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Preface

  • Page ID
    319033
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    About this Open Educational Resource (OER)

    The field of education is ever changing as we identify, explore, and implement evidence-based practices, and strive to support the needs of ALL students. In early childhood education, recommended practices and educational policy recommendations have fueled the expansion of inclusive early childhood programs. The number of blended early childhood teacher preparation programs (preparing preservice teachers for general and special education responsibilities) has increased dramatically over the past decade. However, most of the early childhood textbooks available to instructors, faculty and/or students are costly, and often force the instructor to choose between depth on a specific topic (observation/assessment) or description of use of inclusive practices. For example, there exists textbooks that are specific to addressing observation and assessment of children with disabilities but these typically do not address the various purposes of assessment or assessment's role in the instructional cycle and the foundational skills related to observation. Similarly, there exists textbooks describing observation and assessment practices, but these do not address the role/responsibilities of teachers specific to and skills needed to complete a comprehensive assessment for the purposes of determining a child's eligibility for special education services. Because of this, instructors may need to rely on multiple textbooks and/or outside resources to nurture their students acquisition of necessary skills and knowledge.

    It is my hope that this Open Educational Resource (OER) will not only increase access to the information needed to nurture all our university students' skills and knowledge specific to observation and assessment of all young children, but it will also allow for others outside of the university (i.e. instructors, faculty, and/or students) to benefit from having a text that approaches observation and assessment of young children from a more holistic approach - addressing skills and knowledge necessary for an early childhood general education, special education and/or blended classroom teacher. This includes, but is not limited to: understanding the many purposes of assessment, types of assessment (i.e. universal screening, developmental screening, developmental assessment, formative/summative assessment, etc.) and characteristics of these recommended practices related to child and family assessment, use of assessment for purposes of instructional planning and evaluation/data-based decision making, collaborating with others (i.e. professionals, families, etc.) for assessment purposes, understanding the legal mandates specific to assessment (i.e. child find procedures in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (2017), etc.), methods of assessment, forms of alternative assessment, and use of culturally and linguistically responsive practices in assessment. Having one resource accessible to all that includes information on each of these subjects and which directly ties the information back to recommended and developmentally appropriate practice (Division for Early Childhood 2014; National Association for the Education of Young Children 2020), and which can be easily updated, and modified, will help ensure instructors, faculty and students are able to have up-to-date knowledge on the topic of observation and assessment of all young children.

    This book and its ancillary materials were created by Michelle M. Sands, Ph. D at Northern Illinois University for SESE 423 and SESE 523 Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Special Education and was made possible through an Illinois Secretary of State/Illinois State Library (ISL) OER Grant awarded to Northern Illinois University Libraries’ project: Huskies Unbound: Developing OER for Undergraduate Success in High-Impact Courses. Funded by a one-time $3 million allocation to the Illinois Secretary of State's Budget in FY24, and facilitated by the  Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), the ISL OER Grant Program was created to support the development of textbooks and ancillaries as open educational resources to reduce students’ costs, encourage student success, and allow faculty to adapt materials to meet local needs.

    I wish to express my gratitude to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Illinois Secretary of State Alexander Giannoulias, and Greg McCormick, Director of the Illinois State Library, for their commitment to Open Education.

    Acknowledgements

    The creation of this OER was made possible through the collaborative efforts of educators, librarians, and staff from Northern Illinois University. In particular, I acknowledge grant project members Jaime Schumacher, Missy Clapp, Cynthia Paralejas, Tracy Miller, and Lindsay Vreeland, whose time and expertise were invaluable to its development. I also extend my gratitude to Larissa Garcia and Dee Anna Phares, as co-directors of the grant, for their instrumental contributions in making this project possible and their management throughout the process.

    In addition, I offer my appreciation for the training and support provided by Michele Leigh, Elizabeth Clarage, and Nicole Swanson and other CARLI staff members.

    Peer Review

    The Peer Reviewer process is planned for Spring, 2026. Peer reviewers will include tenured-track faculty at Institutions of Higher Education within the field of special and early childhood education.

    Customization/Terms of Use

    This textbook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY) license unless otherwise indicated, which means that you are free to:

    • SHARE – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
    • ADAPT – remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose

    Licensing Terms

    The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

    • Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if any changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
    • No Additional Restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
    • Notice: You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable United States copyright exception or limitation.
    • No Warranties are Given: The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

    Attribution

    Some content for this textbook was adapted from the OER titled, Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education by Gina Peterson and Emily Elam from College of the Canyons.

    References are provided at the end of each chapter to acknowledge and attribute content.

    Suggested Attribution Statement for this Book

    Content that is not adapted from the Peterson and Elam OER should include the following attribution statement:

    Sands, Michelle M. (2026). Observation and Assessment in Inclusive Early Childhood Education. Illinois Secretary of State/Illinois State Library OER Grant: Northern Illinois University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

    References

    Division for Early Childhood. 2014. "DEC Recommended Practices." https://divisionearlychildhood.egnyte.com/dl/7urLPWCt5U

    Families Educational Rights and Privacy Act Regulations, 34 C.F.R. Part 99. 2017.

    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-446. 2004.

    National Association for the Education of Young Children. 2020. "Position Statement: Developmentally Appropriate Practice." https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/dap-statement_0.pdf

    This Preface is a derivative of Labatte, Jessica and Larissa Garcia. (2024). Illinois SCOERs. Fundamentals of Photography and Creative Practice by Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois licensed under CC BY 4.0.

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