Inclusion at Botany Downs Kindergarten Centre of Innovation 2006-2008

Chapter Eight Conclusion

This chapter outlines the limitations of the study, reiterates the research questions and summarises how the action research has answered these. Conclusions are drawn and the significance of the study described. The value this action research could have on inclusive practices in early childhood education is noted.

Limitations of the research

The research was conducted with an ever changing group of subjects as children left kindergarten and moved on to school; and new children and their families began kindergarten. As well, the number of children with additional needs in the kindergarten programme fluctuated. The turnover of children enhanced our kindergarten programme by providing new case study children to research, yet at the same time limited the research by constantly changing who was involved.

The teachers, the children and their families, the curriculum and the physical environment (Conway, 2008) were seen to comprise the variables and dynamics in the inclusive environment at BDK. The research could never be replicated as the same factors and dynamics between them could never be replicated; in any case, action research never can.

How do visual communication tools invite and extend engagement with children and their families?

The teacher researchers entered this action research project with limited ICT skills, but with a preparedness to learn and experiment with new tools and build new skills. There were three main reasons why we learned to use and introduced many new communication technologies:

1. To communicate in varied ways and more effectively with families at BDK
2. To communicate more effectively with the children, in particular children with additional needs
3. To disseminate our COI work and findings to a wide range of audiences.

Always, we wanted to engage in reciprocal dialogue with them. We found visual images in print, Powerpoint slides and on our Website and ‘blog’ successfully increased the interest of people (big and small) and the depth of their engagement.

Frequently, we needed to move outside our comfort zone. However, working together with children and their families to explore the possibilities for improved communication developed a climate of shared learning and assisted the building of relationships. If the tools fitted the different jobs then extended engagement with children and their families followed. This climate of adult learning to support children’s learning, and our adoption of a widening range of technologies, will continue in order to invite and extend reciprocal communication with children and their families. Relationships and communication are at the heart of the inclusive environment at BDK.

Extending engagement with families

The lives of many of the families have become more complex; fortunately, there are more ICT options to keep communication flowing. Parents do not have to be physically present these days to know what happens at kindergarten for their child. Like many other ECE services in New Zealand, we have witnessed the powerful role that portfolio records of children’s learning play in communication between teachers, children and families. This is why we researched portfolios extensively, using a number of different methods (parent survey, interviews with the children and interviews with former students at BDK). The role of portfolios for giving the children and their families a sense of connection with and belonging to BDK, so important for inclusion, was affirmed. As a COI, we were carrying out action research, and we decided to take action to broaden the range of communication tools.

The diversity of ICT tools allowed us to experiment with alternative means of communication to include families in life at kindergarten. We and/or families introduced:

• Digital versions of the portfolios on CD given to families enabled them to share the CD version easily wherever they wanted without fearing for the safety of the precious portfolio in book format;
• Movies and DVDs made of special moments and events at kindergarten or of children were given to families
• Our BDK website opened our doors to the world
• Our BDK blog added to our open communication, and later some secure blogs within the BDK blog devoted to particular children with additional needs allowed information to be shared but only with invited family and professionals
• Emails were exchanged with updates of a child’s achievements. Emailing learning stories provides immediacy while the story is still fresh
• Texts were sent and received to inform or reassure
• A big screen was installed connected to a computer for kindergarten slide shows, or family videos, like that of baby Katie.

Since BDK teachers moved from a ‘one-size-fits-all mode of communication’, families have responded positively and in different or a multitude of ways according to what suits them best. These days, many parents enrolling at BDK have read our website and visited our blog before they arrive to enrol their child. This prior knowledge has meant that we begin conversations on a higher level, one that is based on programme and systems knowledge.

Extending engagement with children

Having identified the positive impact of working with visual communication tools for children on the autistic spectrum (eg, sequence books) we were inspired to extend these and similar techniques across our teaching practice to benefit both children and adults. Caelan’s visual resource helped him choose where to spend his time each day. Georgia confidently used the visual communication tools with Kevin and illustrated how the children observe teachers at work, and act similarly to support a child with additional needs. In Raelene’s story we demonstrated how visual information can be used to assist the inclusion of adults.

Emailing messages home excites children while informing families.

Many of the new technologies introduced to better communicate with adults (described above) originated from children (eg, Georgia’s individual experience of movie making was added to the BDK website, to the benefit of all who explore the website), or they used the technologies too.

Renee’s story illustrates how running slide shows or sharing photographs from home on the large screen engages other children and their families while building the child’s positive perception of herself.

The addition of the blog has given a whole new dimension to our visual communication tools. There is a daily interaction with the blog. Children will often suggest, ‘You could put that on the blog,’ and offer to help with the process.

Visual communication tools continually invite and extend engagement with children and their families. Looking back, we can see we made enormous changes to the physical environment of BDK (Conway, 2008) through the addition of many technologies in the last three years.

Extending engagement with colleagues

The story of dissemination by the BDK team during our tenure as a COI has been already been published in Generating Waves (Glass, Baker & Ellis, 2009). We will simply add here that we came a long way in using PowerPoint during our tenure as a COI; for example, we learned to reduce the amount of information, yet add more features such as embedded video.

