**6. Inclusion is hard**

Throughout the conversations and interview with Mrs. Bradwell, the sentiments she regularly revealed were feelings of failure and the overwhelming sense of an inability to connect with the troubled students. Often this feeling was translated into the idea that she "did not see inclusion as a great thing" [15]. It was important to consider that the limiting factors in the timing of the observations was that they were taking place at the end of the school year and students felt like they were done for the year and lost their motivation. Behavioral issues for a majority of students became a big problem and teachers had an incredible amount of paperwork to do at the end of the school year. Students often take advantage of the fact that their teachers are tired and preoccupied with all the forms and data they have to turn in. Nevertheless, in the conversations and observations, it would appear many of the successes and stories of promise were difficult for Mrs. Bradwell to discern, but were revealed in what she shared.

Joey had several outbursts in the time I was there to observe, but Mrs. Bradwell shared the context of how volatile they had been in the beginning of the year. Joey was clearly able to calm down with Mrs. Bradwell, an indicator of a trusting

relationship. Even though Mrs. Bradwell recognized a caring relationship was seemingly established that involved nurturing, supportive elements; she felt that the cost for that developed relationship was the suffering of the typical students in the classroom. The students had to witness the behaviors of the nonconforming students.

*I think if the parents truly knew how much disruption to the classroom on an average day, they would be outraged. I really do. My daughter, was in kindergarten with the little guy that I have now, and she would come home and share with my husband, who is also in education, what he would say, and the threats and the hitting, and my husband would say, enough is enough, I need to go in there and say something, as this is not safe! I would tell him, hold on, if it truly were not safe to have him in there, they would not have him in there. But at the same time, oh the distractions…now that we have done full inclusion.*

The persistent challenge for Mrs. Bradwell was recognizing the success of inclusion for all of her students outside of the troubling students. If the only way to measure success is academically, she concluded that her students did each make adequate yearly progress; but she wondered how much more progress might they have made if the troubling students were not present in the classroom. Mrs. Bradwell stated if the measurement was her level of stress in teaching an inclusive classroom, she could truly attest to the exhaustion, scattered emotions and an overwhelming sense of failure. However, the observations seemed to display a level of success that is difficult to quantify. According to Danforth and Smith, in examining ways therapists connect with people of emotional disturbances, researchers found a common element of approaches that worked best in therapy: "a respectful, valuing, and empathetic bond between therapist and client. An intentional and consistent focus by therapist and client on discussing and developing the relationship they share" [3].

The authors believe that "a similar bond- a pedagogical alliance- between teacher and student is similarly powerful when teaching students who struggle with social and emotional difficulties" [3]. They explain that no educational research base on this exists. On the other hand, most professionals would acknowledge that students need a wide variety of academic and behavioral programs, services, and supports to succeed, and considerable professional literature has described these interventions for students with high-incidence disabilities, including ED teachers with a strong repertoire of behavior-management skills to decrease inappropriate behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors. Thus, any conclusions on how creating a caring classroom can ultimately promote student engagement and participation within the inclusive classroom must come from the personal stories and narratives within the teacher reflections.

Even though Mrs. Bradwell was finding it challenging to enjoy the relationships with the students considered troubled and troubling, each of the conversations with her revealed her determination to learn how to better love her students. She expressed that her teaching has changed to "promote tolerance. I mean a lot of these kids have been with the kids since Kindergarten. They model what is shown to them by the teacher when it comes right down to it" [15]. She explained that she was often sharing with all of her students the necessity for patience and understanding. Mrs. Bradwell stated she would often explain that we all have differences in appearance, ways of communicating and how everyone relates to people, objects, and events differently from one another and some respond unusually or dramatically to things. Baglieri and Shapiro state when necessary, "these ways of responding should be addressed candidly in order to cultivate understanding and acceptance of difference" [8]. Building a sense of community among class members and relationships are vital to the helping task and imperative for moral development.

