Experiences of Unbelonging and Ableism in the Early Learning and Childcare Sector in British Columbia
Abstract
In an era in which Canadian governments are focused on increasing families’ access to affordable early learning and childcare (ELCC), there are increasing concerns about the inclusion of children with disabilities. This paper reports on the experiences of parents of children with disabilities in accessing ELCC programs in British Columbia. Findings highlight four interrelated themes: experiences of unbelonging; systemic mechanisms that reinforce unbelonging; impacts of unbelonging on children, parents, and families; and experiences of inclusion and belonging. The paper concludes with a discussion on opportunities for disrupting structural ableism and reorienting towards a childcare system in which all children can belong.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Albert, S. M., & Powell, R. M. (2022). Ableism in the child welfare system: Findings from a qualitative study. Social Work Research, 46(2), 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svac005
Balter, A.-S., Feltham, L. E., Parekh, G., Douglas, P., Underwood, K., & van Rhijn, T. (2023). Re-imagining inclusion through the lens of disabled childhoods. Social Inclusion, 11, 48–59. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v11i1.5722
BC Early Years Professional Development Hub. (2022). The foundations of inclusive childcare training (Part 1). https://bcearlyyearshub.ca/courses/foundations-inclusive-child-care-training/
BC Representative for Children and Youth. (2023). Still left out: Children and youth with disabilities in BC. https://rcybc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RCY_Still-Left-Out_Nov2023_Final_10-Nov-2023.pdf
Berggren, T., & Newbury, J. (2023). BC’s child care crisis in context from a parent’s perspective. The Early Childhood Educator, 38(3), 8–10.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Toward good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher. International Journal of Transgender Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.212597
Curran, T. (2013). Disabled children’s childhood studies: Critical approaches in a global context. Palgrave Macmillan.
Eirikson, E. (2021). The role of child and youth care practitioners in promoting belonging for youth with disabilities. Relational Child & Youth Care Practice, 34(3), 40–50. http://www.rcycp.com/
Frankel, E. B., Chan, E., & Underwood, K. (2019). Inclusion is an experience, not a placement. eceLINK Peer Reviewed Collection, 2(2), 25–34. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xA22Yravwjea_VUON0betuCNBsI7UbRQ/view?pli=1
Gerlach, A. J., Sinha, V., & Lach, L. (2024). The consequences of “benevolent” colonial powers and structural inequities in the implementation of Jordan’s Principle in Manitoba, Canada. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801241255144
Goodley, D., Lawthom, R., Liddiard, K., & Runswick-Cole, K. (2019). Provocations for critical disabilities studies. Disability & Society, 34(6), 972–997. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1566889
Government of British Columbia. (n.d.). Early childhood intervention programs. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/managing-your-health/child-behaviour-development/assessing-child-development-38610
Government of British Columbia. (2019). Inclusive childcare toolkit: Supporting children of all abilities. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/family-and-social-supports/child-care/running-a-daycare-or-preschool/inclusive-child-care/inclusive-childcare-toolkit.pdf
Government of Canada. (2017). Multilateral early learning and childcare framework. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/early-learning-child-care/reports/2017-multilateral-framework.html
Government of Canada, Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, & Métis National Council. (2018). Indigenous early learning and childcare framework. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/indigenous-early-learning/2018-framework.html
Guo, K., & Dalli, C. (2016). Belonging as a force of agency: An exploration of immigrant children’s everyday life in early childhood settings. Global Studies of Childhood, 6(3), 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610616665036
Haim-Litevsky, D., Komemi, R., & Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L. (2023). Sense of belonging, meaningful daily life participation, and well-being: Integrated investigation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054121
Hyslop, K. (2022). Disabled kids are falling through BC’s child-care gap. The Tyee. https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/08/04/Disabled-Kids-Falling-Through-BC-Child-Care-Gap/
Inclusive Early Childhood Service System (IECSS). (2022). Policy brief no. 12: Policy recommendations for inclusive early childhood services. https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/inclusive-early-childhood-service-system/findings/briefs/IECSS(2022)_EN_PolicyBriefNo.12Policyrecommendationsforinclusiveearlychildhoodservices_Nov_2022.pdf
Irwin, S. H., & Lero, D. S. (2021). Inclusion quality: Children with disabilities in early learning and childcare in Canada. https://specialinkcanada.org/resources/Inclusion%20Quality.pdf
