When Inclusion Is Not Enough: Fostering a Culture of Belonging in Early Childhood

A ll children, including those with disabilities and intersecting identities, deserve to feel safe, respected, and valued as members of their early care and education environments-to belong in spaces where they would be included if they did not have a disability (U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services & Education, 2023).We recognize that for many readers and for ourselves as authors, a sense of belonging is a foundational tenant of inclusion.Without a sense of belonging for every child, an environment cannot be truly inclusive.However, this core value is not universal across current definitions, measures, and manifestations of inclusion, which brings us to the very heart of this article: true inclusion requires not just physical presence but also authentic belonging for all individuals present.Our goal is to consider how the field arrived at its current modus operandi and to propose a framework for reconceptualizing how evidencebased practices are implemented to align with our shared purpose of creating inclusive spaces where all children, families, and providers truly belong.In positive, nurturing early childhood environments (hereinafter called community and/or classroom), children are recognized as capable 1320094Y