**249**

**7. Conclusion**

*Obstacles to Inclusion: One Early Childhood Inclusive Teacher's Perspective*

An example of how these conversations and explanations had made an impact was revealed 1 day in the behavior of a typical developing student, Chuck. He was the pleaser, always mindful of the other students in the classroom; Chuck had no behavior issues and was consistent with on task behaviors. Mrs. Bradwell shared at the start of the year during Joey's outbursts, Chuck would cover his ears and was clearly disturbed by what he was seeing and hearing. Mrs. Bradwell was very concerned of how these interactions and experiences were affecting Chuck academically and emotionally. Chuck continued to succeed academically and his reactions to the behavior outbursts of the other students over time diminished. On one such occasion while trying to help Joey, a mantra of threats ensued and Chuck was the first student by the visitor's to share what was happening, how everything would be alright and a first grade version of why Joey was behaving the way he was behaving. The empathy was evident and it would seem a social distance between Chuck and Joey had significantly diminished from the examples Mrs. Bradwell had shared in

As Mrs. Bradwell struggled to manage the students' overt behaviors, she did not utilize a classroom management plan or tool that may have aided in her success. Behavior-Management Strategies with clear rules and related consequences have been shown to assist teachers in their teaching. However, many general education teachers are reluctant to implement behavior-management systems suggested in the literature as being effective with students with emotional disturbances because "these systems appear to be too time intensive and dependent on consistent implementation [18]. Additionally, some behavior strategies are not considered necessary for the rest of the student population. For instance, a token economy system that relies on external rewards has been shown to be successful for students with emotional and behavioral challenges, for instance, students earn tokens for appropriate

When a classroom management tool or behavior modification idea was shared with Mrs. Bradwell, she was resistant to adding an additional task in her day. She also explained that not all students need a reward for positive behaviors they are consistently displaying. As previously stated, there is a correlation between teacher attitudes and their knowledge of disabilities. This is particularly true of individuals with emotional disturbances. Students with frequent outbursts are too often viewed from the perspective of their deviant behavior and not as a result of their disability. Therefore, implementing a different behavior tool to assist the student is hindered by the assumption that the student should behave as the other students do. In contrast, students with physical limitations or visual impairments would not be denied the necessary assistance they require to access the inclusion classroom. A review of the literature suggests the need for effective instructional, behavioral, and selfmanagement strategies for troubling students [18]. Fortunately, most instructional practices that are effective for students with emotional disturbances have a positive

Although the observations were just a single case study of troubling students in one inclusive classroom, the observations revealed first and foremost the frustrations of the inclusive teacher and the challenges presented to teachers by troubling students. Negotiating those challenges and the benefits of inclusion for Mrs.

Bradwell was extremely difficult. Based on the observations and what Mrs. Bradwell shared of her classroom dynamics at the start of the year, there appeared to be a different outcome compared to the impressions of the observe, one that confirms the

impact when used alongside their non-disabled peers.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80982*

her interview.

behaviors.

#### *Obstacles to Inclusion: One Early Childhood Inclusive Teacher's Perspective DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80982*

*Early Childhood Education*

students.

relationship. Even though Mrs. Bradwell recognized a caring relationship was seemingly established that involved nurturing, supportive elements; she felt that the cost for that developed relationship was the suffering of the typical students in the classroom. The students had to witness the behaviors of the nonconforming

*I think if the parents truly knew how much disruption to the classroom on an average day, they would be outraged. I really do. My daughter, was in kindergarten with the little guy that I have now, and she would come home and share with my husband, who is also in education, what he would say, and the threats and the hitting, and my husband would say, enough is enough, I need to go in there and say something, as this is not safe! I would tell him, hold on, if it truly were not safe to have him in there, they would not have him in there. But at the same time, oh the* 

The persistent challenge for Mrs. Bradwell was recognizing the success of inclusion for all of her students outside of the troubling students. If the only way to measure success is academically, she concluded that her students did each make adequate yearly progress; but she wondered how much more progress might they have made if the troubling students were not present in the classroom. Mrs. Bradwell stated if the measurement was her level of stress in teaching an inclusive classroom, she could truly attest to the exhaustion, scattered emotions and an overwhelming sense of failure. However, the observations seemed to display a level of success that is difficult to quantify. According to Danforth and Smith, in examining ways therapists connect with people of emotional disturbances, researchers found a common element of approaches that worked best in therapy: "a respectful, valuing, and empathetic bond between therapist and client. An intentional and consistent focus by therapist and

