11/10/2018 Attitudes and Beliefs: Facilitators or Barriers to Inclusive Practices? 2018 National Inclusion Institute Penny Dell ECTA Judy Swett ECTA/PACER Kathy Whaley ECTA
Welcome and Introductions 11/10/2018 Welcome and Introductions Who’s in the room? Role Age served Type of Programs represented Introduce ourselves Judy
11/10/2018 Session Outcomes Understand how attitudes and beliefs influence our approach to implementing inclusive practices. Understand how attitudes and beliefs can be viewed from multiple perspectives: Individual Program Community Understand how existing attitudes and beliefs might be changed. Judy
11/10/2018 Attitudes and Beliefs Penny
Inclusion is not a place 11/10/2018 Inclusion is not a place It is a philosophy It is an attitude It is a belief Penny
11/10/2018 Penny Here is a good visual that illustrates what exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion look like. Inclusion is represented by a circle with different color dots inside it. Exclusion is a picture of a circle with some dots inside the circle and some dots outside the circle. Segregation is represented by a circle with dots of the same color within it and a smaller circle beside it with a mixture of colored dots. Integration shows the circle with dots the same color inside it but the smaller circle with different colored dots in within the larger circle.
11/10/2018 Penny Another meaningful quote about what inclusion really means. Inclusive does not mea, If you want to participate, conform to the cultural/social norm of the majority. It means diversity is vital so that every person will have his or her needs met so that all have access to the same opportunities to learn, play and live
3 Key Features Access http://www.dec-sped.org/position-statements 11/10/2018 3 Key Features Access Penny How many of you are familiar with DEC – NAEYC? Explain what these 2 organizations are. The DEC/NAEYC paper discusses the 3 key features of EC Inclusion: Access Participation Supports http://www.dec-sped.org/position-statements
What are the Long Term Benefits of High Quality Inclusion? 11/10/2018 What are the Long Term Benefits of High Quality Inclusion? Penny The long term benefits of inclusion is success. The next slide describes long term benefits
11/10/2018 Long Term Benefits High-Quality Inclusion Improved social/emotional skills and friendships Later success in life Penny High-quality inclusive environments lead to improved social/emotional skills and friendships. Research indicates that strong social/emotional skills in EC lead to later success in adult life. This information is taken from the research of Phil Strain. The link in the PPT will take you to his webinar entitled: Preschool Inclusion: What’s the Evidence, What Stands in the Way, & What Do Stellar Programs Look Like? 2/18/16 https://unc-fpg-cdi.adobeconnect.com/_a992899727/p7qou2d471q/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
Beliefs & Attitudes
11/10/2018 Belief An acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. Penny This is the definition of a belief
11/10/2018 Attitude A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior. Penny This is the definition of an attitude
11/10/2018 Penny This is a great visual of the fact that even though attitude may be a big part of who we are it may not be known or seen to other. The picture illustrates how our attitudes are unknown to others and lay under the surface. Our knowledge and skills are known by others and easily seen
So…. where do our beliefs & attitudes come from? 11/10/2018 So…. where do our beliefs & attitudes come from? Penny (May only have time for #2) As mentioned earlier, Attitudes & Beliefs are the #1 challenge to inclusion. We want to help change people’s perceptions and misconceptions about inclusion. This can be done by helping others understand what the myths are and what the facts are. If we want to help change others’ A & B it is important to first think about where/how each of us has developed the attitudes & beliefs we hold. Our attitudes & beliefs come from our own experiences – our experiences, what we have learned, read, seen, were brought up with. They can be molded by the people who are closest to us and those we respect. They can also come from fears and having had NO experience. My personal example So we are going to do an activity. (Pass out handout) This activity involves 3 parts: Think of an attitude/belief you hold strongly Think of an attitude/belief you used to hold strongly but changed Think about your personal attitudes/beliefs about EC inclusion (time permitting) The activity involves you answering a few questions. This is just for you, you will not have to share it with the larger group. Although, we may ask for some volunteers to share what they wrote, thought, felt. After participants have had time to reflect on the questions ask: How was this? What came up for you? Why can looking at how we develop attitudes & beliefs help in others’ attitudes & beliefs? Would anyone like to share their “ah-ha’s”? Silent Activity
