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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Special Educational Needs
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1535104
This article is part of the Research Topic Inclusion of Children with Social-Emotional or Behavioral Needs in Early Childhood Education View all 6 articles
Supporting the inclusion of young children in childcare settings through professional development: perceptions of educators and managers
Provisionally accepted- Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
Inclusion in early childhood has many benefits, not least of which is contributing to a society that is more open to differences. Nevertheless, obstacles remain to implementing inclusive practices from an early age. Inclusion in early childhood contributes to building equitable and diverse educational settings, fostering societal acceptance to differences. Nevertheless, obstacles remain to implementing inclusive practices from an early age. Professional development, particularly through coaching, is seen as a factor facilitating quality early childhood education practices. As part of an action-research project, therefore, this study aims to document the perceptions of educators and managers after one year of professional development based on the use of a curriculum-based assessment and embedded intervention/instruction in inclusive childcare settings.This article describes a qualitative study aimed at documenting the perceptions of educators and managers as regards changes perceived following the professional development received. The perceptions of 14 educators and 5 managers are analyzed using semi-structured interviews.Results suggest that professional development helps support quality inclusive educational practices. Participants address certain aspects of their educational practices, such as observation and intervention planning, to fine-tune the learning opportunities offered consistent with children's development. They report that coaching is an opportunity to examine their practice, which fosters their sense of competence. Results also underline the importance of the leadership role of childcare managers in supporting educational staff.The perceptions of educators and managers highlight the value of coaching in supporting educational practices in inclusive childcare settings. Improved individualization of educational practices based on
Keywords: inclusion, Childcare center, Professional Development, coaching, Educational practices
Received: 26 Nov 2024; Accepted: 06 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dionne, Paquet, Lemire, Dugas, Londono and Dubé. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Carmen Dionne, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
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