INCLUSIVE COMPETENCE IN THE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF FUTURE UNIVERSITY TEACHERS AT THE THIRD (EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC) LEVEL OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

Abstract

This article provides a theoretical and methodological examination of the development of inclusive competence within the professional training of future university teachers at the third (educational and scientific) level of higher education. The study aims to determine the role of inclusive competence in the structure of professional preparation of future higher education institution (HEI) teachers and to substantiate the priority of its value-based component in PhD training. To achieve this aim, the study applies a set of complementary methods, including analysis and synthesis of scientific approaches to the conceptualization of inclusive competence in pedagogical research, as well as content analysis of national PhD training standards with regard to the presence of inclusive competence among professional competencies. The structural components of inclusive competence are identified, and the formative role of inclusive values is theoretically justified. The findings reveal that existing scholarly and practical contributions predominantly focus on the training of school teachers and specialists in special education, whereas the issue of inclusive competence at the doctoral levelremains insufficiently explored. The study demonstrates that the absence of explicitly formulated inclusive competence in most third-level higher education standards undermines the systemic andpurposeful development of this competence in future university teachers. It is substantiated that the value-based component, encompassing acceptance of diversity, humanistic orientations, and a positive attitude toward inclusion, constitutes the foundational condition for the development of the cognitive, activity-based, and reflective dimensions of inclusive competence. Future research perspectives are linked to the identification of pedagogical conditions for fostering inclusive values and to the experimental verification of their effectiveness in the professional training of doctoral students.