Using an ecological systems conceptual framework proposed by Bronfenbrenner, research on the inclusion of preschool children with disabilities in programs with typically developing children was reviewed. Drawing mainly from studies conducted in the United States, research on child characteristics (biosystem), classroom practices (microsystem), family perspectives (mesosystem), social policy (exosystem), culture (macrosystem), and changes in variables across time (chronosystem) is described. Positive developmental and behavioral outcomes occur for children with and without disabilities in inclusive settings, although as a group, children with disabilities are not as socially integrated as their typically developing peers. Parent attitudes are generally positive although they voice some concerns about inclusion. Several social policy issues within the U.S. system (e.g., enforcement of standards, fiscal issues) serve as barriers to and facilitators of implementation of preschool inclusion, and cultural variables shape the nature of inclusive classrooms as well as family access to inclusive settings.

A set of multiple case studies was conducted to assess the feasibility for teachers in inclusive early education programs supporting young children's learning objectives through embedded learning opportunities (ELOs). The examination of the ELO procedure included assessment of the teachers' planning and implementation, the impact on child performance of specific learning objectives, and the teachers' perceptions of the ELO strategy. These case studies were conducted in three separate inclusive early childhood education programs located in three different states and included four children with disabilities and their classroom teachers. All teachers demonstrated increases in use of instructional behaviors toward targeted objectives.Children demonstrated concomitant increases in performance of targeted objectives. In follow-up interviews, teachers reported generally favorable perceptions of the ELO procedure. There were, however, some clear differences between teachers (with resulting impacts on child performance) in the consistency and frequency of implementation of the instructional support strategies. Teacher interview data are used to aid in hypothesizing on why these differences occurred.The number of programs in which young children with disabilities are served alongside their typically developing peers continues to increase. Wolery and his colleagues Wolery, Holcombe-Ligon, et al., 1993) found that 70% of the early childhood programs responding to a national survey indicated that they included children with disabilities. This represented a doubling of children enrolled from just 5 years earlier. In a more recent survey of programs accredited by the National Association of Educators of Young Children (NAEYC), McDonnell, Brownell, and Wolery (1997) found that 58% of these high-quality programs included children with disabilities. However, of the teachers who reported that they currently served a child with disabilities in their classroom, only 25% reported working directly with an early childhood special educator. Wolery et al. (1994) also reported that only about one quarter of programs including children with disabilities in their sample worked with an early childhood special educator. Both studies reported that early childhood educators were not consistently a part of Individualized Education Program (IEP) development and implementation. This lack of involvement raises concerns about how consistently the targeted learning needs of children with disabilities are being addressed in inclusive settings.Even when early childhood and early childhood special educators work together, the IEP goals are sometimes viewed as separate and unrelated to the goals and objectives for all children in the class. This view is reinforced by the manner in which the IEP goals are developed and written (Goodman & Bond, 1993). Frequently, narrow though measurable objectives are developed that do not readily fit or adapt to the overall curriculum or context of the preschool program. However, an important function of the educational t...

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