Essay on Promoting Inclusivity in Early Childhood Education

Introduction

Inclusive education for children with disabilities has been an issue of discussion for decades within the US. However, is it really an existent aspect in this country or is it just empty talk with nothing to show? For years, promoting inclusivity in special education programs for children with disabilities has been a big challenge. However, reversing such a situation would make it possible to maintain the integrity of the American education system in various ways. For instance, professional empowerment which is achievable either at an individual or program level is one way for promoting inclusivity in early childhood educational intervention programs. The aspect of personnel preparation which is attainable in various ways such as through the appreciation of diversity is another means for promoting inclusivity in early childhood education. Last but not least, the application of technology systems is another way which similarly promotes inclusivity in this area of childhood schooling. Although many people in America would easily concur that the educational system needs some improvements in various sectors, some would argue the contrary. Such people would state that bringing an end to discrimination is the only way of promoting inclusivity in early childhood special education programs. Nonetheless, for purposes of reclaiming and retaining the integrity of the American system of learning, the best ways of promoting inclusivity in early childhood education would be through the preparation of personnel, professional empowerment as well as the application of technology systems.

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Personnel Preparation

The first way of promoting inclusivity in early childhood educational intervention programs would be through the preparation of personnel. As it is the case with every other professional field, the aspect of preparing personnel is crucial for success in various areas. Similarly, the same case applies when preparing personnel to promote the element of inclusivity in early childhood. The achievement of personnel preparation is made possible in different ways, such as through the appreciation for diversity (Winton 91). Over the years, the number of teachers who are comfortable working with diverse children in multicultural environments has seen a drastic increase contrary to the scenario that was in existence some years ago. However, as different studies prove, although there exists a shift in attitude among teachers, less than 20% of all tutors countrywide is well equipped to meet the demands of their culturally diverse students (Winton 91). Even worse, as the years' progress, the number of white administrators, teachers, and consultants serving children as well as their parents continues to increase making it even more challenging to meet the requirements of diverse children (Winton 91).

Nonetheless, identifying various levels of change within institutions of higher learning can alter this particular situation. For instance, one level involves the structural characteristics of the existent training programs which should change to allow for an increase in the enrollment of minority students (Winton 91). Another level is the psychological climate which also needs changes to eliminate the attitudes as well as existent perceptions of prejudice within such learning institutions (Winton 91). Therefore, by identifying the levels and implementing the necessary changes as explained, it increases the pool of diverse teachers, thus promoting competence when dealing with culturally diverse children as well as parents (Winton 91). Therefore, as increased competency ensures teachers can meet the needs of culturally diverse children adequately, the aspect of inclusivity in early childhood education also improves.

An excellent example that would correctly portray how personnel preparation promotes inclusivity in early childhood educational intervention programs is evident through school principals. School principals play an integral role in achieving inclusivity within learning institutions as they are responsible for the formation, interpretation, and sorting of resources, in-service training, new information as well as setting a positive tone (Brotherson et al., 32). However, over the years, the opinion of principals has sparsely been utilized in the quest to achieve inclusivity in early childhood education regardless of playing the crucial role of administrative support and authority (Brotherson et al., 32). As a result, school heads face a variety of challenges like increases in the number of children with disabilities, insufficient or lack of personnel as well as a collaboration which consequently make inclusion an elusive reality (Brotherson et al., 42). However, the aspect of personnel preparation through access to information as well as training would change the situation as principals would become more effective in implementing programs meant for inclusion, thus promoting inclusivity (Brotherson et al., 43). Therefore, the explanation and the resultant example depict how the preparation of personnel is one of the best ways of promoting the aspect in question through the appreciation of diversity.

Professional Empowerment

The second preferred way of promoting inclusivity in early childhood educational intervention programs would be via the element of enhanced professional empowerment. For decades, there has been an existent belief that the extent of disability in a child or the resources, priorities, strengths, as well as the visions of particular parents, are the key determinants to the outcomes of the services offered during early childhood educational intervention programs. Moreover, other than the belief that results of early childhood educational intervention programs are dependent on the children themselves and their parents, a lot of emphases has been placed on the empowerment of the family unit. Regardless of increasing empowerment within the family unit, many disabled children still cannot acquire access to inclusive early childhood educational intervention programs. However, focusing on professional rather than family empowerment would work towards increasing the chances of disabled children gaining access to inclusive education.

