Title: Inclusive Early Childhood Education Self Reflection Tool
Type of the resource: Quiz/ Assessment
Funded by: European Commission’s Erasmus + Programme
Authors:
Type of disability: ALL TYPES
Target education level: General
Language(s): English
Greek
IPR:
OER:
Overall objectives of the inclusive learning resource
Inclusive learning intervention logic: (What are the overall broader objectives to which the action will contribute?)
A tool that helps professionals to Improve the Quality of Inclusive Education.
Objectively verifiable indicators of achievement: (What are the key indicators related to the overall objectives?)
Sources and means of verification: (What are the sources of information for these indicators?)
Development of the Self-Reflection Tool involved a three-step validation process:
1. First, an expert panel, comprising 25 European experts in the field, used and reflected on the observation tool during the final site visit. The experts were asked to rate the feasibility of each item in relation to its use as a self-reflection tool. The experts had extended discussions about how to adapt the observation tool into a self-reflection tool. Their feedback was incorporated into the final version.
2. The second step was to use focus groups to validate the Self-Reflection Tool. This was performed by researchers and graduate students in three European universities. The participants were asked to score the observation tool before the focus group interview, bearing in mind their experiences of inclusion, and also to use the template for adaptation into a self-reflection tool. After the focus group interview, a content analysis was performed that raised the most important themes.
3. The third step was to perform cognitive interviews to explore the extent to which practitioners, leaders of pre-schools, parents and academic staff in teacher education consider the Self-Reflection Tool comprehensive. The cognitive interviews were performed individually, asking about the tool’s cultural appropriateness in their country and its usefulness. Following the validation process, the Self-Reflection Tool was further revised before being published.
Risks and Challenges:
Specific purpose of the inclusive learning resource
Inclusive learning intervention logic: (What specific objective is the resource intended to achieve to contribute to the overall objectives?)
A tool that all professionals and staff could use to reflect on their setting’s inclusiveness, focusing on the social, learning and physical environment. This tool is intended to help improve settings’ inclusiveness.
The Self-Reflection Tool may be used for several purposes. These include:
•to provide a picture of the setting’s state of inclusiveness;
•to serve as a basis for discussions about inclusion;
•to describe, formulate and prioritize areas for improvement in inclusive practice
Objectively verifiable indicators of achievement: (Which indicators clearly show that the objective of the actions/resource has been achieved?)
The need for the project:
This Self-Reflection Tool was developed as part of the Inclusive Early Childhood Education (IECE) project, conducted by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education from 2015 to 2017 (www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/inclusive-early-childhood-education). The project’s overall goal was to identify, analyse and subsequently promote the main characteristics of quality IECE for all children. To that end, a need was detected for a tool that all professionals and staff could use to reflect on their setting’s inclusiveness.
Sources and means of verification: (What are the sources of information that exist or can be collected? What are the methods required to get this information?)
Risks and Challenges: (Which factors and conditions outside the user's responsibility are necessary to achieve that objective? (external conditions)) Which risks should be taken into consideration?
Expected results on implementation of the resource
Inclusive learning intervention logic: (The results are the outputs envisaged to upscale. What are the expected results?)
It consists of sets of questions about the inclusiveness of the ECE environment. These focus on an overall welcoming environment, an inclusive social environment, a child-friendly physical environment, materials for all children, opportunities for communication, a child-centered learning environment, an inclusive teaching environment and a family-friendly environment. These sets of questions served as an observation tool during the case study visits.
Objectively verifiable indicators of achievement: (What are the indicators to measure whether and to what extent the action/resource achieves the expected results?)
Sources and means of verification: (What are the available sources of information for these indicators?)
Risks and Challenges: (What external conditions must be met to obtain the expected results on schedule?)
Activities
Inclusive learning intervention logic: (What are the key activities to be carried out and in what sequence in order to reach the expected results?)
The Self-Reflection Tool consists of eight sets of questions, which address the following aspects of inclusion:
1. Overall welcoming atmosphere
2. Inclusive social environment
3. Child-centered approach
4. Child-friendly physical environment
5. Materials for all children
6. Opportunities for communication for all
7. Inclusive teaching and learning environment
8. Family-friendly environment.
Objectively verifiable indicators of achievement: (What are the means required to implement these activities, e.g. personnel, equipment, training, studies, supplies, operational facilities, etc.)
Equipment: PC and Internet access
Sources and means of verification: (What are the sources of information about action progress?)
Risks and Challenges: (What pre-conditions are required before the use of the resource starts? What conditions outside the user's direct control have to be met for the implementation of the planned activities?)
Attachment:
URL: http://www.european-agency.org/agency-projects/inclusive-early-childhood-education
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