Teacher's and Parent's Representations about the Life Skills of Children and Adolescents with Disabilities: Different Views, a Common Goal

<p><strong>Introduction.</strong> The sphere of life skills is considered from the standpoint of the ideas of cultural-historical psychology as a reflection of the social situation of child development and the process of forming «practical» thinking (L.S. Vygotsky), and its formation as a target for special and inclusive education. <strong>The purpose of the study </strong>was to identify ideas about the importance of skills from the sphere of life competence among teachers and parents of children with disabilities, as well as to compare assessments of their importance at different levels of education. <strong>Materials and methods.</strong> The representations of teachers and parents about life skills of children with disabilities were studied using questionnaires. The sample included parents (n = 1530) of students with disabilities of different age groups (under 7 years — 20,1%, 7—11 years — 32,3%, 11—16 years — 40,0%, 16—18 years — 7,6%), as well as teachers (n = 1327). <strong>Results and conclusions.</strong> The dynamics of changes in the importance of life skills from preschool to adolescence is presented. The skills that occupy the top three places in the ranking of importance for teachers and parents have both coincidences and differences. Most often, skills related to personal safety, distinguishing situations in which a child needs help or can act independently, and emotional self-regulation are chosen. The discrepancy between the representations of teachers and parents about the importance of the life skills of children of different age groups is revealed; the need to develop a unified position in the interests of effective interaction between family and school aimed at the harmonious formation of the child's personality is substantiated. The importance of having cultural patterns of life skills in the behavior of significant adults in the social situation of a child's development is emphasized.</p>