Search

Introduction: Professionals working with infants and toddlers with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) were surveyed regarding their preservice training and their awareness and use of 29 resources related to young children who are visually impaired. Methods: Early intervention visual impairment professionals (n = 109) from 11 states completed a survey called the "Early Intervention Visual Impairment Self-Efficacy Evaluation." The online tool was distributed to all professionals in each target state. Results: Thirty-eight percent of respondents indicated that the preservice program at which they received training as teachers of visually impaired students or orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists did not include content or experiences related to infants and toddlers with visual impairments. In addition, given three types of resources including books and curriculum (n = 12), websites (n = 5), and online or "eLearning" courses (n = 12), websites were rated as most frequently used, and eLearning resources were least frequently used for professional development. Resources on the topic of cortical or cerebral visual impairment (CVI) were more frequently rated as used, compared to resources on topics such as multiple impairments. Discussion: Results demonstrate that some training programs for teachers of visually impaired students and O&M specialists do not include content that prepares professionals to work with infants and toddlers with visual impairments, leaving professionals with a need for additional training to serve this population. In addition, workshops and web-based resources were respondents' preferred means of professional development. Implications for practitioners: As they consider future professional training efforts, individuals responsible for workforce preparation and development in the field of visual impairment need to take into account the training needs and preferred training formats of early intervention professionals.

Children with disabilities tend to participate in fewer physical activities than typically developing children. To promote participation in physical activities for children with disabilities, it is important to understand (a) parents' experiences and roles in supporting their children's physical activities and (b) factors that might influence children's physically active behaviours. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight mothers of preschoolers with disabilities. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed to identify key themes. The majority of participants valued physical activities and were aware of the benefits of physical activities for their children. Several parental support behaviours were identified from the data, with the most frequent support behaviours being: logistics, prompts, and encouragement. Parents also described barriers that influence participation in physical activities for their children with disabilities. Implications for research and practice are noted.

Introduction: Anthony cautions that the training of teachers of students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness and low vision) and orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists covers a broad age range, which may result in limited curricular content essential for those who will work with very young children with visual impairments. The current study focuses on the self-efficacy of vision professionals regarding their work with infants and toddlers in using evidence-based approaches found in the early childhood literature. Methods: Teachers and O&M specialists (n = 109) from 11 states participated in a survey of perceptions of self-efficacy and working with infants and toddlers with visual impairments. Correlates of preparedness, experience, vision-specific self-efficacy, and early intervention self-efficacy were investigated. Results: Participants indicated that they felt inadequately trained to work with infants and toddlers. Self-efficacy measures regarding motivation to implement vision-specific recommended practices were higher than motivation to implement early intervention practices; however, self-efficacy measures for early intervention confidence and practice were higher than vision-specific confidence and practice. Although participants' ratings of the vision training program they attended were not correlated with their own self-efficacy measures, the amount of early childhood education content reported by participants was significantly correlated with all self-efficacy measures. Further, experience was correlated with self-efficacy. Discussion: Results support the need for a greater emphasis on early intervention content in visual impairment training programs. Additionally, the fact that half of the respondents in this study were over 50 years of age suggests that a turnover in personnel is imminent. Inevitably, this new workforce will lack experience. Information for practitioners: Professional preparedness that includes a strong foundation in recommended practices in early childhood will strengthen the workforce and should ultimately improve services to infants and toddlers with sensory disabilities and their families. Practitioners may need to seek out this specialized training.

Caregiver coaching in early intervention (EI) can lead to positive outcomes for young children with delays and disabilities and their families. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some EI providers reported coaching caregivers more frequently. However, EI providers' use of caregiver coaching is inconsistent, and there is a need for more effective personnel preparation in this area. In this qualitative study we explored EI providers' beliefs about what factors contributed to their increased use of caregiver coaching during the pandemic. Participants reported two areas that contributed to their use of caregiver coaching: service delivery (e.g., telepractice, role changes, and caregiver expectations for services) and learning opportunities (e.g., personal growth and reflection, educational resources, and collaboration). Implications include the need for policies that allow and promote access to telepractice services and the importance of using a variety of adult learning strategies when delivering in-service and pre-service preparation related to caregiver coaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing friendships is an important developmental goal of early childhood, but little research has addressed ways in which parents support the friendship development of their young children with disabilities. The purpose of this survey study was to explore the support strategies that parents use to facilitate their children's friendships. Forty mothers of preschool-age children completed surveys. Both groups of mothers (parents of children with and without disabilities) reported using similar strategies to support their children's friendship development. However, mothers of children with disabilities engaged directly in the children's play far more frequently than did mothers of typically developing children. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study provides preliminary insight into teachers' perspectives on ways that the Project Approach can help to support instruction of learners with a range of strengths and needs, and learners from a variety of cultural, economic, and linguistic backgrounds. Pre- and post-training interviews were conducted with seven preschool teachers who attended professional development sessions on the Project Approach. Interview questions focused on teachers' perceptions of the impact of implementing the Project Approach on their ability to meet the learning needs of diverse learners. Teachers' perceptions of factors that facilitated implementation of the Project Approach were studied. Themes related to four factors emerged from the teachers' comments: (1) Participation and learning of diverse learners was facilitated. (2) Positive effects were noted for children's social and academic learning, which teachers attributed to improved motivation. (3) The availability of "real objects" and materials in the classroom was beneficial. (4) Positive effects resulted from including children in planning. These findings support research addressing the benefits of including children with a range of abilities in school settings and the benefits of child-initiated learning for all children. Optimal strategies for the provision of professional development in the Project Approach are explored, and recommendations for further research are suggested. (Contains 2 tables.)

