Narratives of Preschool Teachers on Teaching for Social Justice

Abstract

Ladson-Billings (2014) asserts, educators often fail to carry out a critical and rigorous form of culturally relevant pedagogy by neglecting the development of sociopolitical consciousness and attending to limited forms of "culture." This project focuses on culturally relevant pedagogy within the context of Montessori infused classrooms. Within the setting, teachers emphasized sociopolitical consciousness development while simultaneously emphasizing academic rigor and cultural competence. These committed, critical educators put effort into deeply engaging their preschool students in conversations on racism, which is often deemed difficult, especially within preschool settings. We argue that teachers' beliefs and commitments, a school culture, and a Montessori curriculum contributed to CRP and enabled teachers to support an equitable and just education for culturally and linguistically diverse students.