|
|
| Diversity and inclusiveness
|
|
|
|
A recent newspaper article about a Victorian early childhood education and care provider which stopped using the word black in the children's nursery rhyme baa baa black sheep over fears of racial connotations highlights the concerns of extreme political correctness.
While it is vital for early childhood education and care providers to provide excellent messaging and role modelling to small children about inclusiveness and racial stereotyping it's important to focus on the variables which have a real impact.
According to a flyer for early childhood providers on creating multicultural environments written by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services there is a clear curve of awareness children go through as they age.
- By the age of 2 years, children are learning correct terms for gender.
- Between ages 2 and 4 years, young children develop ideas about society and what constitutes norms. Many ideas taught to children also parallel our norms of that society, if biases exist then children learn that also.
- By the age of 3 years, children are developing and exhibiting signs of being influenced by “societal biases” observed and learned that negatively influences them.
- Between 3 and 5 years, young children are concerned with finding out who they are and what is essential to their selfhood.
- By the age of 4 years, children are already thinking and individualizing their ideas based on their newfound knowledge from home and outside sources.
- “Positive and negative feelings about race seem to appear at about the same age as awareness of race”.
In multicultural Australia it's very important for children to learn about and be accepting of cultures which are not their own and early childhood educators are in a strong position to promote this awareness and understanding. To really teach children about the value of diversity it's important to avoid a tourist approach, i.e. teaching children about culture through celebrations/holidays and food only and to take an immersive approach which recognises diversity throughout the year.
Important steps for educators seeking to enhance their approach to diversity and inclusion include:
Looking at your own pre-judgments and biases
- What differences in others make you feel uncomfortable? (their language, ability or color) What attitude or bias do you have that affect others? (use of words, assumptions, stereotypes)
- What words do you use when relating to young children? (positive, politically correct)
Does your work with young children reflect acceptance and respect for other cultures or affect how you teach?
- Have you interviewed children to find out their thoughts? (know the background of children you are working with and find out what they would like to include in their program)
- Are questions answered appropriately and honestly? (sincerely, or with a promise to get an answer if you don't know)
Have parents been contacted concerning curriculum ideas? (requesting opinions)
- What knowledge and research have you obtained about cultural activities?
- What messages will children get from the materials they see in the classroom?
- What am you doing to ensure that all children have an equal opportunity to learn?
- Are all children given the opportunity to learn to respect others who are different from them?
Creating a multicultural environment can be further enhanced by changes to the physical appearance of the rooms in your service. The suggestions below offer some simple startegies for creating a more inclusive physical environment for the children in your service:
Classroom Environment
- Encourage a sense of wellbeing for all children by removing materials and resources, books and artworks which portray the stereotypical images of children.
- Create pictures and art that represent different families from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
- Have multicultural material properly displayed for children's use.
- Create learning activities and games that prompt positive discussion such as word games and language.
Art
- Offer authentic materials for art activities that reflect rich colours and patterns for children to use.
- Have magazines available that contain people from diverse groups and locations.
- Have materials available for multicultural art activities such as skin-color crayons, markers and paint.
- Choose cultural artwork of prominent people in different cultures to teach and empower young children.
Block Play and Building
- Include a variety of interconnecting blocks that represent buildings from other countries.
- Have blocks and small animals that are from the U. S. and other countries.
- Have blocks or interlocking toys that reflect children and families of a variety of ethnic groups.
Books - How to use them with young children
- Use books that are sensitive to other cultures and include information about everyday life.
- Use books that represent the children who are in your class and other ethnic groups.
- Use books to arouse the children's imagination and make them aware of human behaviour and feelings of others.
- Use books about other cultures that tell an interesting story and give accurate information.
- Remove books that have biased language or stereotypical pictures from the classroom. Add books about the benefits of culture.
Cooking or Food Activities
- Encourage children to experiment with foods other than those with which they are familiar.
- Give children the opportunity to prepare and eat a variety of foods from other cultures such as spaghetti, stir-fried rice, sushi and spring rolls.
- Have children's cookware, dishes and utensils available such as woks, chopsticks and kettles.
- Use a wide variety of colourful fruit and vegetables from other cultures to teach and enjoy such as kiwifruit, mangos and plantains.
- Bring spices to class from a variety of menus for children to smell and use for hands-on activities.
Reference
Creating a Multicultural Environment that Values Diversity for young Children by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services
|
|
|
|
|
