Parents and Teachers' Beliefs about Preschool Inclusion in P.R. China
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Linlin Li (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Linda Hestenes
Abstract: The primary purpose of this study was to examine parents of typically developing children and preschool teachers' beliefs about early inclusion in P. R. China, from the perspectives of Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Theory, Vygotsky's Social-Cultural Theory, and Goodenough's Belief Theory. Parents and teachers' previous experience with individuals with disabilities, parents' socioeconomic status, teachers' age, education, and sense of teaching efficacy, preschool quality, and average socioeconomic status of families in each preschool were considered in relation to parents and teachers' beliefs about preschool inclusion. Participants included 346 teachers and 597 parents across 16 preschools in Northern China. Their participation included completing an online survey to assess their general beliefs about inclusion and perceived benefits and risks of inclusion on children with and without disabilities. The results revealed that parents and teachers reported moderately positive beliefs about inclusion and perceived benefits for children with and without disabilities. Teachers who had prior experiences with children or adults with disabilities had higher overall positive beliefs about inclusion, higher perceived benefits of inclusion for children with and without disabilities, lower negative beliefs about inclusion, and lower perceived risks of inclusion for children with and without disabilities. Teachers with higher sense of teaching efficacy had more positive beliefs about inclusion and perceived benefits for children with and without disabilities. Teachers with a higher level of education had more positive beliefs about inclusion than teachers with a lower education level. The results also indicated that parents whose children were in preschools with higher quality had higher overall and positive beliefs about inclusion, higher perceived benefits of inclusion for children with and without disabilities, lower negative beliefs about inclusion, and lower perceived risks of inclusion for children with and without disabilities than parents with children in moderate quality programs. In addition, parents from a preschool in which the socioeconomic status (SES) of families was higher had higher perceived benefits of inclusion on children with disabilities. Teachers from a preschool in which the SES of families was higher had lower reported negative beliefs of inclusion and higher reported perceived benefits for children with and without disabilities than teachers from a lower SES preschool. Implications of these findings for quality inclusive preschool programs, teacher preparation programs, and future research are discussed.
Parents and Teachers' Beliefs about Preschool Inclusion in P.R. China
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Created on 12/1/2007
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2007
- Keywords
- Education, Early Childhood