Prekindergarten Education in the State of Texas Policy Paper
Prekindergarten Education in the State of Texas Policy Paper
Prekindergarten Education in the State of Texas Policy Paper
Statement of the Problem (Definition and Significance)
Young children with disabilities, immigrants, and bilinguals are susceptible to the subsequent exclusion from the prekindergarten education programs due to deficient policies for creating inclusive classroom environments, the explicit biases toward these vulnerable groups, and the prevailing confusion regarding the short-and-long-term impacts of early childhood education. Also, social determinants like poverty and the belief that children with disabilities, immigrants, and bilinguals require special attention can compromise their inclusion in the prekindergarten education programs. At the institutional level, non-inclusive placement decisions and a lack of individualized instructional methods can challenge preschool inclusion of children with disabilities, immigrants, and bilinguals (Steed et al., 2023). The subsequent exclusion of these children from early childhood education programs contributes to significant disparities in present and future academic progression, performance, and psychological development.
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While the structure of the school environment should promote diversity, inclusion, and equity, stakeholders in early childhood education must familiarize themselves with the intricacies, demands, and potential benefits of including children with disabilities, immigrants, and bilinguals in mainstream prekindergarten education programs. Megapanue (2022) contends that integrating learners with special educational needs in the general educational environments can promote equal treatment, provide equal learning opportunities, and enhance children’s participation in learning and social activities. Therefore, advocating for an all-inclusive prekindergarten education is a profound strategy for preventing the exclusion of vulnerable children from general educational programs and improving children’s psychological and social development.
Background Information
The Texas legislature drafted House Bill 189, which requires all Texas school districts to provide free all-day preschool programs for most disadvantaged children aged 3 to 4 years. According to Lopez (2019), the enrollment criteria for disadvantaged children encompass the economically disadvantaged, children with limited English proficiency, homeless children, children in foster care, and those with special educational needs. Although this legislative provision has steadily increased student enrollments in Texas public schools, there is the prevailing contention regarding the level of inclusive and the overall short and- long-term impacts of prekindergarten education programs for vulnerable children.
Many scholarly studies report inconsistent findings regarding the impacts of prekindergarten education programs in promoting the academic, psychological, and social development of formerly excluded children. Lundqvist (2022) contends that a fully-inclusive prekindergarten education is a learning scenario where children with and without disabilities participate in similar educational activities, daily routines, and playtime without special therapeutic interventions. Ansari (2018) supports the rationale for implementing all-inclusive prekindergarten education programs by arguing that children from low-income and middle-class families attending preschools are academically ready and more likely to acquire social skills. Other short and long-term impacts of early childhood education are cognitive development, the acquisition of self-regulation skills, social-emotional development, and an increased high school graduation rate (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Despite the positive impacts of prekindergarten education, some studies report negative outcomes.
In an extensive literature review, Ansari (2018) reports ambiguous findings regarding the short-and-long-term impacts of early childhood education on children’s psychological, academic, and social development. According to the researcher, preschools can negatively affect early childhood growth by disrupting parent-child relationships and exacerbating exposure to new high-stress contexts and peers. Often, a lack of comprehensive inclusion policies, a negative understanding of disability in society, unfavorable placement decisions, poor interdisciplinary collaboration, and deficient instructional methods can exacerbate the negative outcomes of prekindergarten education programs (Duraku et al., 2021). Therefore, implementing an all-inclusive and highly effective prekindergarten education requires stakeholder collaboration, societal support, teacher training programs, curricula reforms, and operational policies that promote diversity, inclusion, and equity.
Objective
The profound objective of this policy is to develop and implement an all-inclusive prekindergarten education program that promotes the integration of children with disabilities, immigrants, children with limited English proficiency, homeless, and bilinguals in the general educational environments. The primary focus of the policy is to promote stakeholder collaboration, spearhead curriculum modifications, and eliminate discriminatory placement decisions.
Barriers
The policy implementation and sustenance may face various barriers that compromise its effectiveness. These barriers include limited understanding of disability and appropriate teaching methods, negative perceptions of disability, discriminatory practices and decisions that hinder inclusion, diversity, and equity, the increased economic burden for district schools in Texas, and poor collaboration among stakeholders.
Stakeholders and their Perspectives
Parents support this program because they perceive its importance in providing equal chances of academic, social, and psychological development to young children regardless of socioeconomic, ethnic, and disability status. Teachers may support the program since they understand the intricacies of setting and implementing separate instructions for children with disabilities. Creating an inclusive prekindergarten education reduces the need for a separate curriculum for children with disabilities. Finally, school principals and administrators would not object to the project since they aim to create a safe learning environment that promotes equality and respect for diversity.
Primary and Secondary Targets for Advocacy
The primary targets for advocacy are the school principal and administrators with the executive powers to initiate, implement, and sustain change. Equally, they play a significant role in determining enrollment and placement policies and decisions. The secondary targets for advocacy are teachers and parents since they play a significant role in ensuring the effective implementation of change initiatives. Teachers would actively transform instructional methods and learning activities, while parents would facilitate learners’ enrollment in all-inclusive prekindergarten education programs.
