After Preschool Inclusion: Children's Educational Pathways over the Early School Years

A complex array of factors influences the implementation of inclusion within educational systems. This article examines decision making regarding young children's participation in inclusive programs. A qualitative design was employed to study influential factors over the course of a 5-year period as children moved from inclusive preschool placements to elementary school. Family, classroom, school, and societal influences were examined through families' perspectives on children's school experiences. At the end of the 5-year follow-along period, 60% of the children remained in some level of inclusive placement. Placements were influenced by professionals' decisions and school options, families' abilities to access information, advocates, the match between family needs and expectations and school options, and the influence of specific child and family characteristics.