Attitudes and Beliefs Individual Reflection Share with your neighbor 11/10/2018 Attitudes and Beliefs Individual Reflection Share with your neighbor Large group share Using Penny’s handout
Challenges to Inclusion 11/10/2018 Challenges to Inclusion Kathy
Overview of National Study (2014) Erin E. Barton, Ph. D Overview of National Study (2014) Erin E. Barton, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Barbara J. Smith, Ph.D., University of Colorado Denver Preschool Inclusion Challenges and Solutions: A National Survey (2015) Fact Sheet located at http://ectacenter.org/~pdfs/topics/inclusion/inclusion_survey_summary_9.16.pdf
Survey Results: Challenges 11/10/2018 Survey Results: Challenges Attitudes & Beliefs 30% Fiscal & contracting 19% Approval of non-public school setting 16% Curricula/methods 15% Transportation 15% Personnel qualifications 11% Conflicting policies 10% Program quality 10% The following are the percentages that survey respondents identified each category of challenge: Attitudes & Beliefs 30% Fiscal & contracting 19% Approval of non-public school setting 16% Curricula/methods 15% Transportation 15% Personnel qualifications 11% Conflicting policies 10% Program quality 10% NECTAC/ECO/WRRC 2012
Attitude & Belief Challenges 11/10/2018 Attitude & Belief Challenges Lack of Communication/collaboration (20%) “Someone will lose” Beliefs (20%) Staff preparedness (17%) Lack of awareness/understanding (16%) Turf issues (14%) Lack of respect (12%) Other (1%) The percentages of responses among the attitude and belief challenges were: Lack of Communication/collaboration (20%) “Someone will lose” Beliefs (20%) Staff preparedness (17%) Lack of awareness/understanding (16%) Turf issues (14%) Lack of respect (12%) Other (1%) NECTAC/ECO/WRRC 2012
Perceptions of Attitudes and Beliefs Self-Reflection Small group discussion What barriers have you experienced? How did you address them? What went well? Not so well? Large group discussion Sharing strategies to overcome barriers
Attitude & Belief Solutions/Strategies 11/10/2018 Attitude & Belief Solutions/Strategies Two categories Collaboration across regular EC and ECSE personnel; between district and community programs Building awareness/support There were two main categories of solutions to attitudes and beliefs challenges: Increasing collaboration across regular EC and ECSE personnel; and between district and community programs Building awareness/support This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA NECTAC/ECO/WRRC 2012
A/B: Build Awareness/Support 11/10/2018 A/B: Build Awareness/Support Educate local administrators Provide user-friendly materials on benefits & laws Provide models of high quality inclusion where teachers, parents and administrators can visit Provide opportunities for practitioners, administrators and families to explore concerns, benefits and possible solutions Strategies and solutions for building support for preschool inclusion included: Educate local administrators Provide user-friendly materials on benefits & laws Provide models of high quality inclusion where teachers, parents and administrators can visit Provide opportunities for practitioners, administrators and families to explore concerns, benefits and possible solutions NECTAC/ECO/WRRC 2012
A/B: Collaborate Establish trans-disciplinary teams 11/10/2018 A/B: Collaborate Establish trans-disciplinary teams Establish interagency inclusion team Provide awareness materials and opportunities for administrators Provide joint PD for district and community personnel Ensure support to community programs for ECSE and behavior support Build culture of collaborative problem solving Strategies for increasing collaboration included: Establish trans-disciplinary teams Establish interagency inclusion team Provide awareness materials and opportunities for administrators Provide joint PD for district and community personnel Ensure support to community programs for ECSE and behavior support Build culture of collaborative problem solving NECTAC/ECO/WRRC 2012
Reactions to what you have heard? 11/10/2018 Reactions to what you have heard? What is one thing you might try to do back home based on our discussion today? Don’t forget to add it to your Reflection and Action Planning sheets and Complete Evaluation.
11/10/2018 The ECTA Center has an inclusion team and a collection of resources to support inclusion
Find out more at ectacenter.org 11/10/2018 Find out more at ectacenter.org The ECTA Center is a program of the FPG Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, funded through cooperative agreement number H326P170001 from the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the Department of Education's position or policy.