Recently the researchers in Ukraine have become increasingly interested in the issues of special and inclusive education for the children with psycho-physical development peculiarities or disabilities (children with special needs), since the number of such children increases with every passing year. More than 160 thousand children in Ukraine (from birth to 18) need social support. Many recent studies have focused on the problem of inclusive education as a means and mechanism of ensuring equal rights for the children with different levels of psycho-physical development to receive educational services at the schools in their residence location, in favourable teaching and learning surroundings of a comprehensive educational institution. This, in its turn, requires appropriate methodological, pedagogical and psychological support. However, the study has revealed that inclusive education in Ukraine is predominantly spontaneous, not systemic. It concerns, first of all, the preschool education stage: a significant percentage of children with special needs do not receive appropriate educational and corrective-compensatory assistance, since until recently it has not been stipulated and specified by the educational curriculum at the state level, in particular regarding preschool education. However, the term «inclusive» implies not only the provision of education for children with peculiarities of psycho-physical development, but also their spatial placement in a general group of schoolchildren, providing them with equal appropriate opportunities for success in the learning process. Therefore, if we want the process of inclusiveness to work successfully, we have to change the environment, in which a child with psycho-physical disorders is placed. In addition, it should be taken into account that inclusive education combines a wide range of values, principles and methods aimed at ensuring effective and highquality education for all pupils, heightening the capabilities of everyone. The purpose of the article is to present the key findings of the research on the practical implementation of the inclusive education experimental model and its impact on the development and socialization of the preschoolers with psycho-physical disorders. It has been proved that the effectiveness of the practical implementation of the model greatly depends on a correct combination of the method utilization stages in the conditions of a comprehensive preschool educational institution, laying emphasis on the formation of a tolerant attitude towards people who need correction of psycho-physical development.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES