Inclusive leadership in early childhood education: practices and perspectives of program administrators

There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to support the inclusion of children with disabilities as best practice in early childhood education (ECE) programs (Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Early Childhood (DEC)/National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), 2009; Green, Terry, & Gallagher, 2014; Strain & Bovey, 2011; Rafferty, Piscitelli, & Boettcher, 2003). Unfortunately, data indicates that a majority of preschool children with disabilities receive special education services in separate settings (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). While a wealth of research provides evidence of how teachers can support inclusion in their classrooms, there is very little research exploring how leaders in the field promote inclusion within their programs. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to gain insight into the perspectives of early childhood leaders about practices that facilitate inclusion. Leadership theory was used as a framework to explore data collected in the form of interviews, observations, and documents that revealed descriptions of contexts in which participants led as well as emerging structural and textural themes for and across participants to capture the essence of leadership practices in inclusive ECE programs. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed