Inclusive education and social inclusion of children with disabilities in early
childhood settings and transition from home to early invention programs and schools
are important topics internationally. There are two main aims of this study:
1. To compare “the views of children with disabilities” and “the perspectives on
special support education” in the early childhood education and care
internationally;
2. To clarify the characteristics of the Japanese and Korean “views of children with
disabilities” and “the perspectives on special support education”.
This international comparison study was conducted using a survey form completed
by parents (507) and kindergarten teachers(543) in five countries, namely Denmark,
Singapore, India, Korea and Japan. We developed a multi language questionnaire on
“the views of children with disabilities” and “the perspectives on special support
education”. Factor analysis was applied to the inventory data. Four factors were found
in the “the views of children with disabilities” and three factors are found in “the
perspectives on special support Education”. These factors used as scales respectively.
Each data were located on scales in order to clarify the characteristics of each of the
participating countries in this study. There were a few differences between Japanese
and Korean “views of children with disabilities” and “the perspectives on special
support Education”. The background of these differences seemed to be the differences
on the administrative system and cultural value.