Far from ideal : everyday experiences of mothers and early childhood professionals negotiating an inclusive early childhood experience in the Australian context

Using narrative interviews underpinned by an ecocultural framework, this Australian study investigated the experiences of 39 mothers of children with disabilities and 27 staff members from the early childhood services which these children attended. The data highlight serious limitations of current government policy and provisions in Australia to facilitating the inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream children’s services. The small number of successful inclusions evident in this study appears to be in spite of current government policy and may be attributed more to staff personnel. This article concludes by calling for policy change that actively facilitates the successful inclusion of children with disabilities into generalist early childhood services.