Teacher Perceptions of Two Multi-Component Interventions: Disability Awareness and Science

This study investigated teachers’ perspectives about two interventions designed to promote kindergarteners’ attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Interviews with teachers were conducted following the 6-week interventions. Teachers shared views on the best and most difficult aspects of the interventions, perceived benefits for teachers and children, and suggestions for improving the interventions. Teachers’ responses were analyzed using content analysis. One salient teacher reported benefit was notable improvement in social skills made by all students. Moreover, students in the experimental condition displayed increased acceptance of peers with disabilities, whereas teachers reported becoming more confident discussing the topic of disability with students. Teachers also reported that although it was difficult to step back and observe children in cooperative learning groups, it was beneficial to see that when children were given opportunities to handle social situations on their own, many were capable of doing so. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are discussed

Teacher Perceptions of Two Multi-Component Interventions: Disability Awareness and Science

This study investigated teachers’ perspectives about two interventions designed to promote kindergarteners’ attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Interviews with teachers were conducted following the 6-week interventions. Teachers shared views on the best and most difficult aspects of the interventions, perceived benefits for teachers and children, and suggestions for improving the interventions. Teachers’ responses were analyzed using content analysis. One salient teacher reported benefit was notable improvement in social skills made by all students. Moreover, students in the experimental condition displayed increased acceptance of peers with disabilities, whereas teachers reported becoming more confident discussing the topic of disability with students. Teachers also reported that although it was difficult to step back and observe children in cooperative learning groups, it was beneficial to see that when children were given opportunities to handle social situations on their own, many were capable of doing so. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are discussed

Helping Developing Countries Implement the Young Athletes Program

The Center for Social Development and Education is implementing Young Athletes (YA), a motor play program, in five developing countries: Kenya, Romania, Malawi, Venezuela, and Tanzania. Young Athletes is a theoretically-based program designed to improve the motor development of children with disabilities (ages 3-7) through various motor activities. Clinical trials conducted by CSDE (Favazza et al., 2013) indicate that the Young Athletes program significantly improves the motor skills of children with disabilities. The program is now being introduced internationally to address the needs of children in developing countries

Helping Developing Countries Implement the Young Athletes Program

The Center for Social Development and Education is implementing Young Athletes (YA), a motor play program, in five developing countries: Kenya, Romania, Malawi, Venezuela, and Tanzania. Young Athletes is a theoretically-based program designed to improve the motor development of children with disabilities (ages 3-7) through various motor activities. Clinical trials conducted by CSDE (Favazza et al., 2013) indicate that the Young Athletes program significantly improves the motor skills of children with disabilities. The program is now being introduced internationally to address the needs of children in developing countries

Teacher Perceptions of Two Multi-Component Interventions: Disability Awareness and Science

This study investigated teachers’ perspectives about two interventions designed to promote kindergarteners’ attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Interviews with teachers were conducted following the 6-week interventions. Teachers shared views on the best and most difficult aspects of the interventions, perceived benefits for teachers and children, and suggestions for improving the interventions. Teachers’ responses were analyzed using content analysis. One salient teacher reported benefit was notable improvement in social skills made by all students. Moreover, students in the experimental condition displayed increased acceptance of peers with disabilities, whereas teachers reported becoming more confident discussing the topic of disability with students. Teachers also reported that although it was difficult to step back and observe children in cooperative learning groups, it was beneficial to see that when children were given opportunities to handle social situations on their own, many were capable of doing so. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are discussed

Move Together, Communicate Together: Supporting Preschoolers’ Communication Skills Through Physical Activities

© 2019, Springer Nature B.V. During the preschool years, children develop several inter-related skills including motor skills and communication skills. In this article, we highlight several communication teaching strategies and describe how practitioners can promote communication skills of preschoolers with disabilities by providing them with multiple opportunities to practice these skills during motor activities. The following strategies are described: arrange the physical environment, model motor vocabulary, ask motor related questions, use a fill in the blank strategy, and reinforce/prompt child communication. The use of these strategies during large and small group motor activities is illustrated with vignettes. We present strategies for creating an engaging environment and providing meaningful opportunities so that children can learn important communication skills while also developing critical motor skills