Principles for an Inclusive Curriculum
The Los Niño’s Preschool program (“Chapter 2,” n.d.) conformed well to the six principles for an inclusive curriculum, which were proposed by Mallory & Rous (2009). In accordance to the first principle, which advocates for programs that are “based on a coherent and integrated conceptualization of children’s learning and development” (Mallory & Rous, 2009, p. 286), the Los Niño’s Preschool program has a curriculum that applies to both the disabled and the non-disabled students. The curriculum also successfully integrates the children’s behavior functioning (e.g. washing of hands and cleaning up), biological maturation (e.g. play time and other physical activities) and psychosocial development (e.g. group activities, peer interaction).
Likewise, the program conforms to the second principle, which advocates for the children’s increased “participation in the social contexts in which they live and learn on a daily basis” (Mallory & Rous, 009, p. 288). This is evidenced in the activities (e.g. circle time and play time) where no one is excluded and even the disabled children are able to participate. Moreover, the program’s activities allow for both the teachers and the non-disabled students to assist the students who are disabled.
As well, the parents are involved in the assessment of the children’s development and in the development and enhancement of the program’s curriculum. This is in conformance to the third principle, which proposes that the knowledge and skills that the students need in successfully participating in complex social contexts must be used in the assessment of their learning and development. For this, the parents are a great source of information with regards to the child’s capacities.
In addition, the program’s “curriculum and instruction are grounded in a dynamic balance between child-directed activities and teacher-directed activities” (Mallory & Rous, 209, p. 291), as suggested by the fourth principle. For example, while the teachers lead the activities (e.g. learning of a new song or playing of instruments), the children are also given the freedom to decide on the sequence of activities they would like to do and the groups they would like to participate in. Moreover, the activities and routines performed in the class mirror those that the children do at home (e.g. the washing of hands and the gathering during meal time), which promotes a greater generalization and maintenance of the skills learned. Aside from the routine activities, there are also planned activities (e.g. Committee) and children-initiated activities (e.g. Plan, Do, Review).
The fifth principle advocates for the formation of small groups -- preferably keeping to two to four learners – in order to optimize learning and social participation. The Los Niño’s Preschool program implements this in the Plan, Do, Review activity where the students are divided into four small groups where they plan their daily activities and are also allowed to move to other activities.
Finally, the sixth principle advocates for the availability of domain-specific therapies within the inclusive classroom where the experts are considered a natural part of the classroom setting and not merely as add-ons. In the Los Niño’s Preschool program, this is evidenced by the presence of a paraprofessional and a special education teacher in the classroom in order to provide assistance to the children with disabilities.
In sum, the Los Niño’s Preschool program can be considered to have an inclusive early childhood curriculum as it conforms to the six principles for the same.
References
Chapter 2: Case studies illustrating inclusive education strategies. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.wested.org/cpei/4Manual1Chapter2.pdf
Mallory, B. L. & Rous, B. (2009). Chapter 13: Educating young children with developmental
differences: Principles of inclusive practice. In S. Feeny, A. Galper & C. Seefeldt,
Continuing issues in early childhood education (278-298). New Jersey: Pearson
