Assessing Thai early childhood teachers' knowledge of inclusive education

An ever-increasing number of children with and without disabilities are attending early childhood programmes and learning together. Early childhood inclusion considers all children with and without disabilities, and their families as full members of the early childhood community. Although many early...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of inclusive education 2014-12, Vol.18 (12), p.1247-1261
Main Authors: Agbenyega, Joseph S, Klibthong, Sunanta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes toward Disabilities
Children
Disabilities
Disabled
Early Childhood Education
early childhood inclusion
Education
Faculty Development
Family
Foreign Countries
Inclusion
Interviews
knowledge
Knowledge Level
Mainstreaming
Preschool Teachers
Qualitative Research
Questionnaires
Regular and Special Education Relationship
Statistical Analysis
Stress Variables
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Competencies
Teachers
Thailand
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Summary:An ever-increasing number of children with and without disabilities are attending early childhood programmes and learning together. Early childhood inclusion considers all children with and without disabilities, and their families as full members of the early childhood community. Although many early childhood teachers accept the educational rights of children with disabilities and the core principle of inclusion - that early childhood learning programmes should provide for the needs of all the children in their centres, regardless of ability and disability, there remain significant barriers in terms of teacher professional knowledge in achieving these goals. In this article, we report a study on Thai preschool teachers' knowledge of inclusive early childhood education. Quantitative data obtained through a questionnaire were supplemented by teacher interviews. Both the quantitative and qualitative data focused on the teachers' assessment of their professional knowledge. Findings from this study can inform effective professional development programmes in preparing early childhood teachers for successful inclusive practices.
ISSN:1360-3116
1464-5173
DOI:10.1080/13603116.2014.886306