Young children's communication and literacy: a qualitative study of language in the inclusive preschool

Interactive and literacy-based language use of young children within the context of an inclusive preschool classroom was explored. An interpretivist framework and qualitative research methods, including participant observation, were used to examine and analyze language in five preschool classes that were composed of children with and without disabilities. Children's language use included spoken, written, signed, and typed. Results showed complex communicative and literacy language use on the part of young children outside conventional adult perspectives. Also, children who used expressive methods other than speech were often left out of the contexts where spoken language was richest and most complex.