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Preschool integration: Parental values and perceptions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Christine Johnston*
Affiliation:
University of Sydney, NSW Department of School Education
Ethel McAlpine
Affiliation:
University of Sydney, NSW Department of School Education
Barbara Wheeler
Affiliation:
University of Sydney, NSW Department of School Education
*
Correspondence should be addressed to Christine Johnston, Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences in Nursing, The University of Sydney 2006

Abstract

The move into the preschool represents the first of many transitions for children with developmental disabilities or delay and for their families. The present study examined the transition process for 111 children as reported by their parents. The data indicate that clear relationships exist between parental evaluations of the success of the integration and the four following factors: parental involvement in the transition process, continuing support from the early intervention service, the degree to which parents perceive themselves as equal members of the preschool group and the degree of congruence among the goals expressed by the parents, the preschool teachers and the early intervention workers. The implications of the findings for best practices are explored.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 1993

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