What Is Inclusion And How Is It Influenced By Administration: Narratives From 3 Early Childhood Educators

Through this study, I aimed to explore ECEs perceptions of inclusion and their perspectives on how their understandings and practice are influenced by the administration at their work setting. I used theories from Disability Studies to shape my study and analyze my findings. I sampled 3 participants, 2 of whom were previous ECEs and 1 who was currently an ECE. I held 3 individual interviews where I used an interview guide to ask ECEs about their stories around the research questions. Then, using thematic coding and inductive reasoning, I arrived with 3 themes; definitions of disability, perceptions of inclusion, and understandings and opinions towards administration. I discussed the findings while arguing that ECEs definitions of disability influence their perceptions of inclusion. Which then leads them to seek specific supports from administration. I used these discussions to humbly suggest some implications for ECEs.