Teachers often recommend that families engage their children in shared book reading to support literacy learning at home. When teachers purposefully provide families with home literacy activities there are benefits for everyone involved. The purpose of this article is to report the findings of a study that examined parental participation and response to a home book reading component (i.e. a classroom lending library) that took place in 32 kindergarten classrooms as part of a larger study examining the efficacy of a curriculum focused on promoting kindergartners' positive attitudes towards individuals with disabilities. Findings suggest that parents considered shared book reading to be enjoyable and beneficial for their children's language and literacy development. Additionally, parents' comments provided evidence that both they and their children learned a variety of new concepts, including those related to science and disabilities, through shared book reading. Implications for practice and ideas for future research are discussed.

Caregiver coaching is a recommended practice in early intervention; however, many barriers exist that can prevent early interventionists (EIs) from implementing it. This mixed method study was designed to understand if EIs' perceived use of caregiver coaching changed after Illinois' COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home order. Questionnaire data and interview data were analyzed together to explore changes reported by participants. Findings show that participants believed they used coaching practices and coached within routines more often following the stay-at-home order and that their changes in caregiver coaching had an impact on families (e.g., increased caregiver engagement, child progress, more meaningful intervention). Findings suggest that the stay-at-home order evoked a much-needed change in caregiver coaching. Implications include the need for research on contributors to EIs' use of caregiver coaching and how to effectively use modeling. Implications for practice suggest that EIs should explain coaching to families and individualize their approach to promote family engagement in their children's intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When teacher preparation is disconnected from classroom practice, preservice teachers are left to try to make this connection without the guidance and support of skilled mentors. Practicum or field experiences are essential for effective personnel preparation. Practicum experiences can provide situated learning for preservice teachers to "practice" newly acquired skills and apply new knowledge in real-life settings (Macy, Squires, & Barton, 2009). However, a fundamental disconnect often exists between what happens in early childhood field placements and what happens in college classrooms. Microteaching is one way to bridge this gap. The purpose of this article is to introduce microteach lessons as a powerful teaching tool for early childhood personnel preparation and to share the authors' experiences using microteach lessons within early childhood special education (ECSE) preservice training at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The authors begin with a vignette followed by a description of microteach lessons and a brief review of literature on the use of these lessons in personnel preparation. Then, they share information about how the use of microteach lessons evolved at UIUC and provide a detailed description of the steps they follow when incorporating these lessons during ECSE preservice personnel preparation. They conclude with implications for practice. (Contains 3 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) how parents and their kindergarten-age children talk about disabilities when they read books that include characters with disabilities and (b) the relationship between the frequency of mother/child comments about disabilities and children’s attitudes toward peers with disabilities, as measured by the Acceptance Scale for Kindergarten–Revised (ASK-R). Thirteen mothers and their children audiotaped their conversations when they read books that included characters with disabilities. Seventy conversations were analyzed and 12 themes were identified. The themes that appeared most frequently in the mother–child conversations about disabilities included differences in abilities and similarities between the child and the book characters with disabilities. Although the relationship between the number of words spoken by the parent–child dyads and children’s attitudes toward peers with disabilities was not statistically significant, group differences between the number of words spoken and the content of the disability-related conversations were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young children with disabilities are increasingly attending inclusive early childhood programs with their typically developing peers. Within these programs, research efforts and practice have supported young children’s understanding and acceptance of peers with disabilities. However, there is limited information about the measures used to assess young children’s attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to critically review the literature on young children’s attitudes toward peers with disabilities with an emphasis on measurement issues. Assessment instruments and the type of information that these assessments provide about the dimensions of attitudes toward peers with disabilities based on a conceptual model of attitude formation suggested by Triandis are highlighted. Implications for future research are addressed following the literature review. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Establishing friendships is an important developmental goal of early childhood, but little research has addressed ways in which parents support the friendship development of their young children with disabilities. The purpose of this survey study was to explore the support strategies that parents use to facilitate their children's friendships. Forty mothers of preschool-age children completed surveys. Both groups of mothers (parents of children with and without disabilities) reported using similar strategies to support their children's friendship development. However, mothers of children with disabilities engaged directly in the children's play far more frequently than did mothers of typically developing children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]