Anti‐racism in U.S. early childhood education: Foundational principles

Abstract

Multiculturalism and anti‐bias education remain a significant area of pedagogical practice and scholarly inquiry for early childhood researchers and practitioners. Yet much less attention has been paid to detailing anti‐racist components within the classroom, and also within the broader field of early childhood education, including its foundational knowledge base. This article addresses this gap by advancing a framework for early childhood education informed by specific tenets of anti‐racism theory. Drawing on an analysis of White power and privilege and systemic racism, it outlines three main principles of anti‐racist early childhood education. Next, it presents a critical exploration of these principles and how they can be used to transform the existing paradigm of U.S. early childhood education, so as to offer equitable learning opportunities for racialized children.

“Children Have the Fairest Things to Say”: Young Children’s Engagement with Anti-Bias Picture Books

“…In the last decade, an emergent body of early childhood literature has started to recognize that early practices are neither neutral nor apolitical, but that they strongly contribute to upholding the oppressive systems of -isms beginning at the earliest grade levels. This handful of studies has contributed significantly to a more critical perspective that moves away from the discourse of diversity and inclusion (Robinson & Jones Diaz, 2016 ; Souto-Manning & Rabadi-Raol, 2018 ; Willox & Brandt, 2018 ; Boutte & Bryan, 2019 ; Escayg, 2020 ). These scholars and their studies have started to advocate for confronting and eliminating systemic problems in early childhood classrooms.…”

Schools as racialized organizations in policy and practice

“…Many scholars offer important suggestions for creating positive change. In particular, Escayg (2020) suggests incorporating the stories and experiences of marginalized groups into school curricula while simultaneously questioning and decentering whiteness. This allows schools to move away from a white racial frame that envisions students and families of color as deficit-based (lacking).…”

“…Interactions between students, teachers, parents, and administrators, along with teacher training, reinforce these patterns of racial segregation. This happens through pervasive stereotyping by school administrators in which Black and Latinx students are assumed to be "trouble makers, " while white and Asian students are assumed to be academically driven (Alvaré, 2018;Calarco, 2018;Collins, 2009;Downey & Pribesh, 2004;Egalite et al, 2015;Escayg, 2020;Ferguson, 2000;Flores, 2017;Hagerman, 2018;Lareau, 2011;Ochoa, 2013;Ramey, 2015;Skiba et al, 2002). Although Asian students often attend well-resourced schools, scholars find that teachers and administrators construct Asian students as perpetual foreigners and ethnically homogenous within these spaces (Kao & Thompson, 2003;Nozaki, 2000;Ochoa, 2013).…”

Who Is Centered? A Systematic Review of Early Childhood Researchers’ Descriptions of Children and Caregivers From Linguistically Minoritized Communities

“…As researchers, we can apply an anti-racist framework that focuses on (a) self-reflection of our assumptions and socialization around bilingualism (e.g., Kailin, 2002); (b) acknowledgment of how children and caregivers from linguistically minoritized groups are affected by linguistic and systemic racism (e.g., Escayg, 2019); (c) changes to the scientific peer review process to include a more rigorous examination of how researchers are discussing “risk” (e.g., APA, 2020); (d) collaborations with multidisciplinary researchers in fields (e.g., sociology, public health) that study topics affecting the education of children and caregivers from linguistically minoritized groups; and (e) incorporation of heteroglossic, strength-based perspectives that celebrate children’s and caregivers’ enriching linguistic identities (e.g., Otheguy et al, 2019). As early childhood researchers, we could benefit from ongoing professional development focusing on anti-racism, the history of language and race in the United States, and heteroglossic ideologies supporting bilingualism.…”