The blog has been a useful addition to our professional communication. Our professional support manager comments that she always knows what is going on at Botany Downs Kindergarten because she checks the blog a couple of times a week. Visitors check out the blog before coming in person, or after making a visit.

How do teachers support children to develop social competence?

The original wording of question challenged the teacher researchers to clarify their practice and remind ourselves that we wanted to build competent, capable learners. By identifying that our professional focus is on developing social competence we were able to move forward.

We knew that our knowledge of child development and our values allowed children the opportunity to experiment, to make mistakes, and to reinvestigate possibilities. When it comes to encouraging a child to stand up for themselves in response to another child a teacher has the responsibility of deciding whether to intervene. However, if a teacher always intervenes the opportunity for the child to learn disappears. It is most important for the child to know that you trust them to solve the challenge although you will be there for them should they need support. Kyle’s story [about building and experimenting with learning] is one illustration of teachers supporting the development of social competence. In it, the teachers supported Kyle by holding back rather than intervening, allowing him the opportunity to deal with the situation himself. This showed Kyle that we believed in him. By believing in children, we are supporting their development of positive dispositions to learning. We stand alongside children (though not always in the physical sense).

Supporting children to develop social competence takes many different paths. Madison’s story took us on a long and bumpy path towards transition into BDK. We needed to try many actions in our transition kete, and possibility thinking led to further options. Could Madison’s transition be considered successful? Some days her mother says so. Even though neither her mother nor we could identify an exact turning point for her, Madison can now separate from her mother and has developed relationships with the other children. While a conclusion could not be drawn, our knowledge was extended and some of it may be adapted for other children in the future.

In our kindergarten setting where many children with additional needs attend, a curriculum priority is supporting children on a journey towards social competence and/or self efficacy. The pedagogical framework of noticing, recognising and responding (Ministry of Education, 2004) was confirmed as being very important for us.

The COI research found that our valuing and enacting collaborative relationships with families was a key factor in enhancing inclusion. But it was not a one-way street. Many families initiated and maintained actions that contributed to the inclusive environment at BDK (Conway, 2008).

How does an inclusive environment enhance the learning of all children?

Throughout the research we argued that an inclusive environment enhances the learning of all children. The inclusive environment exists whether there are children with additional needs attending the kindergarten at that point of time or not. We believe that an inclusive environment has more to do with beliefs and values than it has to do with specific individualised education plans and adapted programmes. That is not to say that the latter two points are ignored. Individual goals and plans are incorporated into the programme in such a way that inclusion for children with additional needs is seamlessly aligned with the inclusion of all children. The children will tell us what they are interested in and what they want to learn about.

If we listen to children’s voices, including non verbal voices, we can plan for the best learning outcomes for every child. Our kindergarten programme is modified and extended through listening to all children. It has been led in directions we could not have imagined because we continually challenge ourselves with the questions: ‘Is this inclusive?’ and listen to the answers from children and their families. We constantly ask, ‘What can we do to achieve the ideals of inclusion in our own setting?’ (Casey, 2006, p. 2).

Some of the answers have been surprisingly innovative. For example, children’s secure blogs have extended the ways communication of the children’s learning takes place at BDK. Having children, parents, education support workers, teachers and Group Special Education working and blogging together, listening to children and extending their own learning through a team commitment to learning has been rewarding. As well, celebration is immediate. To have committed bloggers sharing with the child’s wider community has opened a whole new set of possibilities for a team approach to reducing systems barriers for a child with additional needs. Now, Kevin’s mother blogs about his school experiences and she dreams that his school teacher might become a blogger.

We discovered that it was unrealistic to answer the question, ‘How can an inclusive environment enhance the learning of all children?’ However, through our case stories and numerous examples, we were able to illustrate how an inclusive environment enhances the learning of many children. We think that our inclusive practices enhanced the learning of many more children than we recorded. However, Mary’s story was an instance that challenged our viewpoint that ‘all children’ can benefit. We speculate whether Mary took a little of our inclusive perspective on board. After this experience, we had to assume that not all families embrace our notion of inclusion—and children reflect the discourse and actions they are in contact with at home as well as at kindergarten (Purdue, MacArthur & Ballard, 1998).

We also had the opportunity to learn through being confronted by community division and some parents challenging Simon’s inclusion. Not all learning is easy. As a result of that experience, and the in-depth discussion that ensued, children, teachers and the community of BDK have benefited by more robust practices, improved communication and closer monitoring of the programme.

Continuing to build an inclusive environment

There have been numerous changes in actions and practices outlined in this report that come as a direct result of the COI action research project. Through ongoing monitoring reflection and change, inclusive practice at BDK will continue to develop. Through risk taking and possibility thinking new strategies will continue to be explored and actioned.

Our current definition of inclusion is:

Inclusion is creating a climate where everyone is valued, respected and listened to; where actions and interests are noticed, recognised, responded to and built upon. Through possibility thinking barriers are reduced and new possibilities emerge.

Children belong together. We are all the same with different paths of possibility.