2.2: Inclusion

Image Source: BCgovphtos. Flikr.com. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Fig. 2.2 Mixed race group of preschool children smiling and singing.

Inclusive Early Childhood Education

“Inclusion is a right, not a privilege for a select few.” - Oberti vs. Board of Education in Clementon Schools

According to the Oxford Dictionary inclusion is defined as the action or state of including or of being included in a group or structure. When we talk about inclusive early childhood education, we are talking about programs that are designed for children and families from a wide range of backgrounds. While a program may serve diverse families, if it is designed from a privileged perspective it is not truly inclusive.

Continue to ask:

• Do the families from different backgrounds in my program, feel welcome?
• Am I forcing them to adapt to a program that isn’t designed for them or doesn’t take into consideration their social, cultural, and/or racial contexts?

Inclusive program design means that everything is considered from an inclusive perspective -- from the physical space to interactions with children and families. As teachers, we have the incredible responsibility and honor of teaching and caring for children in our classrooms and building intentional relationships with their families.

Early childhood is a time where children are learning their numbers and letters. It is also a time where children are developing their own personal and social identities, learning the cultural beliefs and values of their family, of their classrooms and of society. When we ground our teaching in inclusion we are ensuring the development of the whole child, whatever their abilities.

Defining Features of Inclusion

The defining features of inclusion in high quality early childhood programs and services are:

• Access
  • providing access to a wide range of learning opportunities, activities, settings, and environments
• Participation
  • providing any needed additional individualized accommodations and supports to participate fully in play and learning activities with peers and adults
• Supports
  • an infrastructure of system-level supports to those providing inclusive services to children and families
• Assistive Technology
  • any tool or device that a child uses to complete a task that they may not otherwise be able to do

Developing a deep understanding of inclusive concepts, provides us with the knowledge and awareness to reflect on our teaching in a meaningful way and actively work at as anti-bias, anti-racist and culturally responsive educators.

Image Source: How Teachers and Parents Can Facilitate and Model Inclusion. Undivided.io. Website

Fig.2.2 Chart depicting ways for teacher to create a more inclusive classroom as discussed on this page.

Learning About Individual Children with Special Needs

Information about a specific disability may provide a basic framework for ideas about how ideas how to support a child with that disability, but when serving an individual child, you will focus on the child’s specific needs, rather than the disability or its label. The possible variations within a single label are vast and nuanced, and no single label or diagnosis provides enough information about any individual child.

• Example: a child with the label cerebral palsy may
  • walk with leg braces or use a wheelchair
  • have minor physical symptoms or exhibit more extensive symptoms
  • may have no difficulty in communicating or demonstrate a delay in using language

Early childhood educators need to think beyond the label and ask questions with sensitivity and understanding—particularly when talking with parents --and set a tone of welcome and understanding.

• Scenario: a family member shares a child’s diagnosis
  • a good follow-up question to ask is “And how does that affect ____________’s development?”

This approach can help assure a family member that the child care provider is genuinely concerned about the success of their child and is interested in providing appropriate, child-specific care. The response from the parent will determine what accommodations might be needed, what other questions may be appropriate to ask, and whether specialists are involved or needed as part of the child's team.

Inclusive Classroom Strategies for Children with Special Needs

As each child is unique, so is each early childhood education program. There is no magic formula for making inclusion work beyond the creativity, energy, and interest that most early childhood educators already bring to their work.

Even with the uniqueness of each child, every program is able to successfully include children with disabilities and make it work -- child by child, day by day. An open-minded and willing attitude among the teachers helps provide the necessary energy for developing solutions and adapting to inevitable challenges.

While inclusion is a legal obligation what makes it possible is enthusiastic approach committed to inclusivity for all.

Some children need small changes to the curriculum or minor supports in order to get the most out of certain activities. Some examples are

• simple accommodations
  • providing a special place or quiet activity for a child who is unable to participate in large-group activities
  • making a special snack available for a child who needs to eat more frequently than the typical meal
    • creating a snack schedule.

Other children may require more specific adaptations that might not be readily apparent. To find help in determining what this might look like seek out resources from

• local community or school district
• family, for example, is always the first and most important guide for what a child might need; after that, an
• area specialist or a local workshop might be. Beyond the immediate community, a world of literature in
• books, periodicals, and Web sites devoted to disabilities and inclusion

If a child already has an established diagnosis, trained intervention personnel may be available to assist in this process. One of the biggest roles for a care provider is to facilitate a sense of belonging and inclusion.

Several helpful strategies are as follows:

• start with the assumption that all children are competent
• adapt the environment so that it is developmentally appropriate, challenging, and fits the needs and interests of each child
• keep the whole child in mind, particularly the child’s social-emotional experience, while supporting a child’s mastery of a specific skill

Sources

• Oxford University Press (n.d) inclusion, in Oxford Learning Dictionaries. Retrieved May 6th, 2024.
• Diversity and Equity within the Early Childhood Education Field. Introduction to Early Childhood Education 1.1e (Julian) . is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gayle Julian. LibreTexts, Social Studies Library.
• Inclusion. CHD 216 Early Childhood Programs, Schools, and Social Change Course Materials. Remixed by NOVA Online under a Creative Commons License, NC-BY.
• Introduction to Chapter 11: Diversity and Equity within the Early Childhood Education Field. Introduction to Early Childhood Education 1.1e (Julian) . is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gayle Julian, LibreTexts, Social Studies Library.
• What is Early Childhood Inclusion? Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Website.
• What Programs Can Do to be Inclusive of All Children. The Role of Equity and Diversity in Early Childhood Education (Esquivel, Elam, Paris, & Tafoya). is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Krischa Esquivel, Emily Elam, Jennifer Paris, & Maricela Tafoya. LibreTexts, Social Studies Library.