Administrators as Heterotopia Architects: Supporting Expansive Possibilities of Inclusive Early Childhood Education

Abstract

138 YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN Vol. 24, No. 3, September 2021 https://doi.org/10.1177/10962506211018968 DOI: 10.1177/10962506211018968 journals.sagepub.com/home/yec Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions © 2021 Division for Early Childhood Mrs. Cecilia is the preschool special education coordinator for a large, urban school district that serves a culturally and linguistically diverse population. She works with many early childhood programs to ensure high-quality inclusive education for young children served by the district. Accordingly, Mrs. Cecilia supervises early childhood education (ECE) teachers as well as itinerant early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers. Because of the diverse classroom contexts and the teachers’ different educational backgrounds and perspectives, Mrs. Cecilia has been struggling with how to support high-quality inclusive education for all children. Many program administrators may find themselves in Mrs. Cecilia’s position as they work across a variety of early childhood contexts and service delivery models. This can be challenging because stakeholders often hold divergent definitions of inclusive education that inform their practice (Kurth & Foley, 2014; Lalvani, 2013). Moreover, inclusive practices and processes in early childhood may differ based on classroom and program contextual features, including teachers’ educational preparation, program standards, class make-up, and instructional practices (Love & 1018968 YECXXX10.1177/10962506211018968Young Exceptional ChildrenHeterotopia Supporting Inclusion / Love research-article2021