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Diversity, Inclusion and Discrimination
Inclusive education and social justice
Inclusive education and social justice
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Equity in early childhood education is a key as it is interconnected with diversity, inclusion, and social justice. People come from all sorts of different backgrounds. Some are more privileged than others and are able to receive more attention and care when it comes to education. Although there should be fairness throughout all stages of education, I think it is crucial to have anti-bias equity implemented in education since kindergarten. Furthermore, ensuring equity in learning along with achieving excellence, promoting well-bing, and enhancing public confidence are the goals for education in Ontario. As educators, we should work to identify and address the barriers and also work towards inclusive education to scaffold their learning.
To relate to my personal experience, my cousin who recently came to Canada, he is going through difficult time as an immigrant (newcomer) student. He’s parents do not think he receives adequate support to help him adjust to the new country and to learn English as a Second Language (ESL) learner. Even though the ESL program attempts to eliminate language barriers, I think that an hour a day is insufficient and is not differentiated
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support. Due to the language and communication barrier, he became a victim of a bullying (name calling). I think I can definitely relate to the inequities facing children who are foreign to the country. As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that there is educational equity. As Canada is a land of immigrants, there are children migrating to this country with limited or no knowledge of English language.
As an early childhood educator, I have a responsibility to create an inclusive, diversified and culturally supportive learning environment for these children. For example, generally there would be a wide range of different languages within a classroom. Providing literature in different languages will expand the children’s idea of diversity and will get them thinking about the differences or similarities between others. Books about other cultures, ethnic groups, and geographic regions build interest and inform the reader beyond his or her immediate ¬experience. For these reasons, children’s books that portray diversity are an essential part of any early childhood
program. By practicing diversity inclusion through literacy, it will help all children to recognize, understand, accept and respect that people are unique in their own way. It will also further help the newcomer child to feel that he/she is being recognized and welcome into the classroom. This could also support resolving the issue of bullying. As mentioned in the hate pyramid diagram, genocide starts from the prejudice attitudes and it leads up to acts of prejudice and to discrimination and violence and so on. As educators, it is vital to recognize the importance to eliminate any kind of these acts such as name calling, having stereotypes, social exclusion etc. that can potentially lead up to genocide. Inclusion is an essential concept for children to learn and understand. I feel that by exploring and discussing diversity in a safe, positive and nurturing environment it will give the students the support to gain an understanding of each other and will allow them to move away from ignorance to embracing and celebrating the beauty of diversity that is contained within each individual. I believe that early years setting can play a key role in promoting the visibility, inclusion, and active participation of young children in society. Therefore, it is crucial to implement anti-bias/diversity/social-justice policy in the program as early as possible.
Cowhey’s book is broken down by the major themes and concepts she teaches her first and second grade students. Each concept relates back to her personal pedagogy of implementing a Multicultural Education. These major themes include empathy, freedom, peace, activism, community, and social justice. Cowhey’s pedagogy uses “language and literacy to teach about the world with rigor, depth, and challenge in a way that engages and
Robles de Melendez, W. (2010). Teaching Young Children in Multicultural Classrooms: Issues, Concepts, and Strategies (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Yokota, Junko. "Issues in Selecting Multicultural Children's Literature." Language Arts Multiculturalism and the Language Arts. 70.3 (1993): 156-167. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
Early childhood education, although constantly evolving, was actually established and practiced as early on as the times of Ancient Greece and Rome. The foundation that early childhood education is based upon is to instill in children the skills needed to succeed later on in life, while making sure young children enjoy their time in schooling. Throughout chapter 3 in the textbook Who Am I in the Lives of Children, the reader is capable of evaluating just how greatly the methods for teaching today’s youth have evolved and changed for the better.
The inequality in Australian education can be attributed to a history of low expectations and discrimination placed on Indigenous people by the government and society. Aboriginal children were denied the right to education until the 1970s due to the discrimitory views of the government and society. The Indigenous population were the sub-standard race of humanity with little to no chance of succeeding in life and these attitudes affected the educational choices offered to them (Ray & Poonwassie, 1992). As the superior race, the Anglo-Celtic Australians, considered themselves both intellectually and socio-culturally more advanced than their inferior Aboriginal neighbours (Foley, 2013). As a consequence of these racially and culturally motivated preconceptions, children of Aboriginal descent were considered unskilled outside of their own and were deemed incapable of excelling in ‘civilised’ white society (Foley, 2013). As a result, the Australian Government, in an effort to civilise and nurture politeness within the Aboriginal people, constructed “structured” (p 139) education training institutions in 1814. However, these problems only provided sufficient schooling for menial work: Aboriginal male children were prepared for agricultural employment, while girls were trained for domesticated services (Foley, 2013). Thus, as a direct consequence of low expectation for life success, Aboriginal children were offered minimal schooling ‘consistent with the perception about the limitations inherent in their race and their expected station in life at the lowest rung of white society’ (Beresford & Partington, 2003, p43). According to Foley (2013) this combination of low expectations and poor academic grounding meant that Indigenous children we...
In the end, as early childhood educators we want to fight the constant layers of oppression our generation currently encourages and condones into what America is made up to be. By identifying our personal biases, understanding our many social identities, examining institutional advantages and disadvantages, understanding internalized privilege and oppression, and finally learning how to take action we can change the way kids socially identify themselves and create a wholesome environment where we are all equal. By respecting and coaching healthy ways of life, our children can only grow to help future generations and facilitate a growing America with positive results.
Demonstrate a strong understanding of current Australian early childhood education and care reform agenda in Australia since 2007. The Australian ECE and care reform agenda was initiated, in 2007, due to a concern for the wellbeing and increasingly poor outcomes for children in several key areas. Evidence confirmed the importance and impact of a child’s health, well-being, development and learning in the early years, therefore the need for an NQF and NQS was initiated. The impact of social change over recent decades has shown families struggling to function and aid in their child’s development.
Robinson, K., & Diaz, C. J. (2006). Diversity and Difference in Early Childhood Education: McGraw-Hill Companies,Incorporated.
At a young age children believe almost everything that they hear. Parents and teachers need to be very careful and selective with what they talk about around children. One challenge that teachers and parents face is choosing the appropriate books to read for their young ones. One book genre that has caused a good amount of chaos and controversy are multicultural books. Adults are afraid of exposing their children to these kinds of books because they do not want them to be influenced by the negative stereotypes that many of these books contain. However multicultural books can help children to empathize with others and learn about different cultures, the right books just need to be selected. Parents and teachers need to find books that
There are many aspects to early childhood education including what all it contains and is being taught. People willing to teach in an early childhood center are vitally important for learning and have overwhelming benefits for the children (Teufel). Children are expected to know much more information at an early age, so it benefits children to have the opportunity to take part in a program before kindergarten.
Curriculum is the organized framework that explains the content that children are to learn, the processes through which children achieve the identified curricular goals, what teachers do to help children achieve these goals and the context in which teaching and learning occur. The best curriculum for early childhood teacher is developmentally appropriate curriculum that allows teachers to set-up an effective learning environment for children.
Multicultural literature is a way of increasing cultural awareness. Through multicultural books many young readers are able to make a connection with their own culture
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for
There are many documented theories about early childhood development, contemporary research still concurs with some of these theories. It suggests, however, that we should be thinking more holistically, taking into consideration; respect for diversity, the wider community and equity, play based curriculums, intentional teaching and ongoing reflective practices when planning for optimal educational experiences for children (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2009). I acknowledge that ongoing professional learning and reflective practices are a key element of the Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009). I accredit working and collaborating with other teachers, families and local communities collectively contribute