scholarly journals Quality Inclusion of Young Children with Disabilities: Taking a Stance to Support Early Childhood Leaders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Movahedazarhouligh
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Improved Outcomes ◽  
Outcomes For Children

In the educational lexicon, inclusion is not a term, rather a philosophy that values and advocates for every child’s right to quality education and learning to develop their skills and realize their full potentials. Research over the past 40 years has demonstrated that inclusive education is associated with improved outcomes for children and students with disabilities. In early childhood (EC) education, inclusive education is in the best interest of all young children to improve their sense of belonging and membership, positive social relationships and friendships, and learning goals. As more EC programs, schools, and educational settings move toward including children with disabilities in general education settings, a need exists to better prepare EC professionals, most importantly EC leaders as gatekeepers of quality to better enhance and facilitate inclusive instructional opportunities for children with disabilities. This chapter focuses on EC leaders’ role in developing, adopting, and supporting inclusive education with recommendations to implement and sustain quality inclusive education practices in EC programs and settings.

scholarly journals Understanding Inclusive Early Childhood Education: A Capability Approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Underwood ◽  
Angela Valeo ◽  
Rebecca Wood
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
The Capability Approach

This article explores the application of current discourse in inclusive education, particularly the capability approach and its utility in early childhood education. The article highlights the tensions between a rights-based discourse that informs inclusive education practice and the right for children to have early intervention. Structural approaches to supporting children with disabilities are examined. These structural approaches are evaluated using the framework developed using the capability approach. The article aims to ease some of the tensions that arise from differing philosophical approaches to education for young children, and to provide a framework for addressing the developmental and social needs of young children with disabilities.

Teachers’ Attitudes toward Inclusive Education in Public Elementary Schools in the Northern Part of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maricris A. Marzo ◽  
Juanita B. Pascua
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Length Of Service ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
Special Children

Inclusive education means that students with disabilities are members of the general education classes and do not belong to any other separate, specialized environment based on the characteristics of their disability. This study is conducted to determine the teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education in public elementary schools in the northern part of Nueva Vizcaya. The study used descriptivecorrelational survey method of research. The researchers used structured questionnaire in gathering the needed data. The study found out that the teachers have a high acceptance of the idea of inclusive education. The overall attitude of the teachers towards inclusive education was comparable regardless of age, class size and length of service. Teachers who were handling bigger class sizes possess more favorable attitude or they feel so fortunate to be a great help to children with disabilities to feel important and accepted by their non – disabled peers. Teachers who were newer in service were more reluctant on the inclusion of inclusive education probably because they have not been trained or have not acquired the variety and latitude of experiences that were vital in teaching children with disabilities as compared to their counterparts who have rendered more years of services in teaching special children.   Keywords - inclusive education, attitudes, descriptive–correlation, northern part of Nueva Vizcaya

Designing an Inclusive Educational Environment in a General Education Organization: The Experience of Conceptualization

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-152
Author(s):  
A.G. Madzhuga ◽  
◽  
S.A. Zhantasova ◽  
L.K. Fortova ◽  
Zh.V. Sharafullina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Modern School ◽  
The Government

the article reveals the content and legal aspects of the design features of an inclusive educational environment in a mass school. The understanding by the government and society as a whole of the concept of equal opportunities for children with disabilities and children with disabilities formed the basis for creating a special inclusive educational environment at school, determined the need to find effective ways to include and opportunities for interaction of subjects of an inclusive educational process. Based on the theoretical analysis of domestic and foreign literature, the authors present a refined definition of “inclusive educational environment”, define and describe its essential characteristics. Based on their research and personal experience in implementing inclusive education programs, they prove that an inclusive educational environment is a variation of the educational environment in which students with disabilities are provided with conditions for self-realization and the formation of value-semantic life orientations in the context of their special educational needs. For the first time in the context of the study, a scientifically based relationship between the values of inclusive education and inclusive policies, inclusive practices and inclusive culture is presented. When describing the fundamental principles underlying the design of an inclusive educational environment in a modern school, the authors reveal its algorithm and describe the value system of inclusive education.

Inclusion for Young Children With Disabilities

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel L. Odom ◽  
Virginia Buysse ◽  
Elena Soukakou
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Young Children With Disabilities ◽  
Early Childhood Inclusion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Outcomes For Children

Issues affecting inclusion of young children with disabilities over the last 25 years are discussed. A brief history of early childhood inclusion is followed by a discussion of definition, terminology, and models for inclusive services. A summary of synthesis points derived from the research literature focuses on critical outcomes for children with disabilities, the role of specialized instruction, collaboration among professionals, necessary organizational supports, and benefits for typically developing children. Two recent directions affecting the implementation of inclusion, assessment of quality and Response to Intervention (RTI), are discussed. In addition, factors that may affect early childhood inclusion in the future are summarized.

