Inclusion and Mainstreaming Revisited---Again Teaching Experience and Specialist Support: A Survey of Preschool Teachers Employed in Programs Accredited by NAEYC

Abstract

A national mail survey of preschool teachers (N = 500, return rate of 55.2%) employed in programs accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children was conducted to gain descriptive information about (a) the teachers' preparation and program organization and (b) their experience with children with disabilities, the IEP process, special educators, and other specialists. Results indicated that more than half of the respondents currently had a child with disabilities in their classroom and had participated in an IEP meeting. The majority of teachers were not certified in early childhood or early childhood special education, and only 25% of them currently worked with a special educator concerning one or more children in their classroom. Implications for practice, personnel preparation, and research are included.During the last few years, the largest early childhood and early childhood special education professional organizations have adopted a position statement supporting the inclusion of young children with developmental delays and disabilities in a variety of natural settings, including family homes, preschools, childcare facilities, and other community settings in which children without disabilities would be found (e.g., Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children [DEC], 1993). A key point of the position state-

Teachers' Views Concerning Individualized Intervention and Support Roles Within Developmentally Appropriate Preschools

“…Recent surveys also indicate that a majority of early childhood programs, including community-based and private programs, report enrolling one or more children with developmental delays or disabilities (Cryer, Hurwitz, & Wolery, 1999;McDonnell, Brownell, & Wolery, 1997;Wolery et al, 1993).…”

Context Influences Preschool Children's Decisions to Include a Peer with a Physical Disability in Play

“…Scholars (Guralnick, 2001;Odom et al, 2006) have suggested that the peer group in inclusive settings may provide "more age-appropriate, competent and positive models" (Odom et al, 2006, p. 807) of development than in special education classrooms. Approximately half of preschool children with disabilities receive special education in programs that include typically developing peers (U.S. Department of Education, 2004), and one-third to twothirds of preschool programs designed for typically developing children include at least one child with a disability (Buysse, Wesley, Bryant, & Gardner, 1999;McDonnell, Brownell, & Wolery, 1997). In addition, young children with disabilities participate in Correspondence should be sent to Karen E. Diamond, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 101 Gates Rd., W. Lafayette, IN 47907-2020.…”

Supporting Young Children's IEP Goals in Inclusive Settings Through Embedded Learning Opportunities

“…This represented a doubling of children enrolled from just 5 years earlier. In a more recent survey of programs accredited by the National Association of Educators of Young Children (NAEYC), McDonnell, Brownell, and Wolery (1997) found that 58% of these high-quality programs included children with disabilities. However, of the teachers who reported that they currently served a child with disabilities in their classroom, only 25% reported working directly with an early childhood special educator.…”