Models and Theories that Guide Early Childhood Educators in Advancing Equity - Georgia B (TRHS)

     Due to there being increased conversation about equity in classrooms across the country, people are trying to figure out how to create culturally diverse classrooms with better retention levels in advanced courses. Oftentimes, much of the work for equity in education is focused on the high school level. However, Ford in 2020 explains that this is a mistake, and rather the focus should be placed on early education, which is the range from preschool to third grade (or more specifically ages 3-8). By putting the focus here, educators are able to set Black and Brown students up for success in the long term, as opposed to trying to do reverse the damage that has already been done by the time the students make it to high school and post-secondary education.

Racial Pride and School Engagement By emphasizing racial pride and heritage education for Black and Brown students as a part of school engagement, elementary schools are setting young students of color up for success to thrive both inside and out of school settings. "This is particularly necessary considering contemporary and historical times; through the processes of colonization, students of color have been expected and required to learn a lopsided, fragmented, and disjointed history that frequently excluded and relegated them to menial positions except for perhaps the isolated and additive inclusion of Black History Month... This approach is grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy, multicultural education, and developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) toward advancing equity in ECE in general and GATE in particular. Drawing upon these philosophical, theoretical, and curriculum approaches, we encourage early childhood professionals (all educators) to acquire a deep understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy and racial identity development informed and guided by William Cross’s Racial Identity theory" (Ford, 2021). 

Banks’ Four Levels of Infusing Multicultural Content Into the Curriculum Banks, who has been established by many through research published in 2009 and 2020 as the founder of multicultural education has worked to develop a model referred to as "Approaches to Integrating Multicultural Content". The first layer called the "contributions layer" is the lowest layer and most commonly adopted by schools by focusing on concepts and elements with no regard to their meaning. significance/history, which can, in turn, lead to more damage and reinforcement of racial stereotypes. This most commonly includes food, fashion, fun, and folklore. The "additive" level is slightly higher but works to be as uncontroversial as possible, focusing on leaders such as MLK instead of Malcolm X and Rosa Parks instead of Angela Davis. These are often add-on learnings (think Black History Month) and leads to students obtaining a superficial understanding of such issues. These are temporary, safe ideas and concepts with one perspective being shared. The "transformation level" includes teachers working to rework and reimagine curriculum in all subject areas. Controversial topics and "social ills" are no longer avoided. Emphasis on many points of view, and discussion/debate. The highest level is the "social action level" in which student learning is based on lessons and activities that provide experiences with transformation. Students are able to brainstorm and create solutions and recommendations and given the tools to take an action.  The goal is to empower students and encourage them to seek betterment in their own lives and in their community, both local and global. 

Multicultural/Multi-Ethnic Literature and Resources (Bishop) Literature is a crucial part of classroom resources, and thus should be integrated throughout the curriculum. Books may fall into three different categories: windows, which offer views into worlds that are real or imagined, familiar or strange, sliding-glass doors, which allows the reader to enter the world and experience it, and mirrors, which occurs when lighting allows the window to reflect one's own image and create a better understanding of oneself. "The use of multicultural literature allows for all students to learn about and appreciate different cultures while developing a stronger understanding of diversity and having the tools to question and tackle societal norms" (Ford, 2021). The standards for the books being selected are as follows: the book avoids offensive expressions, negative attitudes, or stereotypical representations; the author of the book is from the culture being depicted; the events, situations, and objects depicted are historically accurate; the book exemplifies good storytelling; the book avoids any suggestion that there is a single cause or simple answer to the socio-historical dilemmas of the culture being represented; the story includes words and phrases from the culture being depicted; the book is explicit and precise about the cultural roots of the group being depicted; the book does not set different cultures or groups in opposition to each other; he story accurately reflects the values inherent to the culture being depicted; the story acknowledges the diversity of experiences within a particular cultural group. 

Crayola World Crayons

Literally, just let kids be able to color themselves with the color they actually are. Coloring is a crucial part of ECE, so why are we just now emphasizing providing the proper tools and resources??????? Thanks. 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1076217520940754