Supporting Early Childhood Outcomes through Assistive Technology

2010 ◽  
pp. 339-359
Author(s):  
Diane Plunkett ◽  
Rashida Banerjee ◽  
Eva Horn
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Family Outcomes ◽  
Early Childhood Professionals ◽  
Young Children With Disabilities ◽  
Early Childhood Outcomes ◽  
Outcomes For Children

Assistive technology (AT) makes it possible for young children with disabilities to learn, play, and build relationships. By improving their mobility, communication, and access to their environment, AT allows children with disabilities more freedom and independence. The purpose of this chapter is to guide early childhood professionals with examples and recommendations for the integration of AT in natural environments to meet early childhood outcomes for children up to the age of five. This chapter is organized in three sections. Section 1 briefly discusses the legal background in early childhood services as it applies to AT. Section 2 describes the framework for meeting young children’s needs for AT within the context of early childhood outcomes. Section 3 presents the application of AT in meeting recommended family outcomes. The Additional Readings section to this chapter offers relevant articles and research reports in the area of early childhood and AT.

scholarly journals Pursuing Justice-Driven Inclusive Education Research: Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) in Early Childhood

2021 ◽  
pp. 027112142199083
Author(s):  
Hailey R. Love ◽  
Margaret R. Beneke
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Children Of Color ◽  
Educational Processes

Multiple scholars have argued that early childhood inclusive education research and practice has often retained racialized, ableist notions of normal development, which can undermine efforts to advance justice and contribute to biased educational processes and practices. Racism and ableism intersect through the positioning of young children of Color as “at risk,” the use of normalizing practices to “fix” disability, and the exclusion of multiply marginalized young children from educational spaces and opportunities. Justice-driven inclusive education research is necessary to challenge such assumptions and reduce exclusionary practices. Disability Critical Race Theory extends inclusive education research by facilitating examinations of the ways racism and ableism interdependently uphold notions of normalcy and centering the perspectives of multiply marginalized children and families. We discuss constructions of normalcy in early childhood, define justice-driven inclusive education research and its potential contributions, and discuss DisCrit’s affordances for justice-driven inclusive education research with and for multiply marginalized young children and families.

scholarly journals Education Support Worker's Perspectives on Their Work with Children with Disabilities in New Zealand Kindergarten Settings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Pamela Jean Backhouse
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Education Support

<p>International literature has focused on paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities in schools and similarly there is some investigative research on teacher aides working with children with disabilities in New Zealand schools. However there is little enquiry into Education Support Workers (ESWs) perspectives of working with children with disabilities in New Zealand Early Childhood Education settings. This study is intended to contribute to addressing this important gap in the literature. ESWs are allocated as primary supports for children with disabilities who need extra learning support and require intervention. This qualitative and quantitative research study is positioned within a sociocultural framework of the Te Whāriki (1996) Early Childhood curriculum which promotes inclusive practices for all children. One-hundred and three ESW respondents from the kindergarten sector completed and returned a questionnaire. Data collection included the role and proximity of an ESW, the child’s interactions with others, and the ESW’s relationship with the child with disabilities. The results revealed ESWs have a wide range of roles and responsibilities in their work with children with disabilities. They work in collaboration with teachers in determining their work with a child and integrate a child into the environment. The development of social skills and involving everyone in the child’s learning was a top priority. Also included was the building of relationships between the child, peers, teachers, and parents. In this study ESWs used a combination of positions such as working alongside, hovering, opposite, and behind and at the same time the child primarily interacted with the ESW, teachers, and peers. Even though there were some ESWs who worked exclusively with a child, the child still interacted in combination with the ESW, teachers, and peers. This result showed inclusion of others irrespective of the ESW’s close proximity. The ESW’s relationship with a child was reported as warm, caring, and positive and also described as very close, perhaps due to the nature of support for some children. This study explored ESWs’ perspectives on their work with children with disabilities and used self report. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed in the context of the ECE curriculum. Although some insight has been generated by ESWs’ participation in this study, there is still an urgent need for future research to ensure Ministry of Education policy and practice line up for children with disabilities and their families, in order for them to receive an equitable fair education as valued members of our community.</p>

scholarly journals Reimagining Disability and Inclusive Education Through Universal Design for Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Doolittle Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
White Male ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Regular Classroom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Design For Learning

In 1975, Congress enacted a law eventually known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which ensures that children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate, public education. Since then, scholarly and popular debates about the effectiveness of inclusive education have proliferated and typically focus on the ability or inability of students with disabilities to succeed in so-called regular classrooms. These debates reflect widespread assumptions that the regular classroom is rightly the province of nondisabled students and a neutral, value-free space that students with disabilities invade and disrupt via their very presence and their costly needs for adaptation. But as many scholars in the field of Disability Studies in Education (DSE) have argued, these discussions often fail to recognize that the space of the regular classroom, far from neutral, is constructed for a nondisabled, neurotypical, white, male, middle-class "norm" that neither reflects nor accommodates the wide range of diverse learners within it, regardless of whether these learners have been diagnosed with a disability. A DSE perspective sees the educational environment, not students with disabilities, as the "problem" and calls for a Universal Design for Learning approach to education, or the design of instructional materials and activities that allows the learning goals to be achievable by individuals with wide differences in their abilities and backgrounds. Agreeing with this DSE perspective, this article uses an autoethnographic approach to reexamine inclusive education and to consider how university classrooms, pedagogy, and curricular materials can be improved in order to accommodate all students, not just those with disabilities. Ultimately, the article argues that Universal Design for Learning has the potential to radically transform the meaning of inclusive education and the very concept of disability.

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