In this section, you will learn about the concept of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors in the environment to help children see themselves and become aware of differences. This approach supports children’s positive identity development and reduces the likelihood of children’s biased thinking.
The concept of mirrors and windows was pioneered by Emily Styles when thinking about early childhood curriculum and advanced by Dr. Rudine Bishop when thinking about literacy. The concept has expanded in early childhood to encompass curriculum and the learning environment further.
Take a moment to watch this short video of Dr. Bishop talking about the importance of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors in literature.
Some key terms to help as you watch the video:
Mirrors Mirrors are materials, activities, and learning environments that are familiar to children and allow them to see themselves, their families, and their communities in the classroom.
Windows Windows in the learning environment are materials and activities that provide children with information about people, places, and cultures they are unfamiliar with or that are different from their own. Research shows that when young children see and are exposed to differences, they are less likely to develop bias and stereotypical thinking.
Sliding Glass Doors Materials can also be sliding glass doors that allow children to use their imagination to enter a world that is different to them.
Video must be watched entirely to progress through the course. You do not need to watch recommended videos at the end.
The curriculum should provide mirrors so that children see themselves, their families, and their communities reflected in the learning environment, materials, and activities. The curriculum should also provide windows on the world so that children learn about peoples, places, arts, sciences, and so on that they would otherwise not encounter. In diverse and inclusive learning communities, one child’s mirrors are another child’s windows, making for wonderful opportunities for collaborative learning. DAP Curriculum Planning including Mirrors and Windows in ECE
Let’s explore the concepts of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors in supporting equity in early childhood in more detail.
Use this space to continue our conversation on Storytelling, so that we support each other in this work. Ask/answer questions, share successes and challenges, and respond to each other!
(If you have any trouble posting, email your questions to julie.halitzka@uky.edu, and we will post for you.)
Use this space to continue our conversation on Picture Perfect, so that we support each other in this work. Ask/answer questions, share successes and challenges, and respond to each other!
(If you have any trouble posting, email your questions to julie.halitzka@uky.edu, and we will post for you.)
Office furniture may sound a little boring at first, but the right combination of desk, chair, and accessories can completely change an employee’s comfort, attitude, and effectiveness. Buying custom-fitted desks and chairs for every employee is expensive and not very reusable so finding sturdy, highly adjustable furniture to fit the employee is much more cost-effective. For offices and employers, using adjustable furniture for everyone means it is much easier to hire, support, and quickly address the accommodation needs of all workers.
Ergonomics, from the Greek for ‘natural work’, is the science of designing and arranging things to make them more efficient and safer for humans to use. Ergonomics can be applied to any environment. Making a workspace more ergonomic has many benefits but the biggest is reducing stress, strains, and injuries associated with work. These can include overuse injuries like carpal tunnel, poor posture cause by long days in a bad position, or musculoskeletal problems like lower back pain or foot problems.
In this lesson, we’ll focus on ergonomics for the office, especially for desk workers. We’ll learn more about good posture, the environment, and taking breaks and how each one can improve your work. Providing ergonomic workspaces is good for employers, too. A 2014 study found that work-related musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 29-34% of Worker’s Compensation claims, costing employers more than $20 billion in compensation costs, medical expenses, missed workdays, decreased productivity, and hiring replacement staff [1].
References
Bhattacharya A. Costs of occupational musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the United States. Int J Ind Ergon. 2014;44(3):448–454. doi: 10.1016/j.ergon.2014.01.008. Jump to ↵
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a law that protects people with disabilities from being treated unfairly. It says that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else in work, school, transportation, and public places. It also says that employers and businesses must make changes to ensure people with disabilities have the same opportunities to work for them and use their services.
A reasonable accommodation is any change to a job, the work environment, or the way things are typically done during the hiring process that allows someone with a disability to perform the essential functions of that job. Common examples of reasonable accommodations are providing a sign language interpreter, a wheelchair ramp, or a flexible work schedule. In this lesson, we’ll learn a little more about the ADA and about reasonable accommodations.
You have completed the Division of Administration and Financial Management Overview! This course is part of a series of trainings for Fiduciary staff. Once you mark this lesson complete you will return to the homepage where you may download your certificate of completion. Please be sure to reach out to your supervisor with any questions you may have.
Fiduciary Training Courses:
Division of Administration and Financial Management Overview (Complete!)
Fiduciary Duties Defined by Law and Standard Operating Procedures Part 1
Fiduciary Duties Defined by Law and Standard Operating Procedures Part 2
Deposits, Payments, and Transfers
Financial Accounting Management
Budget Approvals and Set-Up
Payment Requests
Establishing Payments to Facilities and Service Providers
Now that we have worked through an overview of the DCBS Division of Administration and Financial Management, it’s time for a knowledge check. You must receive a minimum of 80% to successfully pass the course and obtain a certificate.
The Division of Administration and Financial Management (DAFM) is responsible for department financial management and budget activities and oversight of policy, administrative regulations, state plans, contract monitoring, and Adult Guardianship Benefits and Fiduciary Management Services. The Division of Administration and Financial Management has 5 branches.
The five branches are the:
Fiduciary Management Branch
Benefits Management Branch
Child Welfare Fiscal Supoort Branch
Fiscal Services Branch
Records Management Branch
Division of Administration and Financial Management (DAFM) Chart (Click to Enlarge)
In this lesson, we will review the responsibilties of the Benefits and Fiduciary Branches and explain how they work together to support individuals under guardianship. Before we explore each branch, take a moment to review the Division of Administration and Financial Management organizational chart. When you have finished select the first topic below to continue.