Lalvani, P., & Bacon, J. K. (2019). Rethinking “we are all special”: Anti-ableism curricula in early childhood classrooms. Young Exceptional Children, 22(2), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096250618810706
Long, T., & Guo, J. (2023). Moving beyond inclusion to belonging. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(20), 6907. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/20/6907
MacDonald, D. & Friendly, M. (2023). Not done yet: $10-a-day childcare requires addressing Canada’s childcare deserts. Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. Retrieved 20 December 2023. https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2023/05/not-done-yet%20%281%29.pdf
Maich, K., van Rhijn, T., Lero, D. S., & Irwin, S. H. (2019). Assessing inclusion quality: The specialink early childhood inclusion quality scale. Exceptionality Education International, 29(3), 92–112. https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v29i3.9389
McIsaac, J.-L. D., Smith, M. E., Turner, J., McLean, C., & Harkins, M. J. (2023). The perceived value of a universal early learning program: A parent perspective. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 32(4), 977–988. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02214-9
Newbury, J., & Gerlach, A. J. (2022). Parents pushing for equity and inclusion in the child care system in BC. https://inclusionbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/InclusiveChildcare2.pdf
Pesonen, H. V., Äikäs, A., Viljamaa, E., Heiskanen, N., Syrjämäki, M., & Kärnä, E. (2023). Professionals’ stories of supporting belonging for autistic children in Finnish early childhood education and care. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491231212943
Prentice, S., & White, L. A. (2019). Childcare deserts and distributional disadvantages: The legacies of split childcare policies and programmes in Canada. Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy, 35(1), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/21699763.2018.1526700
Puroila, A.-M., Juutinen, J., Viljamaa, E., Sirkko, R., Kyrönlampi, T., & Takala, M. (2021). Young children’s belonging in Finnish educational settings: An intersectional analysis. International Journal of Early Childhood, 53(1), 9–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-021-00282-y
Runswick-Cole, K., Curran, T., & Liddiard, K. (Eds.). (2018). The Palgrave handbook of disabled children’s childhood studies. Palgrave MacMillan.
Selby, J. M., Bradley, B. S., Sumsion, J., Stapleton, M., & Harrison, L. (2018). Is infant belonging observable? A path through the maze. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(4), 404–416. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949118793330
Strnadová, I., Johnson, K., & Walmsley, J. (2018). “… but if you’re afraid of things, how are you meant to belong?” What belonging means to people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 31(6), 1091–1102. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12469
Teachman, G. (2016). Interrogating inclusion: Critical research with disabled youth who use augmentative and alternative communication [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto]. TSpace. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/73207
Underwood, K., Frankel, E., Parekh, G., & Janus, M. (2019). Transitioning work of families: Understanding trans-institutional power in early childhood programs and services. Exceptionality Education International, 29(3), 135–153. https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/eei/article/view/9391
Underwood, K., van Rhijn, T., Balter, A.-S., Feltham, L. E., Douglas, P., Parekh, G., & Lawrence, B. (2021). Pandemic effects: Ableism, exclusion and procedural bias. Journal of Childhood Studies, 46(3), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs463202119970
van Rhijn, T., Underwood, K., Frankel, E., Lero, D. S., Spalding, K., Janus, M., Friendly, M., & Haché, A. (2021). Role of childcare in creating inclusive communities and access for all. Canadian Public Policy, 47(3), 399–409. https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2021-010
Weglarz-Ward, J., & Santos, R. M. (2018). Parent and professional perceptions of inclusion in childcare: A literature review. Infants & Young Children, 31(2), 128–143. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000115
Wiart, L., Kehler, H., Rempel, G., & Tough, S. (2014). Current state of inclusion of children with special needs in childcare programmes in one Canadian province. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(4), 345–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2013.767386
Copyright (c) 2024 Alison Gerlach, Janet Newbury, Tabatha Berggren
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to the Journal of Childhood Studies agree to release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International license. This licence allows anyone to share their work (copy, distribute, transmit) and to adapt it for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given, and that in the event of reuse or distribution, the terms of this license are made clear.
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal right of first publication.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
