“Signing to Childhood”: an inclusive methodology to early childhood education.

Abstract

The present study shows the validation of the bilingual methodology -signed and spoken language- proposed in the training program “Signándole a la infancia” (Signing to Childhood), by evaluating its implementation in regular early childhood classrooms, with the objective of making them inclusive. Two preschool classrooms were assessed over the course of seven months: a total of 28 participants with ages ranging from 20 to 36 months old. The evaluation was founded on three central factors: the teaching team, the children and their families. The evaluation tools were created ad hoc, through a rubric, a questionnaire for families and two evaluation sheets (initial and final), so they could adapt to the methodology and its implementation and development. The results showed that the use of signs in the classroom facilitates children’s communication and interactions, which promotes conflict resolution and brings about new learnings fostered by the bilingual environment. They also show an extrapolation of the use of signs outside the classroom, in the family setting and in non-educational contexts. These findings prove the efficiency of the proposed methodology and its potential to exponentially multiply inclusive realities.