Hello, and welcome to this training on the Division of Administration and Financial Management Overview. My name is Kai, and I work for the Fiduciary Branch. This course is part of a required set of trainings for new Fiduciary Branch employees. In this course, we will:
Course Objectives:
Review the structure of the the Division of Administration and Financial Management
Identify the responsibilities of the Benefits, and Fiduciary Branches
Describe the connections between the Guardianship, Fiduciary and Benefits Branches
In Awareness and Respect, you learned how showing respect supports a child’s positive identity development. The learning environment we offer children can have a big impact on their development and how they view themselves and others.
I feel safe here!
I belong here!
I can do this!
In this lesson, you will learn more about children’s identity development, including how positive identity development supports social-emotional development and the importance of reflecting on a child’s unique background. This allows children to feel their identity and needs are seen in the classroom. In other words, their identity, needs, and emotions are represented and validated.
In Advancing Equity in Early Childhood – Awareness and Respect, you learned some important foundational concepts relating to advancing equity in early childhood. Let’s take a moment to review some of the key concepts and ideas from the training.
Implicit Bias
We discussed how each one of us has automatic thoughts and associations that we are not even aware of that are shaped by the direct and indirect experiences around us. These automatic thoughts come from our brain trying to quickly process and categorize information. But this can result in implicit bias, or unconscious beliefs and stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions and decisions.
Having implicit bias doesn’t make us bad people! But it can result in unintentional harm to young children when our implicit biases result in a child not feeling seen and emotionally safe in their classroom environment.
Explicit Bias
There is also explicit bias, or conscious beliefs and stereotypes that can affect one’s understanding, actions, and decisions. An example of an explicit bias would be a director stating they would not hire a male teacher for the toddler room, as those teachers should be female.
Identity – Personal identity is how someone sees themselves and attributes that give them a sense of individuality. Fostered by things such as temperament, home, and extended family, and then by social and school experiences. (Based on Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, 2020, Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards with Catherine Goins). Aspects of identity include personal identity, gender identity, racial identity, and social identity. We will talk more about identity later in this course.
Respect – The word respect may take many different forms, but at the root of the word, it is a way of treating or thinking about someone in a positive way. If someone feels unwelcome, treated badly, or insulted, they will feel they haven’t been treated respectfully.
Click image to view in larger detail.
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Maslow’s Hierarchy – You also learned about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which is a model based on five levels of human needs. Needs are from the bottom to the top, and children can’t progress to higher level needs such as esteem until the lower level needs such as love/belonging are met. Providing equitable learning environments and interactions support children’s identity and self-esteem and frees them to explore, play and learn.
Even though our intentions are good, all of us have biases that can affect our interactions with children. Let’s review some of the strategies you learned in module one that can help us become aware of and counteract our biases.
We will be using these strategies in this module to:
Unteach Being Colorblind
Acknowledge racial and cultural differences rather than pretending they don’t exist.
Be Prepared
Understand that both young children and adults have biases and be prepared with some responses. There may also be situations you need to address as best you can.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is an awareness of our emotions, surroundings, and thoughts in an accepting and nonjudgmental way. When we react strongly to something, mindfulness can help us better understand why.
Perspective Taking
Consider a situation from someone else’s point of view by looking at it from their experience.
Raising Self-Awareness
Continue to reflect on your own culture, values, biases and interactions.
According to NAEYC, we shall care for and educate children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and that support each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure.
This training continues our journey in advancing equity in early childhood and focuses on creating culturally responsive environments for children. This training builds on what you have learned in Advancing Equity in Early Childhood – Awareness and Respect. In this training, you will learn the importance of incorporating non-biased materials and activities that reflect children’s lives and expand their understanding of diversity. You will continue to self-reflect to consider your knowledge and biases and evaluate your classroom and activities to identify strengths and opportunity areas. An application activity will be required to complete the training and will focus on creating an environmental improvement goal.
In this module, we are using the term culturally responsive to refer to a strengths-based approach with a foundational respect for the role of culture in children’s learning and development. This module focuses on the physical classroom environment. Completion of Advancing Equity in Early Childhood – Awareness and Respect is required before taking this training.
Other trainings in the Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Series complement the material in this module and will support your growth in providing equitable learning environments – but are not a required prerequisite for this training.
Training Objectives
Explain the importance of materials and activities that could reflect children’s backgrounds and expand their awareness of diversity.
Describe strategies for incorporating culturally responsive materials and activities in various categories.
Evaluate classroom materials and activities to create an improvement goal.
Workplace Objectives
Participants will regularly incorporate non-biased materials and activities to represent each child’s life experiences and expand their awareness of diversity.
A big thanks to the following individuals who provided feedback and ideas for this course. They include Beth Green, Lessa Croley, Kathy Mullin, and Becky Brown, as well as Casey Turner, Melissa Hardison, Paula Goff, and Bethany Hughes. Their feedback made the course more useful and clear!
Congratulations!!
You have made it through the course requirements!!!
If you have additional questions or comments about the content, please use the “contact us” button at the bottom of the page.
Certificate of Completion
After submitting the ECE-TRIS form you will have access to the course certificate of completion. You can print or download a copy of the certificate. The certificate is also available anytime you log back into this course.
KENTUCKY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS Please note!!! This certificate is not considered official documentation of credit for Divison of Child Care, Division of Regulated Child Care, or ALL-STARS. Your ECE-TRIS record serves as official documentation of completion.
Kentucky Early Care and Education Professionals
Please complete the form below. If you mark “no” credit for completion of this course WILL NOT be added to your ECE-TRIS professional development record.
Your individual training record in ECE-TRIS will be updated within 10 days with the course credit. ECE-TRIS is a training registry for early care and education providers and gives you 24/7 access to your professional learning record: https://tris.eku.edu/ece
