Impact of a statewide early childhood curriculum enhancement initiative on community college faculty and paraprofessional students

Abstract

ABSTRACTAs the number of young children with disabilities being included in diverse early childhood settings continues to increase, employing personnel with the requisite knowledge and skills to support their active participation and learning becomes of paramount importance. Because paraprofessionals frequently serve in this capacity, it is critical that their preservice training programs provide them with the information and experiences needed to work effectively in inclusive environments. In this article, we describe the development and implementation of a collaborative initiative between a major urban research university and a state’s community college system and member institutions to enhance the preparation of paraprofessionals to work with young children with disabilities and their families. Supplemental content, assignments, and resources were incorporated into six core courses in the early childhood development curriculum statewide, and program administrators and instructional faculty received training and professional development to facilitate consistent use of the course modifications. We report on gains in knowledge and confidence experienced by both faculty and paraprofessional students, and we identify programmatic practices that support adoption, fidelity of implementation, and sustainability of curricular innovations. Implications of enhanced training programs for increasing access of young children with disabilities to inclusive high-quality early childhood programs are discussed.