Personal and self-regulatory qualities of psychologists in inclusive education: a systematic literature review

The development of inclusive policy in Kazakhstan requires school psychologists to move beyond predominantly diagnostic and remedial functions toward systemic support for learners, families, teachers, and school communities. This review aimed to synthesise evidence on psychologists’ professional self-evaluation, self-efficacy, self-control, selfregulation, and responsibility in inclusive education and to develop an integrative conceptual model. A mixed-studies systematic review was reported in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and PRISMA-S. English-, Russian-, and Kazakhlanguage sources published from January 2012 to 24 June 2026 were considered. Of 51 unique records screened, 18 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. Empirical studies were appraised with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, while dissertations and grey literature were evaluated using AACODS. Professional self-efficacy was the most consistently operationalised construct. Global self-esteem, self-control, and responsibility were rarely measured directly; self-regulation was mainly represented through reflection, emotional stability, planning, adaptive decision-making, and supervision. Kazakhstan-based evidence highlighted role ambiguity, constrained resources, limited supervision, and the persistence of deficit-oriented practice as contextual barriers. The review proposes a five-component model of psychologists’ personal-regulatory readiness and translates it into recommendations for university curricula, continuing professional development, supervision, competency assessment, and school psychological services in Kazakhstan.

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