Promoting peer interactions in an inclusive preschool in China: what are teachers’ strategies?

Abstract

This study examined strategies teachers applied to promote peer interactions between children with and without Special Educational Needs (SEN) in an inclusive preschool in Shanghai, China. Qualitative case study was used in which seven teachers from four inclusive classrooms participated. In-depth participatory observation and online documents were collected and qualitative content analysis was applied to analyse the data. The key finding suggests both preventive and interventive strategies are identified from five different levels: cooperation with different community stakeholders level; the classroom environment level; the curriculum plan level; the activity design level and the individual children with SEN level. Implications of the findings to promote peer interactions in inclusive early childhood settings and directions for future research are discussed.