An Inclusive Learning Environment In Early Childhood Care And Education: A Participatory Action Learning And Action Research Study.
This study sought to explore an inclusive learning environment in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) using a participatory action learning and action research (PALAR) design. Situated in the ECCE context, the study attempts to address a significant gap in the literature by exploring inclusion in the under-researched ECCE sector. Using a PALAR design, this collaborative research also attempts to address a methodological gap by enabling the voice of and benefitting a marginalised sector in the education workforce. ECCE refers to the care and education of young children from birth to four years of age before formal schooling commences. In ECCE the learning environment has three components; the physical space where learning occurs, the temporal factors and the social factors. Firstly, the physical learning environment includes the various indoor and outdoor play areas. Secondly, the temporal learning environment comprises the timing and transitioning of the various activities. Thirdly, the social learning environment creates opportunities for socialisation between different role-players. With this in mind, the teacher skilfully tailors these three components to ensure that children have access to and are able to participate, achieve and are respected in the ECCE programme. Also significant is that this sector of education remains predominantly ‘unprofessionalised’ with little job security and low salaries. Thus, ECCE receives little government funding with vast discrepancies in the quality of education provision for the rich and the poor. Moreover, these ECCE centres are becoming increasingly diverse, and teachers grapple with the inclusion of children of diverse backgrounds and of varied identities, including gender, socio-economic status, language, ability and race, into the learning environment. With these varied identities in mind, this study adopts a broad view of inclusion that encompasses all diversities, not just disability or learning barriers. Additionally, there is no standardised or universal understanding of inclusion; hence many researchers concur that the concept of inclusion is broad and has varied meanings in varied contexts. Thus each ECCE centre would require a set of guidelines for inclusion that would apply to their unique context. Therefore, the focus of this study is to explore how a group of ECCE teachers and teacher trainers explore an inclusive learning environment in their unique context. The specific research objectives of the study are: • To explore the current situation regarding inclusive learning environments in ECCE • To explore how we create inclusive learning environments in ECCE • To explore why we need to create an inclusive learning environment in ECCE the way we do. Consequently, the above objectives provided an impetus for an eight-month-long, virtual learning participatory workshop held with six ECCE teachers and two ECCE teacher trainers. Using a PALAR methodology, data was gathered through a baseline checklist, purposeful conversations, photovoice, reflective drawings and reflective journals. PALAR research adopts a critical emancipatory research paradigm, which seeks to give voice and agency to practitioners in the field. The study is underpinned by critical theory and critical pedagogy that enables a ‘collective meaning-making’, resulting in greater epistemic justice throughout the research cycles. The generated data is interpreted and analysed using Critical Thematic Analysis (CTA) where data is interpreted using two levels of closed and open coding, to reveal emergent themes that are subsequently related to wider ideological issues. The research objectives inform three iterative cycles of planning, acting, observing and reflecting. Data generated in cycle one reveals a misunderstanding of inclusion, a need for conscientisation or personal awareness of hegemony in the learning environment, traditional teaching methods and a lack of relationship-building within role-players in th