1. Assessing the Quality of Inclusion: A Closer Look Martha Diefendorf Elena Soukakou Kelly Maxwell 11th Annual Inclusion Institute Chapel Hill, NC May 17, 2011

2. Welcome Who Is In the Room
Welcome Who Is In the Room? Why are indicators of quality inclusion important to you and others like you?

3. Parents and Family Members
They want to feel comfortable and assured that:
their selection of a program for their child is appropriate
the teacher has suitable knowledge, skills and disposition
their child will be fully included
their child will make friends
their child’s needs will be met and will learn new skills
they will be included as partners
Animate slides so that title comes up first.
Ask audience:
Who is a parent or family member of a child with a disability? [Get approximate count]
Why are indicators related to inclusion important for parents and family members? [Listen to several examples]
Display the bullets – all at one time.

4. Practitioners – Service Providers, Teachers
They want to be sure that:
they can provide quality experiences for all children
they feel knowledgeable and comfortable about disabilities
they have appropriate skills to individualize and consider strategies for improving practice
they know how to collaborate with specialists
they know how to communicate and partner with families
Repeat the sequence .

5. Program Administrators
They want to be sure that:
their program provides quality experiences for all children
their policies and procedures support inclusion of children with special needs
they support practitioners’ opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills
they promote collaboration among teachers, specialists and families
families with children in the program are satisfied
Repeat the sequence

6. Pre-service Instructors and In-Service TA Providers
They want to be sure that:
the content of their coursework is practical and relevant
they support practitioners (and future practitioners) to improve their knowledge and skills regarding inclusion
their PD opportunities are aligned with the needs of the workforce
they promote collaboration among teachers, specialists and families
Repeat the sequence

7. State Administrators They want to be sure that:
The state quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) is designed to promote the development of all children
Their data system and monitoring procedures promote quality practices and services for inclusion
Resource allocation ensures that young children with disabilities or special needs experience high quality early education and inclusion experiences.
Repeat the sequence

8. Who else is here today? Are their other roles or perspectives we haven’t mentioned?

9. Why assess the quality of inclusion?
Quality of EC programs  children’s development
More children with disabilities in pre-k
Growing body of evidence-based practices
Greater consensus on definition of key dimensions of inclusion

10. DEC-NAEYC Position Statement on Inclusion

11. Definition
Early childhood inclusion embodies the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society. The desired results of inclusive experiences for children with and without disabilities and their families include a sense of belonging and membership, positive social relationships and friendships, and development and learning to reach their full potential.

12. 3 Key Defining Features of Inclusion
Access
Participation
Supports
can be used to guide the development of standards/indicators for including young children with disabilities:

13. Defining Feature of Inclusion:
Access
means providing a wide range of activities and environments for every child by removing physical barriers and offering multiple ways to promote learning and development.
Read definition
What does ACCESS look like? 13

14. What does ACCESS look like?
Sample indicators:
Simple modifications, removal of physical and structural barriers, instruction in multiple and varied formats, and/or technology are used to ensure that every young child has access.
The learning environment, typical routines, and activities are accessible to children with a wide range of abilities.
The teacher makes adaptations of space and materials so all children are able to safely access and engage in the learning opportunities presented.
Outdoor play area is designed to accommodate a variety of motor experiences, such as running, climbing, balancing, jumping, and swinging.

15. Defining Feature of Inclusion:
Participation
means using a range of instructional approaches to promote engagement in play and learning activities, and a sense of belonging for every child. 15

16. What does Participation look like?
Sample indicators: (could relate to child or adult behaviors or actions)
The child with special needs is an active participant in classroom activities, not just an observer.
The teacher sets up situations for intentional teaching of skill on the IEP, in the context of an engaging activity for the child and typical peers for maximum enjoyment and learning.
There is evidence of intentional teaching of social skills built into the daily plan with an attempt to individualize to children’s needs.
Teaching staff provides supervision to facilitate children’s activities and play, making sure all are involved.
The teacher encourages play between the “selected child” and a friend by commenting on their activities in an encouraging way.

17. Defining Feature of Inclusion:
Supports
refers to broader aspects of the system such as professional development, incentives for inclusion, and opportunities for communication and collaboration among families and professionals to assure high quality inclusion. 17

18. What do SUPPORTS look like?
Sample indicators:
The program director regularly visits classrooms and monitors staff performance.
The program director arranges for on-the-job training or coaching.
The program director makes staff available to attend IEP/IFSP meetings to participate in planning efforts with family and service providers.
The program collaborates with community services and organizations for additional adult support, such as park districts for assistance with summer recreation programs.

19. The Compilation
Why it was developed
- Many requests for examples of quality indicators
- Different resources assembled in one place allows for easy comparison of potential indicators of quality.
What is contains- tools, checklists, self-assessments that have indicators the pertain to quality inclusion
Intended audiences – all
Where to find it
Not meant to be a complete listing of all resources available; no endorsement or claim to the research-base or other quality of the tools is implied.

