Barriers and facilitators in inclusive daycare facilities: mothers’ perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is the analysis of barriers and facilitators to enroling children with disabilities in inclusive daycare facilities. Data were gathered from nine (N = 9) mothers of children with diverse developmental disabilities who were admitted to inclusive daycare centres in Paris, France. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using the Inductive Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke [2006. “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology.” Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 (2): 77–101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa]). The emerging themes related to barriers were: lack of inclusive practice training, perceived attitudes towards disability, daycare centre’s directors’ reluctance, and wider challenges on a community level. Facilitators included having a regular contact person, staff training, space adjustment of the daycare facility and adaptive equipment, inclusive daycare centre’s project, getting and sharing information. Finally, further implications for practice and research are proposed.