Date of Award
2002
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Ed.D. Program in Child and Youth Studies
Advisor
Bonnie Friedman
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Judith Barrington
Keywords
accommodations, analysis, applied dissertation, attitudes, children, cognitive development, competency, early childhood special needs, exceptionalities, hands-on activities, inclusion, inclusion classrooms, Individual Education Plans, observations, pre-kindergarten children, preschool inclusion, regular education teachers, seminars, teacher preparation, teacher-training programs, workshops
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to implement a teacher-training program for regular education teachers to meet the needs of pre-kindergarten children with exceptionalities in inclusion classrooms.
The writer planned seminars, workshops, and hands-on activities in which regular education teachers could participate. In addition, the writer presented information to the teachers about how to conduct observations of children, and how to develop accommodations to support Individual Education Plans.
An analysis of the data revealed that the teachers had a more positive attitude towards the value of inclusion after seeing the increased cognitive development of the children in inclusion classrooms. The teachers also demonstrated competency in implementing accommodations for the children with exceptionalities in the inclusion classroom.