Teacher Perspectives and Approaches Toward Promoting Inclusion in Play-Based Learning for Children With Developmental Disabilities
By Erica Danniels and Angela Pyle
Journal of Early Childhood Research; 2023; Volume 21, Issue 3
Are you a Kindergarten teacher who believes that all children can benefit from curricula centered around play? Do you believe that social play can help children with neurodevelopmental delay and disability (NDD)? Children with NDD might be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, communication disorders, and other genetic disorders, and face greater challenges when interacting with typically developing (TD) peers. The study reveals how a group of eight kindergarten teachers conceptualized and fostered inclusion of children with NDD in their play-based classrooms in Ontario, Canada.
Teacher beliefs exist on a spectrum with pathognomonic (place responsibility for school success on the child) on one end and interventionist (place responsibility on the teacher) on the other end. The study found that teachers who had greater interventionist beliefs tended to be more flexible with accommodations and adaptations than those with greater pathognomonic beliefs. Teachers have varying views on the relationship between play and learning and, as a result, play-based learning can look different in different classrooms.
One of the important learnings from the article includes how to structure play spaces and activities so that all students can participate. It’s important to: use visual schedules, timers, countdown clocks; to ensure all furniture is at the appropriate height; to provide quiet and noisy spaces, as well as one-on-one and group spaces; and to include safe materials that are appropriate for all students. This is all in addition to supporting positive social interactions among students. Teachers can do this through prompting, identifying student feelings, and modeling behaviors.
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Reflection Questions and Next Steps
- As a teacher, where on the spectrum of beliefs do you lie, closer to pathognomonic or closer to interventionist? Do you feel that your beliefs impact how you structure learning opportunities in your classroom?
- How important do you think play is in student learning? In what ways do you already promote play in your classroom? Write down some specific examples. Would you like to increase the play in your classroom? How might you do that? Will you choose one new idea and try it in the upcoming week?
- What do you perceive as challenges for children with NDD in terms of social skills? What do you perceive as challenges for TD children in terms of social skills? How might play improve social skills for all of the children in your classroom?