The Role of Inclusion-Focused Teacher Training in Promoting Inclusive Classroom Practices

Children with disabilities are suspended and expelled at disproportionately high rates (Zeng et al., 2020), as are children who are living with mental health support needs (Zeng et al., 2019). In an early childhood classroom, unmet needs can manifest in behavioral challenges, such as acting out, withdrawal, or disruptions in the classroom (Gleason, P.M., 2017). Without training or support in understanding these behaviors, teachers may resort to punitive measures, supporting a cycle where children are punished or removed from a classroom when they most benefit from individualized instruction (Zinsser et al., 2022). When teachers successfully engage in inclusive practices, children with disabilities and mental health needs can benefit academically and socially from early educational experience (Buysse et al., 1999). Despite the importance of these inclusive and supportive teaching practices, few teacher preparation programs provide teachers with explicit training in this area, which may contribute to disparities in discipline. The current study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week inclusive teaching course, part of an alternative licensure program. Teachers working in high-need Chicago preschools (N=57) across two cohorts completed the course. They were primarily women (89.5%) of color (61.4% Black or African American, 24.6% Latina, 3.5% Asian) and had, on average, 15.2 years of prior early childhood teaching experience. This paper will include analyses of data from three timepoints: baseline, pre-Inclusion semester, and post-Inclusion semester. The pre-post surveys included 45 Likert-style questions capturing participants' agreement with statements in five areas related to inclusion knowledge, confidence, and practices. One year before the Inclusion semester (at admission into the program), participants completed a baseline shortened version of the pre-post survey (referenced herein as the Baseline Inclusion Survey), allowing us to assess change before and during the focal semester. Final analyses using the full sample will also test for stability in teachers’ beliefs and practices prior to the start of the inclusion-focused semester to enhance our causal inference. This study will demonstrate the potential impact of directed training for teachers on inclusive practices at the pre-licensure level. By equipping teachers with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to support and advocate for the children in their classroom with disabilities, delays, and unmet mental health and behavioral needs, programs such as this can potentially disrupt the preschool-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately affects children with disabilities.