Inclusive Classroom Profile: a pilot study of its use as a professional development tool.

Research has highlighted that children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) might be at risk of receiving less-than-outstanding experiences in settings typically rated as outstanding. There are still significant barriers to the implementation of high-quality inclusive practices in early years settings: inadequate preparation of early educators for implementing inclusive classroom practices, and a lack of reliable and valid measures for assessing the quality of inclusive practice. The Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) was designed to measure the quality of inclusive classroom practices that can support the developmental needs of children with SEN in early childhood programmes. This paper describes the first study that explored the feasibility and usefulness of the ICP measure for quality improvement. The usability of the ICP was explored in the context of a partnership between a team of early years inclusion advisors and inclusive settings in one local authority in south England. Early years advisors received training for using the ICP and performed follow-up feedback visits to settings. Advisors achieved reliability proficiency and rated the ICP measure and training programme positively. Future research needs to investigate how the ICP might support quality improvement through designing and piloting the effectiveness of a multicomponent professional development programme

Inclusion for Young Children With Disabilities::A Quarter Century of Research Perspectives

Issues affecting inclusion of young children with disabilities over the last 25 years are discussed. A brief history of early childhood inclusion is followed by a discussion of definition, terminology, and models for inclusive services. A summary of synthesis points derived from the research literature focuses on critical outcomes for children with disabilities, the role of specialized instruction, collaboration among professionals, necessary organizational supports, and benefits for typically developing children. Two recent directions affecting the implementation of inclusion, assessment of quality and Response to Intervention (RTI), are discussed. In addition, factors that may affect early childhood inclusion in the future are summarized

Measuring the Quality of Inclusive Practices::Findings From the Inclusive Classroom Profile Pilot

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