The Effects of Preschool Integration on the Development of Nonhandicapped Children

Nine research studies that reported child change data for nonhandicapped children participating in integrated preschool settings were analyzed in terms of methodology and specific program variables. The findings indicate that the methodological weaknesses in studies of the effectiveness of integration are the same that plague early intervention efficacy studies in general. Analysis of specific program variables indicates that studies of the outcomes of integration have typically viewed integration as a single treatment variable rather than as a process having many possible variations. The implications of the findings are discussed.