a teacher’s future professional development. At the pre-vocational stage, particular attention is given to the emerging moral, value-based, personal, and instrumental foundations necessary to foster readiness for pedagogical activity. However, contemporary psychological and pedagogical practice still lacks psychometrically validated diagnostic instruments capable of assessing students’ readiness for pedagogical activity in classes with a psychological-pedagogical focus. Aim . The present study aims to develop and pilot-test scales to assess students’ readiness for pedagogical activities in classes with a psychological and educational focus. Methodology and research methods. The methodological foundation of the study was the conceptualisation of readiness for pedagogical activity as a developing, multidimensional construct comprising moral-value, personal, and instrumental readiness. Based on a theoretical analysis, a bank of statements was created, which underwent expert evaluation and was discussed in a focus group with students. A total of 709 students in Years 10 and 11 (the final two years of secondary school), from classes with a psychological and pedagogical focus across ten regions of Russia, participated in the pilot testing of the developed scales. To verify the structure of the scales, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed; internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient; and convergent validity was evaluated through correlation analysis with indicators of motivation for choosing the teaching profession, adolescents’ professional attitudes, involvement in career guidance activities, and academic performance. Results. As a result of the study, three scales were developed to assess readiness for pedagogical activity at the pre-vocational stage. The scale of moral-value readiness comprises the indicators “Mission”, “Values”, and “Pragmatism”, which together account for 50.4% of the total variance. The scale of personal readiness includes the indicators “Identification”, “Self-regulation”, and “Independence”, explaining 46.2% of the total variance. The scale of instrumental readiness consists of the indicators “Experience”, “Difficulties”, and “Awareness”, accounting for 56.0% of the total variance. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale indicators range from 0.70 to 0.87. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the models fit the empirical data well. The χ²/df ratio did not exceed 2.73; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) values ranged from 0.946 to 0.961; Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI) from 0.925 to 0.948; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) from 0.046 to 0.049; and Standardised Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) from 0.0395 to 0.0563. Correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between the indicators of the readiness for pedagogical activity scales and confidence in professional choice, altruistic-intrinsic motivation, the influence of others, involvement in career guidance activities, and students’ academic performance. Scientific novelty. The study proposes and empirically tests a diagnostic instrument designed to assess readiness for pedagogical activity at the early, pre-vocational stage of developing the subject of pedagogical labour. The developed scales enhance understanding of school students’ readiness for pedagogical activity within the context of moral, value-based, personal, and instrumental prerequisites for future professional development in education. Practical significance. The findings may be utilised within systems of psychological and pedagogical support for students engaged in pedagogical activities, in designing targeted programmes to assist with professional self-determination, and in identifying various profiles related to the development of readiness for pedagogical work.
Introduction. In the context of the digitalisation of education and the increasing complexity of the media environment, teachers’ media literacy is becoming strategically important. Teachers act not only as active participants in media communication but also as mediators in the development of students’ media competence. However, Russian scholarship still lacks research instruments capable of providing comparable and reliable data on the baseline level of media literacy among practising teachers. Aim. The present study aims to develop and conduct initial pilot testing of diagnostic instruments to assess the media literacy of practising teachers. Methodology and research methods. The methodological foundation of the study was based on competence-based and sociocultural approaches. The research employed general scientific methods, including the analysis of scholarly publications, synthesis of approaches to the study of media literacy, observation of the media behaviour of students in higher and secondary vocational education as well as of teachers, and abstraction, which facilitated the identification of key concepts in media literacy. These methods established the logic and design of the study. The principal empirical method was a questionnaire survey conducted using the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing) format. Two questionnaires were developed: “Basic Knowledge of the Media Sphere” and “Media Literacy and Media Consumption”. A total of 445 respondents participated in the study. Results. The initial pilot testing of the instruments demonstrated their diagnostic applicability. The survey facilitated the recording of teachers’ levels of terminological awareness, the specific characteristics of their media habits, the nature of their trust in various media channels, their information verification strategies, and the particularities of their professional use of media. It was established that the media play a significant role in teachers’ educational practice, contributing to the development of media competence as a system of knowledge about the media sphere, the ability to perceive information critically, and the skills required for safe behaviour in the digital environment. At a personal level, media literacy manifests as the ability to perceive media reality as part of the sociocultural worldview, to adapt to the conditions of the media environment, and to evaluate media content critically. However, a lack of methodological and organisational resources for the systematic integration of media literacy into the educational process was identified. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the development and description of a diagnostic framework designed to assess teachers’ media literacy, considering contemporary media practices. Additionally, it contributes by empirically refining the structure of media literacy indicators, conceptualised as a combination of knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Practical significance. The pilot testing of the instruments helped identify promising directions for the development of teachers’ professional training, including the need to create specialised professional development programmes and to establish the institution of media educators.