Long and Short-term Goals
The long-term goal is to develop and implement an inclusive prekindergarten education program that accommodates learners with low socioeconomic status and those with disabilities. The core focus of the initiative is to integrate social, physical, and cognitive learning activities to meet the needs of all learners. Before initiating the plan, the short-term goals include researching the effectiveness of an all-inclusive prekindergarten education program, engaging relevant stakeholders to obtain their views and perspectives, forming an interdisciplinary advocacy group, persuading stakeholders with different views to obtain their support, collecting views from volunteer organizations, especially those dealing with disabilities, presenting the plan to the primary targets for advocacy, re-evaluating the plan based on recommendations from the school principal and administrators, and implementing the initiative.
Networks and Coalitions
Networks and coalitions between stakeholders are prerequisites for successfully initiating, implementing and sustaining educational change initiatives. The effective implementation of the proposed all-inclusive prekindergarten education program will require coalitions between Texas Education Agency (TEA), Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA), local affiliations and organizations that support children with disabilities, and the school management.
Educational, Persuasive, and Mobilization Tactics
Stakeholder education, persuasion, and mobilization would be essential in obtaining their buy-in and improving their participation in the proposed project. Educational tactics that may enhance stakeholders’ knowledge of the project include providing research findings, reviewing the existing policies about equity, diversity, and inclusion in Pre-K education, and disseminating findings. It is possible to persuade stakeholders by providing objective data on the project, building trust through group facilitations, and proactive communication through appropriate information dissemination strategies. Finally, mobilization tactics include conferences, consultations, event hosting, and forming interdisciplinary advocacy groups.
Timeline
The planning phase of the proposed project will take place between April and October 2023: In April, comprehensive research on the existing policies for equity, diversity, and inclusion will take place to identify the gaps and areas of improvement. By the end of May, I will summarize all research findings regarding the effectiveness of inclusive prekindergarten education in children’s psychological, social, and psychological development. In June, the primary focus will be forming an advocacy group. By July 2023, the advocacy group will develop an initial plan for the project. By the end of August, the advocacy group members will present the plan to stakeholders, gather their inputs, and refine the plan based on the suggestions by primary targets. In September, the advocacy group will endeavor to educate, persuade, and mobilize stakeholders to obtain their buy-in and support. October will be the anticipated month for the implementation of the proposed project.
References
Ansari, A. (2018). The persistence of preschool effects from early childhood through adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(7), 952–973. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000255
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Early childhood education. https://www.cdc.gov/policy/opaph/hi5/earlychildhoodeducation/index.html
Hyseni Duraku, Z., Jahiu, G., Likaj Shllaku, E., Boci, L., & Shtylla, H. (2021). Albanian preschool personnel’s perceived obstacles to implementing effective inclusive education. Frontiers in Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.645254
López, O. S. (2019). In the interest of the public good: Texas pre-kindergarten compulsory law. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949119848452
Lundqvist, J. (2022). Putting preschool inclusion into practice: A case study. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2022.2031096
Megapanou, N. (2022). Preschool teachers’ views on the outcomes of preschool inclusive education for students with special educational needs and typically developing students. OALib, 09(03), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1108472
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I have attached the directions and reference materials-
- Candidates will develop a policy paper and an accompanying advocacy plan on a relevant topic covered in class. My topic: Prekindergarten education in the state of Texas
- Read over Chapter 6 from Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education: Making a difference for young children and families. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson (posted in Module 2). Attached
- The paper and plan should include the following:
- Definition of the issue – use the “Essential Questions” in Figure 6.1 on p.103 to guide your thinking on your issue. Include a description of how the topic addresses Early Childhood, Bilingual/ESL/Immigrant, or Special Education. Also, include a description of how this topic relates to your dissertation topic.
- Significance of the issue – A description, supported by the literature, of the significance of the issue. Why is it important?
- Relevant Research – Background information from relevant, five recent (past 5 years), peer-reviewed, research-based articles on the topic. What does the literature have to say about the issue?
- Determining the Perspective of Stakeholders– Use the “Understanding the Perspective of Others” questions in Figure 6.2 on p. 102 to ask stakeholders from ECE, Special Ed, and Bilingual/ESL/Immigrant population to get their views on the issue. What do they have to say?
- Determining Capacity for Advocacy on the Topic– Use the questions in Figure 6.6 on p. 111 to determine the needs around advocacy for the issue.
- Policy Implications for your Topic – Based on the results of this research on the issue, what policy recommendations would they make and what are the implications if these policies were implemented?
- Format of the Paper – Use the following format when writing it up (see worksheet on pp.204-205 and example of one filled out with a hypothetical example on pp. 154-155). Write it in narrative form vs. the boxes as in the example:
- Statement of the problem (Definition and Significance)
- Background information (includes research)
- Objective
- Barriers
- Stakeholders and their perspectives
- Constituents, Allies, and Opponents
- Primary and Secondary Targets for Advocacy
- Long and short-term goals
- Networks and coalitions, you can work with
- Educational, Persuasive, and Mobilization tactics
- Timeline
- References (APA 7th Ed.)
