Keywords
early childhood inclusion, program quality, developmentally appropriate practice
Abstract
The primary purpose of this study was to (a) explore the global quality of early childhood programs within the Chinese socio-cultural context, and (b) examine the effects of teachers' years of experience, degree, major, and class size on teachers' perceptions of developmentally appropriate practices, inclusion, and training needs in order to provide services for children with disabilities in regular classrooms. The researcher completed observations in 40 early childhood classrooms using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale- Revised (ECERS-R). Results from classroom observations revealed that the global quality of the early childhood learning environment was between minimum and good. Areas that were in need of improvement included materials, time for free play, and provisions for children with disabilities. In addition, 276 teachers from 12 inclusion pilot kindergartens in Beijing completed 3 surveys. Teachers' responses to the developmentally appropriate practices survey revealed a gap between teachers' self-reported developmentally appropriate beliefs and activities. Further, MANOVA results indicated that both class size and years of teaching experience contributed to the differences between teachers. In surveying teachers' inclusion perceptions, MANOVA results suggested that only class size contributed to the differences between teachers. A discriminant function analysis was performed as a follow-up procedure to determine which of the independent variables contributed most to group differences. Moreover, the researcher found that no variables made a difference to teachers' perceived training needs for inclusion. Implications of current study findings for teacher preparation, future research, and policy formation will be discussed.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2009
Advisor
Cross, Lee
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Education
Department
Child, Family, and Community Sciences
Degree Program
Education
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0002699
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002699
Language
English
Release Date
September 2009
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Hu, Bi Ying, "Examining The General Quality Of Early Childhood Education And Structural Variables In Support Of Early Childhood Inclusion In Beijing, China" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3840.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/3840