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What would you do?
Knowing what to do or how to handle situations of bias with children can be difficult.
Using what we have learned so far, look at each of the scenarios below and think about:
There is no one right or wrong answer to each situation, but suggestions will be included to help reflect on how to approach the situation.
Raven
Raven is biracial and has light brown skin. She begins attending a 2-year old class where all the other children and teachers are white. She loves dramatic play and small play houses and farms with small play figures. All of these dolls and play people in the classroom are white. Some of the books in the classroom show some other races and skin tones, but these are not the books read during the toddler story time.
What messages might Raven be receiving?
- She might feel different.
- She may begin to build stereotypes that one skin tone is superior to another, and that her skin color is inferior.
What could be done?
- Consider adding some dramatic play materials and people that show some different skin tones, including a baby doll that looks similar to Raven.
- Add a few eye-level photos showing children of different skin tones.
- The teachers could choose some of the books showing greater diversity for read-alouds.
- The teachers could encourage all of the children to bring in family pictures and display the pictures, including Raven’s family.
- Take the perspective of Raven. How would you feel in a similar situation where many of the images and materials do not reflect or look like you?
Celia
Celia has joined your preschool classroom after being placed with a foster family. Her biological mother is recently deceased, and her father is currently incarcerated. The classroom has many display photos of two-parent families or mothers with their children, but none that show other family structures. There are no books in the book center that feature a variety of families. During Celia’s first month, a main theme is Mother’s Day, including a Muffins with Mom event and the children making Mother’s Day gifts.
What messages might Celia be receiving?
- She may not feel like she belongs in this group.
- She may feel different and that there is something wrong with her.
- She may feel sad or angry thinking about her mother.
- She may be unsure who she should invite to the muffins event, and for whom she should make the gift.
- She may not feel emotionally safe.
What could be done?
- If the center doesn’t already do so, consider a short family meeting as part of the transition process into the center. The teachers could meet Celia’s foster caregiver, and potentially learn some information to support her needs in the classroom.
- The teachers could add a greater variety of family structure pictures, such as a family where the grandparents are raising their grandchildren.
- The teachers could add some books to the book center that show some different family structures, including foster families. There are also some books appropriate for preschoolers on the topics of death of a parent, or having a parent incarcerated.
- The muffins event could be renamed “Muffins with Me” and the children could be encouraged to invite someone special.
- Instead of a Mother’s Day gift, the children could be encouraged to make a gift for someone special. The teachers could help each child write a message to their special person.
- Take the perspective of Celia. How would you feel if many of the activities revolved around someone no longer in your life?
Jake
In a 3-year-old preschool classroom, the dramatic play center costumes are princess dresses and some community helper costumes such as fire fighters and mail carriers. Jake, a 3-year-old boy, frequently makes a beeline for the dramatic play center and wants to wear the pink Rapunzel dress. Ms. Sherrie, an assistant teacher, says, “that is for girls” and encourages him to try the mail carrier costume instead.
What messages might Jake be receiving?
- May feel shamed for age-appropriate interest in this type of dress-up.
- May begin to build gender stereotypes.
- May not feel safe emotionally to share his preferences and ideas or to be himself as he is right now.
What could be done?
- Add a greater variety of dress-up items to the dramatic play center, including some that are considered unisex. Include some fabrics that could be wrapped or worn different ways, including as a skirt or a cape.
- Talk with the children when they are dressing up to learn more about their thinking. “You are wearing …. Tell me about it”.
- Share some resources with the staff that this type of exploration is developmentally appropriate.
- Ask some questions to help children and staff see a perspective that in some cultures, dress type items are not just worn by females.
- Model how a teacher could respond in this situation.
- Speak with Ms. Sherrie privately to share information and request a different response next time.
- Take the perspective of Jake. How would you feel if you were discouraged or not allowed to do an activity that you enjoyed or made to feel that there is something wrong with you if you like that activity?
Course Wrap Up
You have completed the content for Advancing Equity in Early Childhood – Awareness and Respect!!! A few final things before you are able to access your certificate.
Next Up
This course is the first in a series of advancing equity courses designed to help early care and education professionals understand how to support diversity and equity in classrooms, with children, with families, and with co-worker.
Check out the next training in the series:
ECE-TRIS
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ECE 108: Advancing Equity in Early Childhood: Awareness and Respect
What now?
This training focused on the topic of bias and how it can affect our relationships with families, co-workers, and children. Understanding and acknowledging that there is a bias is not easy, however once you show awareness and respect for yourself and others you are better able to focus on change. The content of this training is the foundation of learning how to advance equity in early childhood environments. In upcoming trainings we will focus more on our interactions, environments, working with families, and policies in order to create more equitable learning experiences for all children.
What can we do?
Soo…… how exactly am I supposed to stop doing something I might not be aware I am doing?
Whether a bias is explicit or implicit there are several strategies that can be used to help counteract any biases a person might have.
How can I show respect?
Now that we know a bit about biases and how they can affect our interactions with children we will discuss respect.
To show awareness and respect, we must respect children, families, and ourselves. In this section we will briefly review some ways that we can show and model respect. Many of these strategies will be explored in more detail in upcoming training sessions.
Before we begin, think about the word “respect”. What does it look like to you? What does it mean? If it helps, close your eyes and think about the word.
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 then they will feel they haven’t been treated with respect.
What are some ways we can show respect within early childhood?
Respect for Children
How are children represented and treated in the environment?
Use perspective-taking to think about how children in your classroom view the classroom, the materials accessible, and how others interact with them.
Some questions to think about:
Showing respect to children will contribute to their positive identity development. Thinking back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a child who feels respected will feel loved and safe. This will in turn support their self-esteem which will free a child to explore, play, and learn.
