Students’ social representations of persons with health limitations and disabilities in an inclusive educational environment in Russia and the Republic of Belarus

Relevance. The development of inclusion in Russia and the Republic of Belarus follows similar trajectories. Currently, inclusion in both countries is undergoing a process of institutionalization, characterized by the transformation of isolated empirical inclusive practices into a structured system of interactions that defines a methodological approach to inclusivity grounded in cultural values. According to experts, the changing attitudes of various social and professional groups toward individuals with health limitations and disabilities serve as an indicator of the effectiveness of inclusive policy implementation. This issue is of particular importance in the training of specialists who work with such individuals (e.g., future psychologists and social workers), as inclusive competence constitutes a key component of their professional expertise.

Purpose: To examine the social representations held by students in Russia and the Republic of Belarus regarding individuals with health limitations and disabilities.

Materials and Methods. The study involved 72 students from Kursk State Medical University (Ministry of Health of Russia), specializing in Clinical Psychology and Social Work. Additionally, 69 students from the Institute of Psychology at Maxim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University, majoring in Psychology, participated in the study. The free association method was employed for data collection.

Results. Associations reflecting the respondents' emotional attitudes toward individuals with health limitations and disabilities (e.g., "pity," "sympathy," "sadness," "compassion") predominate among Russian students. The second group consists of associations reflecting categories linked to the societal status of persons with health limitations and disabilities ("person," "wheelchair," "limitations"). These associations describe the external characteristics of such individuals. The third group of associations (9.41% of the total) reflects societal attitudes toward this cate-gory of citizens ("help," "care"). In the Belarusian sample, categories of associations linked to students' perceptions of the emotional aspect of interacting with persons with health limitations and disabilities also predominate. These social representations reflect the social status of people with disabilities, as well as social attitudes within the system of societal relations concerning this group. The associations are categorized as follows: 1) associations related to the social status of people with disabilities ("person," "limitation of capabilities"); 2) emotion-based associations ("pity," "anxiety," "fear"); and 3) attitude-based associations ("help").

Conclusions. The study revealed that the social representations held by students—future specialists in psychology and the social sector in Russia and the Republic of Belarus—regarding persons with health limitations and disabilities exhibit both shared and specific characteristics.

Similarities are evident in the presence of association categories in both the Russian and Belarusian samples that relate to respondents' perceptions of the emotional aspect of these individuals, as well as associations reflecting their social status and societal attitudes toward them. Differences appear in the classification of associations: emotion-based associations predominate in the Russian sample, whereas both emotion-based and status-based associations are prevalent in the Belarusian sample.

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