Qualitative Study on Inclusive Education in Early Childhood Care in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects

The right of children to have access to inclusive education is widely supported and well recognized in international human rights law. Inclusive education involves the placement of learners with disabilities and non-disabilities to study in the same classrooms with adaptable facilities and equipment. Meanwhile, in Nigeria over the past three decades, focus on inclusive education has been pervasive at all levels of educational system including in early childhood education, as the school system struggle to meet the needs of children who are physically challenged. It has been argued that for a society to develop, education must be inclusive and global organization are not left behind on the global initiative for inclusion in education. However, despite the numerous advantages of inclusive education there are various factors contending with effective implementation of the programme in early childhood education. This paper attempts to highlights the concepts of inclusion, understanding inclusion in education, the value of inclusion in early childhood education and some of the basic requirement for the inclusive programme to be feasible in Nigeria educational system most especially in early childhood education. In addition, the paper discusses the challenges militating against inclusion in early childhood education and practical ways to overcome the challenges are provided.