Bringing together scholarship and examples from practice, this book explores ways in which early childhood curriculum – including classroom practices and community contexts – can more actively engage with a range of social justice issues, democratic principles and anti-oppressive practices. Featuring a stellar list of expert contributors, the chapters in this volume present a cross-section of contemporary issues in childhood education. The text highlights the voices of children, teachers and families as they reflect on everyday experiences related to issues of social justice, inclusion and oppression, as well as ways young children and their teachers engage in activism. Chapters explore curriculum and programs that address justice issues, particularly educating for democracy, and culminate in a focus on the future, offering examples of resistance and visions of hope and possibility. Designed for practitioners, graduate students and researchers in early childhood, this book challenges readers to explore the ways in which early childhood education is – and can be – engaging with social justice and democratic practices.

Anti-bias education begins with you! Become a skilled anti-bias teacher with this practical guidance to confronting and eliminating barriers.

Rethinking Early Childhood Education is alive with the conviction that teaching young children involves values and vision. This anthology collects inspiring stories about social justice teaching with young children. Included here is outstanding writing from childcare teachers, early-grade public school teachers, scholars, and parents.Early childhood is when we develop our core dispositions -- the habits of thinking that shape how we live. This book shows how educators can nurture empathy, an ecological consciousness, curiosity, collaboration, and activism in young children. It invites readers to rethink early childhood education, reminding them that it is inseparable from social justice and ecological education.An outstanding resource for childcare providers, early-grade teachers, as well as teacher education and staff development programs.

This collection is aimed at practitioners and scholars interested in democracy, social justice and diversity. The importance of the book lies in the way it discusses possible ways for early childhood education to work with diversity and language in order to allow inclusion and social justice for all children. Building on case studies from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the text offers broad insights into the field of diversity through historical and organisational perspectives, as well as viewpoints of children, practitioners and parents.

In this book, a group of student teachers share their candid questions, concerns, dilemmas, and lessons learned about how to teach for social justice and social change. This text provides powerful examples of how they integrated diversity within a teacher education program--an excellent model for educators who are seeking ways to transform their teacher education programs to better prepare teachers to work effectively in multicultural classrooms.

From a critical perspective, some early childhood educators have proposed that the knowledge base used to ground the field actually serves to support the status quo, reinforces prejudices and stereotypes, and ignores the real lives of children. The purpose of this book is to deconstruct early childhood education, identifying and evaluating the themes and forms of discourse that have dominated the field, leading to the construction of specific theories and forms of practice that privilege particular groups of children and adults and oppress others. An alternative avenue for early childhood education is posited that focuses on social justice and human agency.

The authors draw from their work with teachers and students to address issues of social justice through the regular curriculum and everyday school life. This book illustrates an approach that integrates social justice education with contemporary research on students’ development of moral understandings and concerns for human welfare in order to critically address societal conventions, norms, and institutions. The authors provide a clear roadmap for differentiating moral education from religious beliefs and offer age-appropriate guidance for creating healthy school and classroom environments. Demonstrating how to engage students in critical thinking and community activism, the book includes proven-effective lessons that promote academic learning and moral growth for the early grades through adolescence. The text also incorporates recent work with social-emotional learning and restorative justice to nurture students’ ethical awareness and disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Book Features: Guidance to help teachers move from classroom moral discourse to engage students in community action. Age-specific lesson plans developed with classroom teachers for integration with regular academic curricula.Detailed overview of moral growth with examples of student reasoning.Connections between moral development and critical pedagogy.Connections between moral development and digital literacy.Connections among classroom management, school rules, restorative justice, and students’ social development.Insights drawn from research conducted within the Oakland Public School system.

The dynamic and respected Maurice Sykes's call to leadership within the early childhood community to do right by children

In this updated edition, two distinguished early childhood educators tackle the crucial topic of what White children need and gain from anti-bias and multicultural education. The authors propose seven learning themes to help young White children resist messages of racism and build identity and skills for thriving in a country and world filled with diverse ways of being. This compelling text includes teaching strategies for early childhood settings, activities for families and staff, reflection questions, a record of 20th- and 21st-century White anti-racism activists, and organizational and website resources. Bringing this bestselling guide completely up to date, the authors: Address the current state of racism and anti-racism in the United States, including the election of the first African American president and the rise of hate groups. Review child development research with a particular emphasis on recent observational studies that show how White children enact racial power codes. Discuss implementation of the core learning themes in racially diverse early childhood education settings, state standards for preschools and pre-K classrooms, and NCLB pressures on early childhood teaching. Update all resources and appendices, including reading lists and websites for finding resources and organizations engaged in anti-racism work. Louise Derman-Sparksis a past faculty member at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California and the co-author ofTeaching/Learning Anti-Racism. Louise presents conference keynotes, conducts workshops, and consults throughout the United States and internationally.Patricia G. Ramseyis Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts and author ofTeaching and Learning in a Diverse World. Praise for the First Edition— “Derman-Sparks and Ramsey offer an ‘alternative vision’ for white identity that breaks the mold….The current status of our anti-bias work demands we read [this book] and use it well” —From the Foreword byCarol Brunson Day “A dynamic blend of child development theory, social history, and the best pedagogical practice from two distinguished social justice educators—every teacher of young children should read it!” —Beverly Daniel Tatum, President, Spelman College “An accessible, practical, and essential tool for every teacher of young white children. I especially appreciated the concrete suggestions and abundance of resources from two of early childhood education’s most experienced teachers.” —Paul Kivel, educator and author ofUprooting RacismandI Can Make My World a Safer Place “By starting with a strong sense of identity that is not race-based, children can move forward to cultivate an anti-racist culture. This book offers caregivers excellent frameworks and tools to make this happen.” —TC Record

Anti-Bias Education in the Early Childhood Classroom provides a useful, clearly outlined guide for implementing anti-bias and anti-oppression practices in early childhood education settings. Throughout the book, you’ll find: Stories from the field Strategies for keeping teaching practices in touch with growing social justice movements Tasks and questions to spark your professional growth in this important area Katie Kissinger uses her personal experience as a longtime educator to highlight both the challenges and the potential for transformative learning in the anti-bias classroom, and gives other teachers the tools they need to create classrooms that welcome all students and families.