Key Influences on the Initiation and Implementation of Inclusive Preschool Programs

Abstract

Inclusion is a challenging educational practice to implement at the preschool level. We interviewed early childhood teachers, related services providers, program directors, and state-level administrators in 18 public schools, Head Start, and community-based programs in four geographical regions across the United States. Interviews were analyzed to determine factors that were facilitators of or barriers to the development of inclusive preschool programs and to describe where inclusion began for each of the programs. Key personnel was the strongest facilitator of inclusion across all programs. Other important influences were the provision of training and external support, holding a shared vision, and the impact of national and state policies.

Embedding and Distributing Constant Time Delay in Circle Time and Transitions

“…Classroom quality, however, is an important consideration when deciding whether to place a child with disabilities in a class (Bailey, McWilliam, Buysse, & Wesley, 1998;Odom, 2000). Another central issue is the nature and amount of supports available to the teachers in the class (Lieber et al, 2000;Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1996). Classroom quality and staff supports potentially influence whether important goals can be taught in inclusive classes and more specifically whether individualized and specialized intervention practices are used.…”

The initiation of early childhood inclusion in China: a case study from Beijing

“…The building blocks model emphasises that a high-quality early childhood learning environment is the foundation for successful inclusion. Literature on preschool inclusion widely supports the belief that high quality early childhood programmes set a solid foundation for successful inclusive practices (Buysse, Wesley, and Keyes 1998;Cross et al 2004;Diamond and Carpenter 2000;Lieber et al 2000). Additionally, research that compared the overall quality of inclusive programmes and non-inclusive programmes, found that inclusive preschools tended to score higher on overall quality (Buysse et al 1999;Hestenes, Cassidy, and Hedge 2004).…”

A Qualitative Study of the Initiation and Continuation of Preschool Inclusion Programs

“…The substantive statements identified in the transcripts were coded using tbe previously developed Lieber et al (2000) and rwo additional factors-collaborative relationship and family as initiator/family support and partnershipthat emerged during the data analysis process (see Table 3 for a listing of all eight key factors). As noted, individual case reports were developed for each site.…”