Part II: Addressing Bias and Promoting Equity in Early Childhood Classrooms
Bias and discrimination affect people from all walks of life. In the early childhood field, bias and discrimination are especially troublesome, as they can have long-term impacts that can continue to affect children through adulthood. Read Document 1: Madison Place Preschool Scenario prior to beginning Part II.
In three to four pages, complete the following:
Describe four strategies that you will use in order to address bias and promote equity among the young children in your classroom.
Explain why you chose these strategies, and how they will help address bias and promote equity.
Describe how you will implement these strategies to advocate for positive social change on behalf of the children in your classroom.
Describe one way you will partner with families and/or the community in your advocacy efforts.
Part III: Access, Equity, and Promoting Change in Early Childhood Organizations
While advocating for access, equity, and change in early childhood classrooms is an important first step, early childhood settings support this advocacy effort on an organizational level.
In two to three pages, complete the following:
Describe how you will advocate for anti-bias curriculum in your early childhood setting or one in which you might work.
Explain why anti-bias curriculum should be adopted in in this setting.
Explain why access and equity at the organizational level are important to developing early childhood programs that help promote the growth and development of children, families, and communities.
Include a description of at least one organization with whom you might partner to promote access, equity, and social change for young children and families in your early childhood setting or one in which you might work, and explain why you have chosen this organization.
Part IV: The Positive Impacts of Promoting Access, Equity, and Change
In two pages, describe the significant and lasting impacts that access and equity can have on children, families, communities, and a global society.
Specifically, your response should include the following:
An explanation of the benefits of advocating for access, equity, and change on children’s healthy development and learning.
An explanation of how advocating for access and equity in early childhood classrooms and programs can benefit children, families, and communities, and provide a specific example.
A recommendation for developmentally appropriate learning experiences for the following, with an explanation of how these recommendations reflect the principles of developmentally appropriate practice.
Three families arrive an hour after preschool starts on a regular basis
Dual-language learners, most of whom are less fluent in English than they are in their primary languages
Three children in your classroom seem to be behind their peers developmentally. After meeting with the families, you discover that they live in poverty and some adult members of the family do not have high school diplomas