Abstract
Including all children is something many education settings aspire to, yet the outcome of children realising their right to an inclusive education remains elusive for far too many. In this article we present the narrative of an inclusive early childhood education setting. The first author undertook an ethnographic study of the experiences of an disabled child in a kindergarten
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in Aotearoa New Zealand as part of her Master of Education degree. This was done with the express intention of relaying a narrative of active participation, inclusion and citizenship experienced by that child and their family within that community. The collective narrative that emerged highlights what is possible for the meaningful inclusion of disabled children, not just in New Zealand but internationally, when communities act with inclusive intent. In this article we identify the themes of learner identity, adopting a pedagogy for participation, establishing a culture of belonging and contribution, and lastly, using the environment as the third teacher, which emerged after analysing interviews with some of the participants. Together these themes combine to provide an evaluative framework to review inclusive curriculum and performance in early childhood settings.