Philosophy Statement Before attending graduate school full-time, I was a preschool teacher for six years in a program that

used a play-based curriculum in its classrooms (children learned through their play and exploration of classroom materials as well as through their playful interactions with others). I believe that this playbased learning approach suits the needs of all students in inclusive preschool settings. To begin with, play-based learning is developmentally appropriate for all children of varying strengths and abilities. By providing children with open-ended materials to use and activities to participate in, all children can engage in classroom experiences at their own ability level and pace. For example, in my former classroom we always had paper and markers available for use during every play period. At one time there might have been several children using these materials in their play, but each in a different way one child might have been in the early stages of practicing how to hold and control a marker by grasping an extra-wide handled marker and making large scribble marks across his paper; another child participating in the same activity might have been drawing a picture of a princess and retelling one of her favorite fantasy stories to her classmates; and yet another child might have been practicing writing newly learned words on his paper such as his name of the names of his family members. The openendedness of play-based learning makes it a suitable environment for all learners. In addition to learning through play and the exploration of classroom materials, children also learn through their interactions with peers. Just as it is important to provide children with a wide variety of materials and toys to use during play, it is also beneficial to provide children with opportunities to interact with a variety of children. This includes children of varying cultural, ethnic, racial, and linguistic backgrounds, as well as children of varying abilities. Having an inclusive classroom including children with and without disabilities can have beneficial results for all children in the classroom. For children with disabilities, having access to typically developing peers can provide them with same-age models for developing language and appropriate social skills. According to the Circle of Inclusion website, a site for early childhood service providers and families of young children, other

benefits of an inclusive classroom for children with disabilities include: opportunities to develop friendships with typically developing peers, realistic life experiences that prepare children with disabilities to live and participate in their community, and, being spared the negative effects of separate and segregated education, such as labeling and negative attitudes fostered by lack of contact with typically developing children (www.circleofinclusion.org). Children with disabilities are not the only ones who benefit from inclusive practices in the classroom, however. There are benefits for typically developing children as well. Typically developing children in an inclusive environment have opportunities to develop relationships with children with disabilities, and, as a result, have opportunities to develop positive attitudes towards and acceptance for individuals who are different from themselves. In addition, Circle of Inclusions website identifies additional benefits of inclusion for typically developing children, such as: children without disabilities are provided with opportunities to learn more realistic and accurate views about individuals with disabilities; typically developing children are provided with opportunities to learn altruistic behaviors, as well as how and when to use them; and, these children are provided with models of individuals who successfully achieve despites challenges (www.circleofinclusion.org). In addition to the children, I believe that teachers can also benefit from experiences in an inclusive classroom. Working with children of varying abilities allows teachers to gain a stronger sense of awareness and appreciation of individual differences in children. For me, this increased awareness and appreciation has had an impact my choice of materials to use in my classroom. I have become more conscious of making sure that individuals of varying abilities are represented in the toys we use, the books we read, and the posters that decorate our classroom. Also, when working with children with disabilities and other special needs teachers often learn new teaching techniques that can be helpful to all children in the classroom. I feel many new skills that I have acquired from working directly with children with disabilities and other special needs are skills that I can often apply to my whole classroom and when working with children without disabilities. For

example, in a previous school year, I worked with a child who was deaf with cochlear (now in grade school, this child is also taking medication for his aggressive behavior and emotional outbursts). This particular childs hearing impairment, delayed language, and aggressive tendencies affected his ability to have successful social interactions with other classmates. I believe that working closely with him in supporting positive social interactions has definitely strengthened my overall ability to support all children in building relationships and engaging in appropriate social interactions. In addition, working very closely with this childs family throughout the school year increased my overall ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with other classroom families. While benefits of inclusion exist for all children and teachers in early childhood settings, there are still challenges. One major challenge of inclusion is related to adequate education, training, and support for teachers who will be working in inclusive classrooms. In my experience, sometimes early childhood programs attempt to be inclusive by simply enrolling children with disabilities into their programs. But, if teachers do not feel prepared to work with children with disabilities, and if teachers do not feel that they have adequate support from their school staff, the results are not always successful. I have felt this way before in my own preschool classroom and it can be very frustrating and discouraging. The DEC/NAEYC joint position statement on early childhood inclusion addresses this challenge by including supports as one of the defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify high quality early childhood programs. The position states that, family members, practitioners, specialists, and administrators should have access to ongoing professional development and support to acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to implement effective inclusive practices (DEC/NAEYC, 2009). Enrolling children with disabilities in a program that is not well-prepared can have adverse effects on the children as well. If teachers feel uncomfortable or are ill-prepared, children with disabilities may be put into an environment where they do not get the appropriate care and attention that they require. As a result, the learning of other children in the classroom may also be disrupted.

In order to make inclusion in early childhood settings work, there are some skills I feel a teacher must possess. First, a teacher in any early childhood classroom must have strong interpersonal skills. Teachers must be able to effectively work with others including classroom families, co-teachers, school administrators, and professionals who provide related services to children. Having strong people skills is a must since collaboration is a key element in inclusive education. Chapter 3 in the text Building Blocks for Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs emphasizes the need for collaboration as well stressing that, successful adult collaboration contributes to the successful inclusion of young children with disabilities (Sandall & Schwartz, 2008, p. 27). Another necessary skill for any early childhood educator is the ability to keep an open-mind. As a teacher of young children, you will be working with diverse groups of children and their families. Teachers need to be accepting of individuals from ethnic, cultural, racial, religious, linguistic, and ability backgrounds that are different from their own. This skill will further enable teachers to successfully collaborate with families. This skill will also help teachers in thinking about the whole child when deciding upon individualized planning and goal setting for children in an early childhood education program. A strong sense of advocacy is a third skill that an early childhood teacher should possess. Teachers need to be able to advocate on behalf of children and their families to ensure that children receive the services and supports that they require. Educators of young children also sometimes need to advocate for the importance of early childhood education, especially for children with disabilities or other special needs. Inclusive educational settings can be beneficial to typically developing children, children with disabilities and other special needs, and early childhood teachers when implemented appropriately. There are definitely challenges to inclusive education, but I believe with proper teacher education and training, many of these challenges can be lessened. In addition to specialized education and training,

early childhood educators in inclusive settings also benefit from special skills including: strong interpersonal skills, an ability to maintain an open-mind, and a sense of advocacy.