Botswana Early Childhood Educators' Perceptions on Factors associated with the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities
Keywords:
Inclusion, Early Childhood Education, Children with disabilities, Inclusive Education, BotswanaAbstract
The study examines the perception of Early Childhood
Educators' (ECEds) on factors associated with the inclusion of children
with disabilities in Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings in
Botswana. ECEds (128) completed a Support Scale for Preschool
Inclusion (SSPI) to air their views regarding the necessary/available
factors for the inclusion of Children With Disabilities (CWD) in ECE
settings. Findings of the study revealed that factors like principal
support, family involvement, appropriate materials, peer acceptance of
CWD, knowledge and skills about curriculum adaptation/
implementation, promoting positive interaction among children,
positive attitudes of school personnel for inclusion, and a few others
were considered necessary by ECDs; believed that most of them were
not available in ECE settings; and in-service training, extra time for
collaboration and reduced class size were least available. The findings
suggested professional development of ECEds along with additional in
service training necessary for successful inclusion of young CWD in
ECE settings of Botswana.
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