Citizenship for All in the Literate Community: An Ethnography of Young Children with Significant Disabilities in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings

In this study, Christopher Kliewer, Linda Fitzgerald, Jodi Meyer-Mork, Patresa Hartman, Pat English-Sand, and Donna Raschke use ethnographic methods to explore literacy development in young children considered to have significant disabilities. The study settings included nine preschool and kindergarten classrooms across five programs, all of which involved children with and without disabilities learning side-byside. Over the course of two school years, the authors observed teachers emphasizing children's narratives, and in so doing effectively fostering the citizenship of all children in the literate communities of the classrooms under study. The authors describe several themes that appeared in their data related to fostering effective literacy development in children historically segregated from rich curricular opportunities. In this effort, defining literacy as making meaning and interpreting children with disabilities as competent meaning-makers was foremost.