Issues of inclusion and early intervention are critical for community and for the early childhood sector. High-quality early education and care programs have a positive impact on young children’s learning and development; on their adjustment to school; and on longer-term social and academic outcomes. This is especially true for children with extra developmental and learning needs, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Issues of inclusion are more than about integrating students with a disability. Successful inclusion requires educators to implement programs that have educational significance for each and every child. They must ensure that diverse groups of children thrive. Centres require cultures, policies and practices that make a difference.
While research shows the importance of whole-centre policies and leadership on outcomes for children, it also highlights the key role of individual educators’ competence in improving practice. Fundamental to successful experiences and outcomes for children is the skill and competence of the practitioners who work with them on a day-to-day basis. Developing practitioner competence requires strong pre-employment education programs and ongoing professional development.
While children with ‘special needs’ are similar to other children in most ways, ‘disability’ is not homogeneous and each child has unique needs. Children with established risks such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy or spina bifida; those with early health risks such as very low birth weight or symptomatic drug withdrawal; and those who are at risk from poverty, abuse or parents’ mental illness have unique social and learning needs, although generally within a similar developmental sequence.
Every child’s pattern of development has its own personal timetable. Without individually relevant support and curriculum, inclusion is little more than babysitting. Effective inclusion requires skilled educators who are appropriately prepared, funded and supported by specialists as needed.
This issue of Every Child has been rewarding and easy to put together, as much is happening to promote more equitable experiences and outcomes for all children, and there are new insights into ways of fostering development through integrated, functional and inclusive settings. The issue focuses on practices that have functional outcomes for children and their families, and that involve parents as collaborators in planning and implementation. But it’s not all smooth sailing. Achieving the best fit for children and families is a challenging task.
Tony Shaddock’s research shows that educators find inclusion demanding, but the strategies and adaptations that work for children with disabilities tend to be effective for all students. Critically, practitioners need special support in order for inclusion to be effective for children. Similarly, Sue Thomson’s early numeracy research shows the importance of practitioner skill in providing that optimal fit between children’s needs and their day-to-day realities. My own Telstra Foundation projects—to provide responsive programs for children with challenging behaviours and to optimise learning for those with unique developmental strengths and talents—show that educators often feel alone, isolated, under-prepared, overwhelmed and unsupported in dealing with diversity. Mimi Wellisch highlights the special responsibility of educators to identify and then foster knowledge and skills development for children with enhanced learning potential.
The new and sometimes confronting social factors impacting on Australian families and children make strong early childhood care and education programs more important than ever. And if more on-the-ground evidence of the benefits of community partnerships is needed, Maureen Leahy provides it. For some 30 years her playgroup has demonstrated the positive effects of parent, school and community partnerships, especially for children with the highest needs.
All children need growth-focused learning programs to optimise their development, but vulnerable and disadvantaged children benefit most, especially where parenting support is also provided. As highlighted again by the new report, What about the kids? Policy directions for improving the experiences and young children in a changing world, quality programs, quality staff and quality experiences and outcomes for children are inextricably linked, but require strong regulatory environments.
Closing the developmental gaps between children with different learning needs is a major challenge for early childhood care and education. Inclusion should be about providing the richest and highest-quality learning environments for all children, especially those with the greatest needs. Poor-quality programs have no benefit or, worse still, can be damaging.
Intuitively we feel that inclusion works, but it’s not easy to provide optimum experiences for each child and family when funding and resources are eroding. There is an urgent need for greater comparability of input, experience and outcomes in order to provide targeted programs that meet the needs of each and every child and family. Importantly, as we show in this issue of Every Child, boosting equity and inclusion requires increasing support of the education dimension of early childhood programs.
Alison Elliott
Editor
Every Child
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