Preparation in Preschool Mainstreaming as Reported by General Early Education Faculty

Abstract

This report describes a mail survey of faculty members in general early childhood education designed to secure training program information as it relates to preschool mainstreaming. A 22-item questionnaire was mailed to 204 randomly selected general early education faculty members from nine geographic regions of the United States. A total of 114 (55.9%) questionnaires were returned in usable form. The respondents were from a full range of institutions of higher education including 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges without graduate programs, and 4-year colleges with graduate programs. A majority of the respondents at each degree level reported that their programs required a course in normal child/human development, and that at the undergraduate level, their training programs required at least one course in special education; however, fewer programs required courses in preschool mainstreaming. Field experiences in mainstreamed programs were possible in the majority of programs; however, less than a quarter of the programs at any degree level required field experiences in mainstreamed settings. About 30% of the programs plan to increase the amount of special education or mainstreamed training, but they list a variety of barriers to providing training in preschool mainstreaming. The implications of these findings are described.

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