Barriers to Inclusion

01/15/2016

Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.
Jorge Luis Borges, writer

In the just-hitting-the-streets January issue of Exchange, Kate Jordan-Downs has an impassioned article, "A Journey Towards Inclusion," that tracks the status of inclusion in early childhood programs and offers suggestions on making inclusion happen. In the article she talks about current barriers to inclusion:

"Why is the practice of inclusion so difficult? For one thing, as many teachers and center directors will tell you, the training and resources about working with children who have unique needs are scarce. Although there are many state and local licensing regulations that require professional development opportunities for early childhood educators, including training opportunities on how to support children with unique needs, not enough time is allotted to practice the implementation of this new knowledge in the classroom. In addition, many early childhood centers do not have access to the support from specialists such as therapists, mental-health consultants, or one-to-one special instructors in the classroom. Unlike our K-12 counterparts, we are rarely afforded the support services and personnel prescribed in a child's Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP), leaving teachers overwhelmed as they try to meet the goals outlined in these plans, and children without the proper support they need to be successful in the classroom.

"As we continue to advocate for the necessary training and resources to support our teachers and children in early childhood settings, we must also put as much effort into shifting the attitudes and hearts of early childhood educators so that they will work harder to support all children in our programs. Even with the best training and resources available, if an educator’s heart is not invested in supporting all children — in even the most challenging circumstances — then those trainings and resources will make little impact."

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