Children's Learning Opportunities - Communities

Communities as Sources of Children's Learning Opportunities ¹

• by Carl J. Dunst, Investigator
• Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute
• Asheville, North Carolina

Methodology    Research Questions    Findings    Implications

This applied research study was conducted as part of a model-demonstration project using typically occurring community experiences, events, etc., as sources of children's learning opportunities. The focus of the project has been:

1. the identification of learning opportunities,
2. mapping the community activities as a tool for informing families about their locations, and
3. use of capacity building strategies for promoting children's participation in the community learning opportunities.

The participants were children birth to 8 years of age with disabilities and their families in two communities in Pennsylvania, three communities in North Carolina, and one community in Vermont. The purposes of the research has been to:

1. identify sources of learning opportunities in target communities,
2. identify the factors and conditions that promote successful participation in the activities, and
3. assess the child, parent, and family benefits associated with the community learning opportunities.

Methodology

A multimethod approach was used to gather information pertaining to the purposes of the study, including geographic information system (GIS) mapping, case studies, observations, interviews, and face-to-face and phone surveys. A unique feature of the research methodology focusing on the benefits of community participation was the use of comparative inquiries asking parents to make judgements about the kinds of settings in which different benefits were maximized.

Research Questions

The primary research questions were: (1) What kinds of community activities are available for young children and their families?, (2) What contributed to successful participation in the activities by children with disabilities?, and (3) Are the benefits associated with these activities better, worse, or the same as those associated with more traditional early intervention, therapeutic, and early childhood-special education program practices.

Research Findings

The findings-to-date are as follows:

• Communities are rich in sources of children's learning opportunities, but that an asset-based perspective is necessary to recognize and value the development-enhancing qualities of these community activities.
• The number of different kinds of community activities identified thus far is almost 400, with the different activities often occurring in multiple locations within any one community. (Note that no one community has all of the nearly 400 different kinds of activities.)
• The child-related factors associated with successful participation are ones where the activities are fun and enjoyable, the activities are engaging, the child has "choice" about which activities he or she engages in, the activities "play to" child strengths and capabilities, and the child's participation is normative rather than disability-focused.
• Parents judged family quality of life and family choice and control as better when their children are participating in community activities, child quality of life was judged as better when their children were participating in community activities, and child competence was judged as better or about the same when the children were participating in community activities compared to early intervention or special education preschool programs.

Implication for Inclusion

The direct implications for inclusion include the fact that many participatory opportunities already exist, and when approached from a child, family, and community asset-based perspective, the likelihood of successful participation increased considerably. One of the most important lessons learned was that children's participation in community activities was most successful when the focus was on child interest and capabilities and not disability.

¹ Presented at the Research to Practice Summit, July 30-31, 1998, Washington, D.C., sponsored by the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance System in collaboration with the Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Education Research and Improvement (OERI).