Inclusion in a Childcare Context

Abstract

This study examines the experience and attitudes of 189 family childcare providers regarding their willingness to care for children with disabilities. Providers who had experience caring for children with disabilities were more likely to report a willingness to care for them in the future. Differences in reported services and supports needed to care for children with disabilities, as well as explanations for unwillingness to care for children with disabilities, were examined for those with and without experience in caring for children with disabilities. Family childcare providers who were not willing to care for children with disabilities indicated three primary barriers: a lack of knowledge about disabilities, the limitation that caring for a child with a disability would impose on caring for other children, and the need to purchase special equipment. Finally, general attitudes concerning inclusion were compared for providers who had and had not had experience in caring for children with disabilities.