Early Education Conditions for the Inclusion of Children with ASD. Teachers' perceptions on inclusive policies in a private preschool, Villavicencio-Colombia

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze teachers' perceptions of educational policies for inclusive early childhood education for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a private educational institution. The analysis of inclusion policies for early childhood with ASD took into account the dimensions of the right to education of affordability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability described by Tomaševski (2004) and under which governments have developed their actions in the framework of an Education for All, the single school case study with an interview with a director and eleven teachers of kindergarten, preschool, kindergarten, transition, and first and second grades with experience in the initial grades of a private school in the city of Villavicencio, Colombia. The informants were all women, in the age range of 27 - 40 years, with psychology training (one), bachelor's degree in early childhood pedagogy (seven) and elementary school (four); with experience in the educational sector of between five and fourteen years. Qualitative data analysis with the support of a software. The results revealed that the conditions of inclusive educational policy of a private preschool in Villavicencio - Colombia that are described gather five categories of analysis articulated and closely related. The policy conditions begin with the construction of the institutional policy and its respective progress, limitations and suggestions for improvement. This policy construction is linked to and considers the context of the inclusive educational offer in Villavicencio; the imaginaries of inclusion of teachers and the educational community in general; the quality of inclusive education in terms of teacher training, experience and learning methods used; the elements that account for an adapted initial education such as adaptations and curricular flexibility, educational strategies, support, the route of attention to educational needs and the actors of inclusion that carry out these actions. Among the results, it is significant that the context of inclusive education in Villavicencio is perceived as incipient and little known to teachers, that teachers report little or no experience with children with ASD and that what they most demand is teacher training and the availability of specialized personnel.