Nothing, or Almost Nothing, to Report: Early Childhood Educators and Discursive Constructions of Colorblindness

Abstract

<p>This article focuses on 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with early childhood educators who responded to a question about reporting racial incidents as a ‘Serious Occurrence’ under guidelines mandated by the City of Toronto Children’s Services Division. We draw on critical race theory and colorblind theory in a discursive analysis of participants’ narratives. