Bridging early childhood education and inclusive practices in classrooms that serve children with disabilities: a narrative portrait

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we report on a study that sought to examine how Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers, working in Cypriot public schools, combine pedagogies of ECE and inclusive education. We were also interested in how having children with disabilities in their classes informed their practices. We purposively selected and interviewed seven female teachers who, according to our judgement, had good knowledge of the ECE theoretical framework and commitment to inclusive education. We followed a thematic and a narrative approach to analyse the data, and presented the findings in the form of a portrait narrative of an imaginary teacher. The discussion maps the repertoire of practices across the assumptions of inclusive and ECE pedagogies. In our conclusion, we offer these practical implications: inclusive ECE teachers should be knowledgeable of ECE theory and praxis, committed to the assumptions of inclusive pedagogies, and work individually and collectively to educate all children.

KEYWORDS:

• Early childhood pedagogies
• inclusive early childhood education
• inclusive pedagogy
• participation
• disability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).