TY - JOUR
T1 - Current state of inclusion of children with special needs in child care programmes in one Canadian province
AU - Wiart, Lesley
AU - Kehler, Heather
AU - Rempel, Gwen
AU - Tough, Suzanne
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge Albana Zeko, Laura Norton, Meighan Maguire, Court-ney Crockett, and the research advisory committee for their contributions to this study. The Alberta Centre for Child, Family, and Community Research funded this research.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Background: Access to quality child care is an important support for families with children with disabilities. The objectives of this study were to determine: (1) the current state of inclusion of children with special needs in child care programmes, and (2) the presence of child care staff practices and programme characteristics that support inclusion. Methods: Mail survey. Results: Centre based day care programmes (n = 318) and family day home agencies (n = 25) responded to the survey (47% response rate). Participants reported positive attitudes towards the philosophy of inclusion; however, 36% of the centre-based programmes and 29% of the family day home agencies that had been contacted by families of children with special needs did not accept them into care. A significant proportion of centre-based programmes (36%) and family day home agencies (40%) were unaware of how to access specialised support services for the children in their programmes. Many programmes (i.e. 54% of centre-based programmes and 96% of family day homes) reported they were not physically accessible. Conclusions: Child care providers require improved access to supports to increase their capacity to provide child care for children with special needs.
AB - Background: Access to quality child care is an important support for families with children with disabilities. The objectives of this study were to determine: (1) the current state of inclusion of children with special needs in child care programmes, and (2) the presence of child care staff practices and programme characteristics that support inclusion. Methods: Mail survey. Results: Centre based day care programmes (n = 318) and family day home agencies (n = 25) responded to the survey (47% response rate). Participants reported positive attitudes towards the philosophy of inclusion; however, 36% of the centre-based programmes and 29% of the family day home agencies that had been contacted by families of children with special needs did not accept them into care. A significant proportion of centre-based programmes (36%) and family day home agencies (40%) were unaware of how to access specialised support services for the children in their programmes. Many programmes (i.e. 54% of centre-based programmes and 96% of family day homes) reported they were not physically accessible. Conclusions: Child care providers require improved access to supports to increase their capacity to provide child care for children with special needs.
KW - Canada
KW - Child care
KW - Disabilities
KW - Early learning and care
KW - Special needs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84899621906&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13603116.2013.767386
DO - 10.1080/13603116.2013.767386
M3 - Journal Article
AN - SCOPUS:84899621906
SN - 1360-3116
VL - 18
SP - 345
EP - 358
JO - International Journal of Inclusive Education
JF - International Journal of Inclusive Education
IS - 4
ER -