Teaching Approaches in Programs Serving Preschool Handicapped Children in North Dakota

Abstract

This study examined the nature of programs serving preschool handicapped children in North Dakota, with particular focus on curriculum and instruction. A survey of teachers of preschool handicapped children was completed, covering the topics of population served, teaching approaches, and curricula. Results were obtained from 82% of programs serving such children in the state. The following problems were identified: (a) insufficient services for children under the age of 4; (b) isolation of handicapped preschoolers from their nonhandicapped peers; (c) lack of appropriate assessment procedures; (d) unbalanced curricula (i.e., overemphasis on language with inadequate consideration of social and affective development); and (e) narrow teaching approaches (i.e., deficit orientations with little regard for the importance of play social interactions, or children as active learners). Underscored was the need for programs to move beyond a minimal provision of services to the adoption of refined teaching approaches.