Having these opportunities over 30-32 weeks of course work allows for exploring, practicing, and reflecting upon inclusion issues over and over again from different angles and from both familiar and unfamiliar perspectives. When practitioners take advantage of these learning opportunities to reflect on their personal attitudes and beliefs about inclusion, it is sure to have a positive impact on their early childhood practice. I really believe that I would welcome any child into my program, but I am hearing alarming stories from other child care providers. While there is sometimes a big gap between attitude and ability , a positive attitude can have an incredible effect on your approach to the challenges that will most surely arise for you as a child care provider. This position creates an open door for new ideas, new information, and new skills.
Attitudes serve as filters for everything that is said about a child.
For instance, let's say a child comes to your program who, you are told, has been asked to leave several other early childhood settings. While this information may make you anxious, a positive attitude will make it more likely that you will look at a number of factors, explore many solutions, and use every skill at your disposal to work with the family to make your program a good placement for this child. Your attitude filter impacts your choices for professional development, your ability to develop skills, and your willingness to make changes in your program. For example, your positive attitude makes it more likely that you would be willing to learn how to perform an unfamiliar medical procedure or acquire sign language skills. The simple truth is that inclusion is more likely to work when you believe it can.