Tsai, Kuen-Ying; (1999) Kindergarten teachers' perceptions of developmental delay in Taiwan: the concept, prevalence and relationships between teacher identification, screening tests and classroom behaviour. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

The term 'developmental delay' has been introduced in Taiwan Early Childhood Special Education to refer to young children with difficulties in learning and development. The purpose of this research is to describe kindergarten teachers' perceptions of this term, the prevalence and characteristics of children with developmental delay in kindergartens in Taiwan, and the relationships between teacher identifications, screening tests and children's classroom behaviours. A three stage study was conducted. Stage One investigated teachers' understandings of 'developmental delay'. The methods employed included individual interviews with 52 teachers and a characteristics rating scale completed by the teachers. Stage Two consisted of a prevalence survey and individual interviews with teachers about current and future special provision for children with developmental delay and teachers' experiences in coping with such children. Prevalence was established using teachers' nominations of children. Stage Three concentrated on the classroom experiences of the children and the relationships between teacher identifications, screening tests and classroom behaviours. Fifty children (half regarded by teachers as having developmental delay and the other half not) in eleven classes took part in this stage. The Chinese version of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) was adopted for the screening tests. The main findings suggest that the teachers tended to perceive developmental delay from within-child perspectives, with preference for the normative and developmental models. Of the kindergarten children, 9.2% were regarded by teachers as having developmental delay, with most having multiple domains of delay. Current special provision for these children was limited, but more provision from inside or outside the kindergarten was seen to be needed. There were distinctive differences in classroom behaviour patterns between children regarded as having developmental delay and other children in class. Where there was a certain degree of mismatch between the teacher and test identifications (using DDST results) these discrepancies can be accounted for in terms of the classroom behaviour patterns. The findings, both theoretical and practical, and the research implications of this thesis are discussed.

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