Abstract

The paper presents the results of an empirical study of the psychological features of leadership qualities formation in children with special educational needs studying in an inclusive educational environment. The study was conducted at a lyceum and involved 52 students aged 6 to 15 who were recommended support levels I–III in the educational process. A set of six adapted methods was applied following the principle of data triangulation. It was established that the level of leadership qualities is primarily associated not with the category of educational difficulties but with the amount of daily support: the proportion of students with a low level increases from 20.8 % in the first support level group to 88.9 % in the third. It was found that 73.1 % of students received no choice according to the leadership sociometric criterion, despite the generally benevolent attitude of the class on emotional criteria. The psychological conditions for developing the leadership potential of this category of children are substantiated.