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Full-Text Articles in Early Childhood Education
A Circle With Edges: How Story Time Privileges The Abled Learner, Melissa Tsuei
A Circle With Edges: How Story Time Privileges The Abled Learner, Melissa Tsuei
Occasional Paper Series
Takes a critical look at one of the commonplace features of early childhood classrooms—story time. In her essay, Melissa considers the ways in which story time reinforces unequal power dynamics for diverse learners by privileging the able-bodied learner. In response, Melissa creates and presents the SPHERE model, which promotes active engagement and shared dialogue through collaborative storytelling and nurtures an inclusive literacy-learning environment.
Talking Tolerance Inside The “Inclusive” Early Childhood Classroom, Karen Watson
Talking Tolerance Inside The “Inclusive” Early Childhood Classroom, Karen Watson
Occasional Paper Series
Provides an inside look into what the Australian government calls “inclusive learning communities.” This term emerges from a national early-years learning framework that highlights ability and disability as diversity. Following the course of a six-month period in three “inclusive” early childhood classrooms, Karen offers an account of the transformative potential of inclusion in contrast to the harmful effects of teaching tolerance. Tolerance, as Karen’s study reveals, preserves the dualism of normal versus abnormal (or Other) and hinders critical reflection about ableist assumptions.