Preschool Inclusion in Practice: A Qualitative Inquiry into Teachers’ Attitudes and Readiness

Abstract

Inclusive preschool education has become a mainstream policy in early childhood development in the world focusing on the rights of all children irrespective of their abilities to receive equal learning opportunity. The research is aimed at examining the attitude of preschool teachers, as well as their perceived preparedness towards inclusive education based on emotional reactions, cognitive reactions, and behavioral reactions towards inclusion practices. A qualitative research design was used as semi-structured interviews were held with X preschool teachers representing various institutional settings. Based on the framework developed by Braun and Clarke (2006), the thematic analysis was applied to determine the patterns associated with teacher perceptions, institutional support, and barrier to inclusive implementation. The results indicate the complicated meeting of the predominant good intention, training deficiency, and institutional restrictions. Most respondents noted that they were ready to accommodate inclusion but claimed that there was a major gap in professional growth, lack of resources, and policy instructions. The themes also emerged of emotional strain and doubt. Such observations indicate that there is an immediate need to have some organized training methods, resource mobilization, and systems of shared support to overcome the policy-classroom practice gap. The article adds to the conversation about the topic of early childhood inclusion by demonstrating the experience of teachers living it and giving suggestions on how institutional readiness can improve.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17409004