The impact of pedagogical documentation on the individualizing practices of early educators serving young children with disabilities in inclusive settings

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dionne Sills Busio (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Belinda Hardin

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of pedagogical documentation on the individualizing practices of early educators serving young children with disabilities in inclusive settings. Pedagogical documentation is defined as a collaborative process between adults and children by which concrete examples of an individual child’s thinking are observed, analyzed, interpreted, and then applied to extend the child’s learning (Broderick & Hong, 2011; Goldhaber, 2007; MacDonald, 2007; Rinaldi, 2006). Qualitative methods were used to investigate changes to the interactional, instructional, and planning of individualizing practices of four early educators after they completed two online training modules and then implemented pedagogical documentation in their classrooms. Data on the participants’ experiences and perspective were collected through observations, a survey, interviews, and field notes. Results suggest four themes derived from the data defined the impact of pedagogical documentation on the individualizing practices of participating early educators, including (a) learning pedagogical documentation, (b) changes to teaching and learning behaviors, (c) relationship building, and (d) customization of inclusion and individualization. Results indicate participants credited pedagogical documentation with facilitating changes to their teaching practices and to the manner in which they individualized and included the child with disabilities. They reported that pedagogical documentation, specifically the collaboration and observation components of the process,strengthened their relationships with and altered their perspective of the child. In addition, the early educators linked positive changes in the learning behaviors of the child to the child’s participation in the process of pedagogical documentation. These findings affirm the utility of pedagogical documentation in supporting early educators’ efforts to include and individualize for young children with disabilities. Implications for early educator professional development are discussed.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2016
Keywords
Inclusion, Individualization, Pedagogical documentation
Subjects
Children with disabilities $x Education (Early childhood)
Early childhood special education
Individualized instruction
Student-centered learning
Inclusive education

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