Customarily, empowered professionals tend to strive no matter the cost to gain control of situations in day to day life via adopting decisive actions essential to solving the complications at hand (Soodak 91-102). Nonetheless, professional empowerment is dependent on the aspects of individual and program factors. At a personal level, empowerment involves skills which incorporate information access, problem-solving, life management, and communication abilities as well as motivational elements, namely self-efficacy, perceived control, energy, visions, and persistence (Soodak 91-102). At the program level, empowerment is dependent on the aspect of collaboration between different professionals as it makes it possible to incorporate best practices as well as maintain a high level of motivation (Soodak 91-102). Therefore, combining the skills and factors of motivation with best practices provides parents of disabled children with crucial information and resources (Soodak 91-102). The information and resources are necessary to access inclusive education quickly, thus exhibiting how enhanced professional empowerment promotes the element of inclusivity in early childhood educational intervention programs.

Assessment Practices

Another mechanism of promoting inclusivity in early childhood special education programs would be through the factor of assessment practices. Since the development of early childhood intervention in the course of the 1960s and 1970s, assessment practices have always been part and parcel of special education programs (McConnell 43). The use of assessment practices works towards enabling the handlers of disabled children such as pediatricians to quickly identify children who are experiencing delays in their development as well as those most at risk of experiencing accelerated learning and behavioral issues (McConnell 43). Consequently, after establishing such factors, practitioners of early childhood special education can, therefore, plan as well as evaluate the individual interventions programs necessary (McConnell 43). Typically, parties dealing in the provision of services to disabled children adopt various forms of assessment practices different from conventional methods. Nonetheless, the use of such practices is necessary as they are tools for providing crucial data which largely contributes to the design of intervention programs for the disabled (McConnell 43).

The existent approaches used for purposes of monitoring the progress of disabled children have various strengths in distinct areas such as the explicit description of children's skills and their competencies as well as a hierarchical pattern which defines the emergence of the discovered abilities (McConnell 45). However, while such elements are necessary for establishing a change or progress, they are not well suited for purposes of monitoring the rate at which change or progress occurs (McConnell 45). To achieve this particular objective, practices used for purposes of assessment must reflect crucial factors of assessing disabled children, namely a "critical skills mastery approach" as well as a "general outcome measures" plan (McConnell 43). The general outcome measures are the best approach needed to provide direct attention to the rate at which children are growing as well as create a link between assessment and intervention (Greenwood 155). Moreover, such measures also allow for frequent but systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of intervention programs (Greenwood 155). Therefore, as assessment practices offer a wide range of information that allows for planning of early education programs specific to each disabled child, it exhibits another reason as to why such factors are another mechanism of promoting the aspect of inclusivity.

Counter-Argument and Refute

As the paper argues, the best ways of promoting inclusivity in early childhood education for purposes of reclaiming and retaining the integrity of the American system of learning would be through the preparation of personnel, professional empowerment as well as the application of assessment practices. However, some people would still sharply criticize such a perspective. According to such individuals, the poor state of inclusivity in early childhood special education programs is due to the aspect of poor or lack of technology within institutions dealing with disabilities. Therefore, an introduction of technological systems would be the only remedy necessary to promote the element of inclusivity in the American system of childhood education as promotes social interaction through control of the environment (Hutinger and Johanson 160). Such an opinion has the support of one expert in matters of education, namely Marijana Smolcec, whose interview is useful for purposes of completing this assignment.

In his interview, Smolcec argues that the use of technological systems would work towards motivating disabled children through the application of assistive technology as well as the creation of creative as well as adaptive learning tools which in most cases are easily accessible (Smolcec). Since technological systems employ the use of assistive technology and are freely accessible, Smolcec, therefore, claims that this particular mechanism is the best way of promoting inclusive early childhood education (Smolcec). However, when compared to the argument presented in this paper, the claims made by Smolcec and other people who share his views are weak since the acquisition of access to technological systems for purposes of education would be extremely costly regardless of being readily available.

Conclusion

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