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Taking Stock and Moving Forward: Implementing Quality Early Childhood Inclusive Practices

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Handbook of Early Childhood Special Education

Abstract

The long-standing and widespread support for the concept of inclusion of young children with disabilities is manifested in decades of legislation and policy, strongly held professional and family values, and a large body of research (Early childhood inclusion: Focus on change. Baltimore, MD, 2001). In spite of that support, children across the country have uneven opportunities to experience high quality inclusion in natural environments and regular education settings. Data suggests that progress has stalled in implementing the concept in a consistent and sustainable way (Odom, Buysse, & Soukakou, Journal of Early Intervention, 33, 344–356, 2011). To address the current issues related to early childhood preschool inclusion, this chapter begins with a description of this history and current context of inclusive practices within early childhood special education (ECSE). A description of the current implementation of inclusion follows. An approach to addressing the current concerns about early childhood inclusion, using an implementation science framework, identifies the inclusive practices with the strongest evidence, the implementation drivers or levers for change in increasing likelihood that those practices are implemented, and an action agenda for improving the likelihood that young children with disabilities experience high quality inclusion.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For a full accounting of the legislative history of inclusion in the USA, see McCormick (2014).

  2. 2.

    More information about and resources related to the joint position statement on inclusion and each of these essential features can be found on the web site for the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (http://fpg.unc.edu/sites/fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/reports-and-policy-briefs/DEC_NAEYC_EarlyChildhoodInclusion.pdf).

  3. 3.

    We use the following definition of the workforce from Winton et al. (2016): Individuals working directly with children as well as those (faculty and PD providers) who work with early childhood teachers to advance their competence in supporting children’s learning and development. This definition, which is inclusive of teachers addressing the learning and development of children from birth to the start of kindergarten in center- and home-based programs, includes child care, Early Head Start/Head Start, preschool/Pre-K, early intervention (birth to three programs for infants and toddlers with or at risk for disabilities under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and early childhood special education for preschool children with disabilities (Section 619 of IDEA).

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Acknowledgment

The author would like to thank Melissa Van Dyke, Mary Lee Porterfield, Lia Rucker, and Sari Gupta for their comments on an earlier draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Pamela J. Winton

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  1. Pamela J. Winton
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Correspondence to Pamela J. Winton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florida, Newberry, Florida, USA

    Brian Reichow

  2. Dept Allied Health Sciences, UNC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Brian A. Boyd

  3. Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Erin E. Barton

  4. Frank Porter Graham Child Development In, Univ of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Samuel L. Odom

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Winton, P.J. (2016). Taking Stock and Moving Forward: Implementing Quality Early Childhood Inclusive Practices. In: Reichow, B., Boyd, B., Barton, E., Odom, S. (eds) Handbook of Early Childhood Special Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28492-7_4

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