Study on the Current Status and Parents' Perception about Waldort Early Childhood Inclusive Education
- focusing on E child care center-
This study aims at searching for implications that give to the inclusive education from Waldorf education in W...
Study on the Current Status and Parents' Perception about Waldort Early Childhood Inclusive Education
- focusing on E child care center-
This study aims at searching for implications that give to the inclusive education from Waldorf education in Waldorf early childhood education institutions by grasping current status of the inclusive education at the institutions and then analyzing experiences and recognitions of parents having children with disabilities, and attempts to provide a fundamental data for achieving quality growths of the inclusive education accordingly.
According to these research objects, this study set up its issues as followings.
1. How the inclusive education is being operated actually in Waldorf early childhood education institution?
2. What are parents’ experiences and recognitions on the Waldorf inclusive education?
3. What are the educational implications from Waldorf education to the inclusive education?
In order to achieve research objects, the study carried out the participant observation for total 24 times from August 27 to September 26, 2012 objecting to nondisabled preschoolers of full 4-year-old at 「E Childcare Center」 that was a Waldorf inclusive education institute, objecting 20 nondisabled preschoolers in Blue class of the inclusive class, 3 disabled preschoolers, and 2 teachers in charge, and then looked into current status of the inclusive education and correlations between disabled infants and nondisabled ones.
Also, this study executed interviews with parents having disabled preschoolers who were financial resources to Waldorf inclusive education institute during September 10-21, and grasped experiences on Waldorf inclusive education and recognitions on the experiences. Besides, data collections were made through informal interviews with teachers and the director, collection of documental data, photographing, musical instrument etc.
Regarding to collected data through the participant observation, it was arranged by subjects and types according to general data-analyzing methods that was introduced from Kim Young-cheon research (1997) after doing transcription totally. And interviewing data with parents was analyzed by coding and categorizing according to steps of the constant comparative method having been suggested by Bogdan & Bilken (1992) among qualitative analysis methods.
The study carried out triangulation that investigated matters with observation, interviews, and documents in order to secure feasibility and reliability of the research, reviews of research participants and expert group.
In brief, research results are same as the following.
First, the intensive education of Waldorf early childhood education institutions have been operated as follows.
In the Waldorf inclusive education institutions were executing full-inclusive education, and they were operating the inclusive class with co-teaching forms. Most activities were processed with free play formats at forest or classrooms, and same educational activities were executed repeatedly for one month. In the inclusive class, this study composed individualized education plan (IEP) for the preschoolers with disabilities, and did executions and evaluations so that goals could be achieved during the day by writing the inclusive daycare journal based on it.
Also, in order to increase correlations with peers and making them acquired social techniques, the study carried out small-size activities and community activities biweekly that were progressed by making the disabled preschoolers matched with nondisabled ones, and made cooperative linking educations among home, medical treatment organizations, and childcare centers so as to increase effectiveness of the inclusive education.
Second, recognitions of parents who experienced Waldorf inclusive education could be looked by dividing it into aspects of teaching methods and educational environment ones.
In aspects of educational methods, parents positively recognized on Waldorf educational operating methods that were managed with repeated rhythms for one month regarding to one subject and activity. They recognized that such repeated activities made preschoolers with disabilities have stability and them participate in activities, and thus affected positive influences to promoting sociability by increasing correlations with peers.
Next, parents was affirmatively recognizing about nature-friendly educational environments of Waldorf inclusive education institute.
Specially, they recognized that body strength of the disabled preschoolers was promoted through nature-friendly activities such as forest play and making garden fields attached to home sites, and physical developments were shown such as increases of balancing senses and endurances.
Besides, they perceived that the disabled preschoolers became to have stability emotionally through nature-friendly activities, and it was helpful to making better relationships between friends accordingly.
Thirdly, educational implications from the inclusive education of Waldorf education are same as the following.
The point is that educational operations with principles of Waldorf education’s repeated rhythms makes the disabled preschoolers participate in activities naturally, and thus affects positive influences to social integration with peers resultantly.
And nature-friendly education environment and educational activities of Waldorf inclusive education institution gave helps in physical developments and emotional stability of the disabled preschoolers, and also made them have social relationships and community belongings, and thus this study suggested the necessity of nature-friendly inclusive education program.
Finally, in Waldorf inclusive education institution, linkage educations were being made by various cooperative systems for the disabled preschoolers. Its implications could be found out in that cooperative systems by which close correlations and cooperation between diverse organizations surrounding the disabled preschoolers have to be set up for enlarging effectiveness of the inclusive education.