EXPLORING THAI EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING, BELIEFS AND CONCERNS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF AN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRE

This study explores early childhood teachers' understanding of inclusion, beliefs and concerns about including young children with disabilities in early childhood programmes in Thailand. The study adopted a qualitative approach of group discussions to gather data from nine early childhood teachers selected from one large preschool enrolling 255 children aged 2-6 years in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. Using framework analysis (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994), the findings point to basic conceptualisations of inclusion with beliefs and concerns related to three important themes: (i) cultural and religious issues, (ii) training issues and (iii) type of disability as the main barriers to inclusive education of young children. How to support the teachers to accept all children and practise inclusion in totality have also been discussed.