Early Childhood Educators’ Perspectives and Practices About Inclusion of Children With Special Needs in Botswana

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate perspectives of Early Childhood Educators (ECEds) about inclusion of Children With Special Needs (CWSN) by examining their attitudes, training needs, and inclusive practices used in the inclusive classroom. One hundred twenty-eight ECEds completed a questionnaire that included the Scale of Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC) and a self-assessment of training needs. Observation of 21 inclusive classrooms was done to examine the practices of ECEds using the Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) observation rating scale. The findings of the study revealed that ECEds’ attitudes were inclined toward the positive side and indicated more training needs on knowledge of CWSN and professional knowledge. Observation findings indicated that the quality of inclusive childhood practice in Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings was between minimum and good, indicating the need for improvement in many areas, like provision of more resources, materials, and equipment.

KEYWORDS:

• Children with special needs
• early childhood educators
• inclusion
• training needs