20. Quality Inclusion Practice Considerations
Five main sections  
Quality Inclusion Practice Considerations
Classroom Observation Rating Tools
Individual Child Focused Considerations
Collaborative Inclusion Practices
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)
Quality Inclusion Practice Considerations provides general strategies to enhance the quality of inclusion experiences for children and families.
Classroom Observation Rating Tools allows the user to assess and rate quality practices within settings.  
Individual Child Focused Considerations provides an inventory of quality indicators that are child-focused or intended to be used with individual children.  
Collaborative Inclusion Practices provides several examples of self assessments tools for the appraisal of collaboration within a community. 
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) provides information on systems that are designed to rate the quality of child care settings and includes standards related to the inclusion of children with special needs.

21. What is a QRIS? Common Elements Quality standards
Process for assessing/monitoring standards
Outreach and support to programs
Financial incentives
Consumer awareness

22. QRIS Across the U.S.

23. Assessing Observed Quality in QRIS
23 of 26 states with QRIS use an observation measure of quality
Most use the Environment Rating Scales (ERS)
A few (e.g., Virginia, Minnesota) use the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)
Individual states use other measures
Missouri uses the ECERS-E that focuses on curriculum, Vermont uses the Essential Practices Inventory.

24. Special Needs 8 of 26 states address for centers
6 of 26 states address for family child care homes
Specialized training
Screening procedures
Planning for children with special needs
Documentation of plans & activities
Environmental accommodations
Delaware: For a 5 star, staff are available to attend IEP/IFSP meetings for joint planning

25. Future Directions “Universal Design” as applied to QRIS
Broaden the stakeholders
Develop common understanding of quality
Next Generation of QRIS
Move beyond global quality
Assessment options at higher levels
Assessment as basis for professional development plan

26. What do you currently use to assess quality?
How have you been using assessment information?
For discussion about their use of data that assesses quality and inclusion

27. Why Do We Need New Quality Indicators?
To focus on evidence-based practices that support the learning needs of children w/ disabilities
Inadequacy of existing measures & standards
-Do not adequately assess multiple dimensions of high quality inclusion
- The problem with global ratings

28. “Young children with disabilities can experience low quality in classes that are otherwise rated as being of high quality” (Wolery et al., 2000)

29. The Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP)
Structured observation
1-7 pt Likert-type scale
11 items
Focus Classroom-level practices

30. ICP Items Adaptation of space and materials
Adult involvement in peer interactions
Adult guidance of children’s play
Conflict resolution
Membership
Relationships between adults and children
Support for social communication
Adaptation of group activities
Transitions between activities
Feedback
Planning and monitoring children’s individual needs and goals

31. Use of the ICP
To measure quality in inclusive classrooms for research purposes
To assess quality within QRIS systems
To reflect upon and improve practice

32. A Key Challenge
Individualization
Inclusion

33. Inclusive Adaptations
“Practices which intentionally adapt the classroom’s environment, activities and instruction in ways that encourage access and active participation in the group, through adjustments that might differ from child to child.”

34. Singing a Song with Friends (1.11 )

35. Adult involvement in peer interactions
Encourage other peers to engage with particular children
Support children in initiating and responding to others
Balance btw/n getting involved and allowing spontaneous social engagements
Helping children sustain interactions with peers

36. Reading at Circle Time (1.16)
Adaptations of group activities
5.1, etc.

37. Adaptation of group activities (Item8)
Adapting an activity’s materials, objectives or type of instructional support to promote children’s participation
Engaging in the same type of activity as their peers, although child may be working on individual goals
ALL children are actively engaged

38. Making Requests at Mealtime (1.20)

39. Support for Communication (Item 7)
Access to alternative communication systems (ACS)
Providing the necessary help for children to use ACS into activities & interactions
Recognizing ‘what’ children communicate about, & responding to them in relation to the meaning and function of communication
Adjusting verbal interactions to children’s individual level of understanding
Facilitating communication among peers

40. Scaffolding Block Play (1.14 )
Membership (Item 5) 5
Adaptations of space and materials/equipment ( Item 1)
5.3 .1

41. Adults’ guidance of children’s play (Item 3)
Use of scaffolding strategies to support play (e.g. modeling, prompting, use of visual supports)
Monitoring children’s involvement & helping children become involved in play
Facilitating individual and social play
Adult’s scaffolding enables children to sustain play
Let’s look together at the practices I had identified.
This is what we saw: Scaffolding - a good example of this
When we think about play or free play, what are other possible indicators?
There are many other indicators for this item (in the instrument)- such as…
Incorporating various alternative means of communication.
Item 7: Support for Communication
Adults are explicit about what they communicate
Item 10: Feedback
Picture schedule

42. Rolling with Peers (1.12 ) 1.12 Rolling with peers
Adaptations of group activities (Item 8)
5.2

43. Membership
Peers show understanding, familiarity and respect for children’s differences & individualized supports
Opportunities to assume social roles and responsibilities
Opportunities to make choices about their learning
Strategies for helping children make choices about their learning experiences

44. Transition to New Program (2.4)

45. Facilitating transitions between programs
Developing a school-family partnership based plan to facilitate transition
Planning specific strategies to support transition
Encouraging active child involvement
Monitoring plan to ensure successful implementation

46. http://community. fpg. unc

47. Resources
DEC/NAEYC. (2009). Early childhood inclusion: A joint position statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute. Cate, D., Diefendorf, M., McCullough, K., Peters, M. L. & Whaley, K. (Eds.). (2010). Quality Indicators of Inclusive Early Childhood Programs/Practices: A Compilation of Selected Resources. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute, National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. Compendium of Quality Rating Systems and Evaluations and State Profiles