ERIC Number: EJ1068518
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Does Your Organization Welcome Participants with Disabilities? A New Assessment Tool
Galloway, Fred; Shea, Mary McAllister
Afterschool Matters, n9 p13-19 Fall 2009
During the 2005-06 school year, more than 6.7 million children with disabilities received special education and related services in our public schools; this represents more than a 20 percent increase over the previous decade (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). These children, who are typically at risk for chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, and emotional conditions, face a myriad of challenges as they navigate the public school environment, including being ignored, ostracized, and bullied more often than their non-disabled peers. Despite the ability of afterschool providers to assess the extent to which their curriculum and activities are age-appropriate and their staff-to-child ratios low enough to support meaningful engagement, providers have no real idea whether their environment is truly welcoming to children and young adults with disabilities. To begin to remedy this problem, the Organizational Developmental Model of Inclusion for Individuals with Disabilities (ODMI-IWD)--a statistically reliable and valid survey instrument--can help afterschool providers determine the extent to which their organizations truly welcome children and youth with disabilities. This article describes the construction, testing, and piloting of the instrument. The ODMI-IWD was administered to five large-scale afterschool providers in southern California that served a combined total of more than 30,000 students. The results of the analysis focus on two things in particular: (1) The extent to which each of the five organizations was demonstrating inclusionary practices for children with disabilities; and (2) Differences among the responses of executive staff and board leadership, staff members, parents of children with disabilities, and parents of children without disabilities. Engaging all four of these stakeholder groups should catalyze the process of developing an inclusive environment in afterschool programs. The purpose of the ODMI-IWD instrument is to increase awareness and provide a starting point for strategic planning, as well as support interventions toward a culture that truly welcomes all children, youth, and families.
Descriptors: After School Programs, Disabilities, Inclusion, Models, Surveys, Measures (Individuals), Children, Parents, Stakeholders, Clubs, Statistical Distributions
National Institute on Out-of-School Time. Wellesley Centers for Women, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Tel: 781-283-2547; Fax: 781-283-3657; e-mail: niost@wellesley.edu; Web site: http://www.niost.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A