A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Inclusion: Effective Reflection

Inspired by the upsurge of inclusion in early childhood, and the need to support practitioners who are working to effectively address the needs of young children representing a wide-range of developmental levels, this new book is d esigned to actively engage the practicing and pre-service practitioners in a participatory process of problem-solving regarding the inclusion of young children with developmental challenges in general early childhood classrooms.  Based on a developmental approach highly relevant for the inclusive model, the book supports that implementing appropriate strategies includes, but is not limited to, the knowledge of children's characteristics and developmental curriculum, and further deliberation on a child-by-child basis of those factors which appear to make a difference for each child.  A unique and distinct feature of the book is the reflective decision-making process, an ongoing assessment model which guides practitioners’ consideration of how each child responds to intervention. Practical Guide to Early Childhood Inclusion: Effective Reflection will be a beneficial guide in challenging and transforming the personal approaches of educators working with our youngest children with exceptionalities in general education classrooms, with the tools and knowledge necessary to succeed.

Ann Gruenberg has been involved with early childhood personnel preparation for over twenty years, guiding prospective teachers to design and implement strategies for appropriate interventions when children have exceptionalities.  She has worked with young children in a variety of settings as well as publishing articles and making presentations at national and internal conferences for organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Division for Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children, the National Head Start Association, and the National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Her primary interests in experiential learning and supporting positive outcomes for children with neurological risk are enhanced through extensive community involvement.

Regina Miller has been involved in early childhood teacher preparation for thirty-four years.  She has worked with young children, undergraduate and graduate students.  She has focused on nurturing pre-service and in-service teachers to develop and implement inclusion classrooms.  She has presented papers at local, state, regional, national and international conferences, and has published numerous articles and a book on a variety of areas regarding early childhood and teacher preparation.  Her primary interests are in preparing teachers to work with the whole child and family in a variety of settings and preparing these teachers to be resourceful and resilient professionals.