Psychological and pedagogical readiness of a guide to work with disabled people

Introduction . Care for people with disabilities is one of the criteria for the civility of the state and the moral state of society. In recent years, the measures have been actively taken inRussia to afford people with disabilities to have access to educational, cultural and leisure environments, facilities and services, thereby increasing the number of people with disabilities participating in various excursions and educational activities. However, this tendency rises to the demand for pedagogical technologies and creation of pedagogical conditions for working with tourists, who need of additional attention and support. The aims of the present article are the following: to consider the activities of guides from the point of view of its pedagogical component; to assess the degree of psychological and pedagogical readiness of employees of excursion and tourism industry to serve people with disabilities and to be ready for successful, productive communication with them. Methodology and research methods . In the course of research, general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, statistical methods, methods of survey and participant observation were employed. Primary data obtained during the survey, as well as secondary data from open sources and databases were used. The survey results and secondary data from open sources and information bases were investigated. Results and scientific novelty . The generalisation of existing approaches to the interpretation of the concept of “specialist readiness” made it possible to clarify the essence of professional readiness. The author gives the definition of psychological and pedagogical readiness of the guide to work with people with disabilities. Psychological and pedagogical readiness is considered as a qualitative characteristic of a professional, reflecting the relationship between his or her internal, personal attitudes for activities of this kind and the ability to have an effective educational and development impact, using the means and potential of the excursion as a form of continuous training. The specifics of excursion and cognitive tourism for disabled persons and persons with special educational needs are described. The analysis of the results of empirical research allowed the authors to establish that most guides do not have necessary professional skills and skills of goal-setting concerning interaction with various categories of clients with disabilities. The pedagogical aspects of such activities are not presented in the theory and practice of vocational training/retraining of personnel for the tourism sphere. The conclusion was reached that the methods of education in higher education institutions and the system of advanced training for specialists-guides need to be further developed and improved in order to maximise the implementation of pedagogical function of culture-oriented sightseeing tourism. The authors give the recommendations on the inclusion of pedagogical component in the content of educational material and in the curricula of the corresponding specialties in order to promote professional development of future and current guides. Practical significance . According to the authors, the materials and conclusions of the research will be useful to solve theoretical and applied problems in the field of pedagogy of excursion activities, as well as to train social workers of other profiles.