THIS QUALITATIVE STUDY investigated the experiences of two pairs of boys (one pair typically developing, one pair with Down Syndrome) during their transitions to school. The boys were observed using continuous narrative recordings, during all aspects of the curriculum. Their teachers, parents and peers were also interviewed. Results indicated that the boys with Down Syndrome (DS) engaged in a narrower range of roles than did the typically developing boys at preschool (interactions that did not involve any emotional connections with specific children). However, observations at school indicated that inclusion or exclusion were not within-child characteristics, but largely dependent on the context. The data suggests that, specifically, it was the nature of relationships in each context that affected inclusion and exclusion, more so than the setting (preschool or school) or the presence of DS. These relationships were shaped at all levels of the centre or school's educational culture and ethos.
References
1.
BallardK. (1991). Integration through mainstreaming: Towards inclusion. Paper presented to the New Zealand Spina Bifida National Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
2.
BallardK. (1998). Disability and Development. In SmithA. B. (Ed.), Understanding children's development (4th edn) (pp. 296–317). Wellington: Bridget Williams.
3.
BarnesC. (2003). What a difference a decade makes: Reflections on doing ‘emancipatory’ disability research. Disability & Society, 18(1), 3–17.
4.
Bentley-WilliamsR., & ButterfieldN. (1996). Transition from early intervention to school: A family focussed view of the issues involved. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 20(2), 17–28.
5.
BiklenD. (1985). Achieving the complete school.New York: Teachers' College Press.
6.
BossertS. T. (1979). Tasks and social relationships in classrooms.New York: Cambridge University Press.
7.
BronfenbrennerU. (1979). The ecology of human development.Harvard: Harvard University Press.
8.
CaponeG. T. (2004). Down Syndrome: Genetic insights and thoughts on early intervention. Infants and Young Children, 17 (1), 45–58.
9.
ClarkeA. D. B. & ClarkeA. M. (1974). The changing concept of intelligence: A selective historical review. In Mental deficiency: The changing outlook (3rd edn) (pp. 143–163). New York: The Free Press.
10.
CloughP., & BartonL. (1995). Making difficulties: Research and the construction of special educational needs.London: Paul Chapman.
11.
Conn-PowersC. M., Ross-AllenJ., & HolburnS. (1990). Transition of young children into the elementary education mainstream. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 9(4), 91–105.
12.
FarberB. (1960). Family organisation and crises: Maintenance of integration in families with a severely retarded child. Monographs for the Society for Research in Child Development, 25(1), Serial No. 25.
13.
HuntA. (2000). The lost years: From Levin mental deficiency colony to Kimberley centre.Christchurch: Nationwide Book Distributors.
14.
KliewerC. (1998). Schooling children with Down syndrome: Toward an understanding of possibility.New York: Teachers' College Press.
15.
MacArthurJ., PurdueK. & BallardK. (2003). Competent and confident children? Te Whariki and the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood education. In NuttallJ. (Ed.), Weaving Te Whariki (pp. 131–160). Wellington: NZCER.
16.
Minister for Disability Issues (2001). The New Zealand disability strategy: Making a world of difference.Wellington: Ministry of Health.
17.
NeilsonW. (2000). Disability: Attitude, history and discourses. In FraserD., MoltzenR. & RybaK. (Eds.), Learners with special needs in Aotearoa New Zealand (2nd edn) (pp. 13–27). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
18.
New Zealand Parliament House of Representatives (1956). Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand, 1957, (4), Wellington: Government printer.
19.
OliverM. (1986). Social policy and disability: Some theoretical issues. Disability, Handicap and Society, 1(1), 5–17.
20.
OliverM. (1996). Understanding disability: From theory to practice. New York: St Martin's Press.
21.
PetersS. (1997, November). Facilitating the transition to school: Exploring the concerns of children, parents and teachers. Paper presented at the National Seminar on the Transition to school, Children's Issues Centre/Institute of Early Childhood Studies, Victoria University, Wellington.
22.
PhilipsR. J. (1997). Social interactions and social relationships between children with and without disabilities: Shifting the focus. Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
23.
RenwickM. (1984). To school at five: The transition from home or preschool to school. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
24.
RietveldC. M. (2002). The transition from preschool to school for children with Down syndrome: A challenge to regular education? Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
25.
RietveldC. M. (2005). Classroom learning experiences of mathematics by new entrant children with Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 30(3), 127–138.
26.
VygotskyL. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
27.
WardJ., & CenterY. (1988). The integration of children with intellectual disability into regular schools: Results from a naturalistic study. In FraserW. I. (Ed.), Key issues in mental retardation research (pp. 354–365). London: Routledge.
28.
WartmannS. (1997). Building blocks and barriers: The transition from kindergarten to school for children with special needs.Christchurch: University of Canterbury.
