Individual Experiences of Children With and Without Disabilities in Early Childhood Settings

Abstract

This study examined the global quality of early care and education settings and individual children's experiences in those settings. Sixty 4- to 5-year-old children (30 with disabilities and 30 without disabilities) were observed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale—Revised (ECERS-R) and items from the ECERS-R adapted to focus on individual children's experiences. Early childhood global quality had the largest effect on individual children's experiences, after controlling for maternal education and child problem behavior. This relationship varied by children's problem behavior but not by disability status. When parents reported more problem behavior in children in classrooms of higher global quality (ECERS-R score), individualized ECERS-R experience ratings were lower.