Respect for Families
How do we interact and communicate with families?
Use perspective-taking to think about how families feel welcomed and involved in the classroom and their children’s early childhood experiences.
Some questions to think about:
Respect for Self
How do we see ourselves?
It can be hard to model respect to families and children if we don’t first respect ourselves.
Some questions to think about:
Identity charts are a great graphic tool that can be used to think about the many factors that makes us the individuals we are. It is a simple and easy way to deepen your understanding about yourself, and those around you.
For more information about identity charts and how to use them, check out Facing History and Ourselves. You can also download an identity chart worksheet to create one of your own.
References:
Facing History & Ourselves. (2009, November 2). Identity Charts. Facing History & Ourselves. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/identity-charts
Sykes, T. (n.d.) Got Bias [PowerPoint slides]. Phoenix.gov. https://www.phoenix.gov/humanservicessite/Documents/Got%20Bias.pdf
Vocabulary. (n.d.). Respect. In Vocabulary.com dictionary. Retrieved January 12, 2023. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/respect
Why does it matter?
Early childhood educators do not set out to intentionally harm children. Unfortunately, when we do not have an awareness and respect of the needs and wants of our children, we can (unintentionally) negatively impact a child’s positive identity and development.
The first step to providing an equitable early childhood program is to become aware of our potential biases so that we can show respect for ourselves, children, and families.
You may already be familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The hierarchy of needs is a model based on five levels of human needs, represented as a triangle. The pyramid signifies that needs are from the bottom to the top, starting with basic needs going to the desire to be the best you can be. Each level builds upon itself and you cannot reach the top of the pyramid if you have not met the needs at the bottom.
Starting from the base of the triangle:
Physiological Needs – food, water, shelter
Safety – personal Safety, resources, health
Love and Belonging – friendship, family, sense of connection
Esteem – respect, self-esteem, recognition
Self-actualization – desire to become the most a person can be.
Providing equitable environments that support the diverse cultures and identities of the children served will help a child feel safe, loved, and that they belong. This will in turn support their self-esteem. Feeling emotionally safe also frees children to explore, play and learn.
References:
Mcleod, S. (2022, April 4). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Sykes, T. (n.d.) Got Bias [PowerPoint slides]. Phoenix.gov. https://www.phoenix.gov/humanservicessite/Documents/Got%20Bias.pdf
Williams, Sherri B. (2017). Understanding Implicit Bias and Its Effects on Early Childhood Settings. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. https://fpg.unc.edu/publications/understanding-implicit-bias-and-its-effects-early-childhood-settings
Definitions
Before we begin it is important to highlight and define a few definitions that will be mentioned throughout this training.
A person’s attitudes or stereotypes that are often a prejudiced outlook to something or someone and tend to favor one group over another. Bias can be either explicit or implicit. See more below.
The beliefs, social norms, practices, traditions, and traits of a religious, racial, or social group.
A variation among individuals or groups of individuals. Variations are related to lived experiences, backgrounds, or social identities such as: race, ethnicity, language, gender identity, socio-economic status, ability status, and more.
Dealing fairly and giving each child what they need to succeed in the experience of learning. Learning activities will help all children thrive using the child’s individual and family strengths.
Conscious beliefs and stereotypes that affect one’s understanding, actions, and decisions.
A state where all individuals are treated and respected in the same way. Freedom from bias or favoritism based on age, gender, race, class, language, disability, or other social or cultural characteristics.
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 experiences1. Aspects of identity include personal identity, gender identity, racial identity and social identity.
Unconscious beliefs and stereotypes that affect one’s understanding, actions, and decisions.
Being able to consider a situation from a different point of view. With perspective-taking you put yourself in the position of the other person and imagine what you would do, think, or feel if you were in that situation.
References:
1 Based on Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, 2020, Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards with Catherine Goins
Equality and Equity Image Credit: https://images.app.goo.gl/XEpuXKbEkkvhMKhCA
Miriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.) Miriam-Webster. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/
NAEYC. (2019). Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education. NAEYC. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/advancingequitypositionstatement.pdf
Sykes, T. (n.d.) Got Bias [PowerPoint slides]. Phoenix.gov. https://www.phoenix.gov/humanservicessite/Documents/Got%20Bias.pdf
Welcome
During this training you are encouraged to:
This training focuses on the topic of bias. There may be discomfort as you go through the content, and at points you are asked to reflect on your own attitudes and beliefs. While not comfortable, this content and reflection is important to the process of developing an awareness and a respect for advancing equity and diversity in early childhood programs. This is the first step in a journey, and change cannot happen if we do not acknowledge areas where we might hold a bias and determine ways to overcome that bias.
This training focuses on the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct Principle:
Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code.
Module 3
Now that you have an outline of what your training will be about and the outcomes you will be reviewing, let’s start working on a plan!
- In Developing your Training Plan – Part 1 you will work on the Opening Component of your Training Plan.
- In Developing your Training Plan – Part 2 you will work on the Content Delivery and Closing Components of your Training Plan.
Module 2: Decisions, Decisions
Looking for Kentucky’s Early Childhood Professional Development Framework?
Visit the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Early Childhood
or click the link below.
Module 1: Introduction and Review of PACES
Course Evaluation
Cultural & Linguistic Competence
Final Quiz
Lesson 1:
El Día de la Tierra es un evento anual que se celebra el 22 de abril para demostrar el apoyo a la protección del medio ambiente. Celebrado por primera vez el 22 de abril de 1970, ahora incluye una amplia gama de eventos coordinados globalmente por EarthDay.org que incluye a mil millones de personas en más de 193 países. El tema oficial para 2022 es Invest In Our Planet