Ecological Assessment - Origins, Definition,

Ecological Assessment - Origins, Definition, Examples

According to the book Young Children with Disabilities in Natural Environments (Noonan & McCormick, 21) the theory of ecological assessment was launched in 1979. It was at a time when goals and objectives were sorely needed for students with "severe and multiple disabilities," and so Brown and his colleagues drew procedures from ecological theory and called it ecological inventory, Noonan writes. In these past 27 years, the ecological inventory process has been "especially helpful in terms of creating "individualized instruction" along with developing "functional goals and objectives"; the process of creating worthwhile teaching strategies that adapt to the special needs of those severely disabled students.

Ecological inventory helps address the issues fundamental to the process, like "what" are the intervention goals and objectives; where, how and when should intervention be provided; and how will intervention be evaluated?

On page 103, the Noonan reports that at the time (1934) anthropologist Ruth Benedict was carefully studying the relationship between humans and their "social-cultural environment," she was using the term "cultural relativity" in describing the fact that human behavior needs to be seen in the larger cultural context to be "properly understood." And hence, the idea was born - and later polished - that the social behavior of people (in this case, young people), which may be viewed as inappropriate in one cultural context might on the other hand be totally appropriate in another cultural context. "...Ecological psychologists [have in the meantime] insisted that the only way to get a valid picture of a child's functioning" is by closely monitoring that child's behavior "in the context of normally occurring routines in familiar settings."

As to implementation of ecological assessment in an inclusive framework (paradigm), authors Noonan & McCormick (104-110) offer a six-step strategy. Step #1, "list the daily activities and routines" of the student; Step #2, list "major behavioral expectations" (this will take time, but it's vital); Step #3, score "Can do" or "Needs to learn" (observe the child for a day or so to determine strengths and instructional needs); Step #4, "formulate goals and objectives"; Step #5, "plan instruction" (detailed lesson plan based on steps 1-4); Step #6, "plan data collection" (this must be a comprehensive evaluation / monitoring strategy).

A key to the big picture of ecological assessment - with reference to Steps 1 through 6 - is to view "each classroom...as a singular ecosystem in which the physical arrangement of the room," the materials on hand, the individual children "and their competencies" and the teachers with their competencies "continuously interact to form a unique environment" (Odom & Karnes, 224), according to the text, Early Intervention for Infants & Children with Handicaps.

In the journal Topics in Early Childhood Special Education (Haney, et al., 1996), the authors assert that "inclusion is more than the physical placement of a young child with disabilities into a mainstream preschool setting." Indeed, "inclusion," actually refers to "assisting that child to participate as fully as possible in that setting." child who has disabilities certainly is expected to lack at least "some of the skills" that are required for participation in class activities, and hence, "need special assistance to develop" the needed skills vis-a-vis "the typical preschool" setting. So, that is where ecological assessment comes into the picture, in specific the "development of daily inclusion patterns of the preschool setting" based on the careful assessment of activity demands, "routines, and interactional patterns (both peer and adult)."

The article goes on to point out that "there must be a strong, direct link between assessment, child goals, and intervention content and activities" to make absolutely certain that the child is deriving "maximum benefits from an intervention program" that is to be delivered in inclusive preschool environments.

In the article, Quality Teaching for Diverse Students in Schooling: Best Evidence Synthesis (Alton-Lee, 2003), the author points out that a way to go about "optimizing learning opportunities" for those with special educational needs is through the use of "best evidence synthesis" - a strategy that can contribute to breaking patterns of "system under-performance." And furthermore, there are "a range of ways in which quality teaching is accomplished," including, Alton-Lee continues, "culturally inclusive and pedagogically effective task design," and through carefully managing "resource access for diverse learners" - and that certain well describes the basic fundamentals for approaching an ecological assessment practice for disabled learners.