The authors believe that "a similar bond- a pedagogical alliance- between teacher and student is similarly powerful when teaching students who struggle with social and emotional difficulties" [3]. They explain that no educational research base on this exists. On the other hand, most professionals would acknowledge that students need a wide variety of academic and behavioral programs, services, and supports to succeed, and considerable professional literature has described these interventions for students with high-incidence disabilities, including ED teachers with a strong repertoire of behavior-management skills to decrease inappropriate behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors. Thus, any conclusions on how creating a caring classroom can ultimately promote student engagement and participation within the inclusive classroom must come from the personal stories and narratives within the teacher reflections. Even though Mrs. Bradwell was finding it challenging to enjoy the relationships with the students considered troubled and troubling, each of the conversations with her revealed her determination to learn how to better love her students. She expressed that her teaching has changed to "promote tolerance. I mean a lot of these kids have been with the kids since Kindergarten. They model what is shown to them by the teacher when it comes right down to it" [15]. She explained that she was often sharing with all of her students the necessity for patience and understanding. Mrs. Bradwell stated she would often explain that we all have differences in appearance, ways of communicating and how everyone relates to people, objects, and events differently from one another and some respond unusually or dramatically to things. Baglieri and Shapiro state when necessary, "these ways of responding should be addressed candidly in order to cultivate understanding and acceptance of difference" [8]. Building a sense of community among class members and relationships

*distractions…now that we have done full inclusion.*

client on discussing and developing the relationship they share" [3].

are vital to the helping task and imperative for moral development.

**248**

An example of how these conversations and explanations had made an impact was revealed 1 day in the behavior of a typical developing student, Chuck. He was the pleaser, always mindful of the other students in the classroom; Chuck had no behavior issues and was consistent with on task behaviors. Mrs. Bradwell shared at the start of the year during Joey's outbursts, Chuck would cover his ears and was clearly disturbed by what he was seeing and hearing. Mrs. Bradwell was very concerned of how these interactions and experiences were affecting Chuck academically and emotionally. Chuck continued to succeed academically and his reactions to the behavior outbursts of the other students over time diminished. On one such occasion while trying to help Joey, a mantra of threats ensued and Chuck was the first student by the visitor's to share what was happening, how everything would be alright and a first grade version of why Joey was behaving the way he was behaving. The empathy was evident and it would seem a social distance between Chuck and Joey had significantly diminished from the examples Mrs. Bradwell had shared in her interview.

As Mrs. Bradwell struggled to manage the students' overt behaviors, she did not utilize a classroom management plan or tool that may have aided in her success. Behavior-Management Strategies with clear rules and related consequences have been shown to assist teachers in their teaching. However, many general education teachers are reluctant to implement behavior-management systems suggested in the literature as being effective with students with emotional disturbances because "these systems appear to be too time intensive and dependent on consistent implementation [18]. Additionally, some behavior strategies are not considered necessary for the rest of the student population. For instance, a token economy system that relies on external rewards has been shown to be successful for students with emotional and behavioral challenges, for instance, students earn tokens for appropriate behaviors.

When a classroom management tool or behavior modification idea was shared with Mrs. Bradwell, she was resistant to adding an additional task in her day. She also explained that not all students need a reward for positive behaviors they are consistently displaying. As previously stated, there is a correlation between teacher attitudes and their knowledge of disabilities. This is particularly true of individuals with emotional disturbances. Students with frequent outbursts are too often viewed from the perspective of their deviant behavior and not as a result of their disability. Therefore, implementing a different behavior tool to assist the student is hindered by the assumption that the student should behave as the other students do. In contrast, students with physical limitations or visual impairments would not be denied the necessary assistance they require to access the inclusion classroom. A review of the literature suggests the need for effective instructional, behavioral, and selfmanagement strategies for troubling students [18]. Fortunately, most instructional practices that are effective for students with emotional disturbances have a positive impact when used alongside their non-disabled peers.
