Promoting Positive Outcomes for Children with Disabilities: Recommendations for Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation (original) (raw)
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Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 2011
With the increasing frequency of young children with disabilities being included in early childhood classrooms, there is a critical need for early childhood educators and professionals to take an analytical look at the standards guiding early childhood education. By completing a qualitative document analysis of the developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the author explored what the statement articulates regarding children with disabilities included in early childhood classrooms. This discussion explicates what teachers may take away from DAP regarding disabilities and the gaps it leaves for individual interpretation in classrooms. Findings indicate that while DAP and inclusive practices have much in common, the position statement lacks the specificity necessary to assist general early childhood teachers in implementing individualized approaches.
Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 1986
Although many concerns have been raised about methods of assessing outcomes in early childhood special education programs, professionals in the field are nevertheless faced with the need to select appropriate instruments for evaluating child and family outcomes as the result of intervention. A conference to address the current assessment needs of professionals was convened. This paper summarizes this conference, in which five prominent individuals in the field of early childhood special education gave specific recommendations for one child and one family outcome measure which would be applicable to a range of handicapped children between birth and age 5 being served in typical early intervention programs.
Assessment of Young Children with Special Needs
Topics in Early Childhood Special Education
Those concerned with the teaching of young handicapped children are being bombarded by conflicting messages from a variety of professional fields. The growing national priority on early identification, screening, diagnosis, and treatment has emphasized the need for more intensive and specific diagnostic or assessment procedures, at earlier and earlier ages. Investigators in pediatrics, neonatology, psychology, and education are trying to define the variables in each of the developmental areas that will reliably identify the instructional needs of children who need intervention in the early months or years of life. New assessment devices are appearing in large numbers, to augment the sizable number of standardized tests suitable for the early childhood population. The authors have been involved with development of the Arizona Basic Assessment and Curriculum Utilization System (ABACUS). This, basically, is an intervention system representing an early education program for young handicapped children functioning in the developmental age range from 2 to 5½ years. As part of the overall program, the Assessment component follows a philosophy consistent with: an emphasis on the needs of the child across all components of the ecological system in which he or she lives.-an emphasis on instruction as the primary purpose of assessment, and a corresponding deemphasis on etiology (origin) or classification. A view of assessment as an ongoing process best done in the teachinglearning situation-thus moving the focus from the psychologist to the teacher and the locus from the specialist's office to the classroom. An emphasis on functional levels rather than on quantified statements of performance based on extrapolations from limited samples of behavior.
General Curriculum and Intervention Strategies: DEC Recommended Practices
1993
This paper lists practices recommended by the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Early Childhood, concerning general curriculum and intervention strategies in early inteivention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) programs for infants and young children with special needs and their families. Definitions of "curriculum" and "intervention strategies" are provided; assumptions on which the indicators are based are noted; and division of the indicators into four subsets is discussed. Thirty-one indicators are then listed, within the following four subsets: (1) the broad outcomes that should occur from using appropriate curriculum and instruct4.onal strategies; (2) the issues teams should consider in developing and making selections about which strategies to use; (3) the issues teams should consider in making adjustments to the curricular strategies that are used; and (4) the types of strategies that are effective and should be a part of every early childhood educator's repertoire. Thirty-one recommended practices for curriculum and i.ntervention strategies are listed. (Contains 11 references.) (JDD)
All Kids Count: Including Students with Disabilities in Statewide Assessment Programs
1998
Federation for Children with Special Needs is a nonprofit organization based on the philosophy of parents helping parents. Founded in 1974 as a coalition of twelve disability and parent organizations, today the Federation is an independent advocacy organization committed to quality education and health care for all, and to protecting the rights of all children. To this end, the Federation provides information, support, and assistance to parents of children with disabilities, their organizations, their professional partners, and their communities. We further believe that listening to and learning from families and from people with disabilities about their experiences, knowledge, hopes, and dreams are fundamental to shaping a society in which everyone's contributions count. Parents Engaged in Education Reform (PEER) is a national technical assistance project funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. PEER's purpose is to support parents of children with disabilities and their organizations to be informed, active participants in education reform efforts. Through publications, teleconferences, workshops, and institutes, the PEER Project provides opportunities for parents, parent organizations, and professionals to learn about school reform efforts occurring in states and local communities. In addition, to enhance opportunities for early literacy for at-risk students, PEER is providing information and training to parent and community organizations in promising and best practices in early literacy. Information briefs, facts sheets, and a resource manual on school reform are currently being developed. Funding for All Kida Count: Including Students with Diaabilitiea in Statewide Assessment Programa was provided by the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education through grant 11-1029K5o208. However, the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the Department of Education and no official endorsement by the Department of Education should be inferred.
Critical Questions about Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education
2015
The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy) compiled a set of Critical Questions that a quality state data system for early intervention (EI) or early childhood special education (ECSE) should provide the data to answer. The answers to these questions serve various functions, including supporting the state agency in effectively administering the program, meeting accountability requirements for EI and ECSE, and improving results for children and families through an examination of program features. The questions are grouped into three sections, which align with the suggested data elements in the DaSy Data System Framework System Design Subcomponent [see System Design and Development, Quality Indicator 4 (SD4)]: child and family, practitioner, and local EI services program and local educational agency. Each section has a set of broad questions, with each broad question followed by more specific example questions. The broad questions represent critical global questions for s...
Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 2012
Results of the field validation survey of the revised initial and new advanced Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Division for Early Childhood (DEC) early childhood special education (ECSE)/early intervention (EI) personnel standards are presented. Personnel standards are used as part of educational accountability systems and in teacher personnel preparation program accreditation to train highly qualified teachers. DEC and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) members were partners in the validation survey. The method and survey procedures are described along with the knowledge and skill standards selected as essential and retained in the final DEC ECSE/EI approved sets of standards. Purposeful sampling was used to select DEC respondents for their knowledge and expertise in personnel preparation and operation of ECSE/EI and early childhood education (ECE) programs. Results from the DEC and NAEYC respondents are compared and contrasted. Challenges a...