Parental Perspectives on Integrated Preschool Opportunities for Children with Handicaps and Children without Handicaps

Abstract

Parental perspectives on and attitudes toward integration and mainstreaming are critical to success for young children with and without handicaps. Despite the growing body of literature on positive outcomes of integrated preschool settings, there have been few attempts to measure parental perspectives on the process at the time of initial integration and mainstreaming. This study examined the perspectives of parents of preschool handicapped children and parents of nonhandicapped children on philosophical aspects of integration, the social- emotional impact of integration on their child, teacher skills, and organizational variables. Results of this study show that both groups held positive perspectives on the issues, with some predictable differences. These findings hold promise for future integration efforts.