Education for All From the Early Years: Inclusive Experience in Chile

Over the last decade, the discourse of inclusive early childhood education has been actively promoted in Chile. However, the implementation of appropriate models has been slow and challenging. The purpose of this study is to assess users' perceptions of the inclusive service they received in an early childhood education centre. In addition, it seeks to obtain the ex-post perspective of the education professionals who participated in this intervention, with the aim of providing information for similar proposals in the future. This study explores the fundamental characteristics of the implementation of the inclusive-ecological model in a kindergarten located in a vulnerable area of the city of Santiago, analysing the results of an opinion survey of families and the testimony of educational agents. The research findings suggest a positive perception by family members and neighbours with respect to people with disabilities; they also underline the importance of continuous training of educational staff and collaboration in networks, and show that the model implemented had a favourable impact on the early detection of educational support needs.