Acceptance of Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Inclusive Education Programs

Abstract

Across Indonesia, in recent times, many early childhood education institutions have embraced inclusive policies in education. Inclusive education systems encourage the acceptance of children with special needs. The sense of being accepted enables children with special needs to feel like they are not different from other children. To evaluate the benefits of the inclusive system, this study was conducted to determine levels of acceptance in early childhood for children with special needs within an inclusive kindergarten setting that boasts a high level of acceptance. The respondents were typically developing children aged 60-72 months who attend the kindergarten. The Acceptance Scale for Kindergarten-Revised (ASK-R) instrument was used to measure peer acceptance of children with special needs. Data were collected by administering the questionnaire to three respondents at a time. Quantitative descriptive statistics derived from the total ASK-R score were analyzed according to the gender and age of respondents. The results of this study suggest a moderate level of peer acceptance for children with special needs. No significant difference was found between the acceptance levels of boys and girls.

Edukasi Lavila (Lagu Bervisualisasi) Pada Anak Usia 6-12 Tahun Terhadap Pengetahuan, Kesadaran Dan Kemauan Dalam Vaksinasi Covid-19 Di Sd Ngoresan Surakarta

“…Selain itu, tolak ukur yang kedua yang digunakan yaitu Acceptence Scale for Kindergarten (ASK) biasanya digunakan untuk mengukur penerimaan sikap positif pada anak usia pra sekolah yang tercemin dalam kasih sayang dan tingkah laku. ASK memiliki tiga skala respon yang menggambarkan tingkat penerimaan pada anak usia dini (Jaswandi & Kurniawati, 2019). Acceptence Scale for Kindergarten (ASK) yang digunakan untuk anak bersedia divaksinasi Covid-19 yang telah dimodifikasi dan disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan dalam penggunaan gambar untuk anak usia 6-12 tahun (ya, ragu dan tidak), seperti terlihat pada Gambar 1.…”

The Effectiveness of Disability Picture Storybooks for Children 5-6 Years Old in Inclusive Kindergarten

“…This can happen due to a lack of knowledge in regular children about the conditions of their peers who are different from themselves, so that the presence of different friends in their immediate environment cannot be received positively. Jaswandi and Kurniawati (2019) conducted research on acceptance of children with disabilities, obtained information that the level of early childhood acceptance of children with disabilities is in the medium acceptance level category. The level of acceptance is moderate or neutral describes a condition where the child has not shown acceptance or has not shown any rejection of children with disabilities.…”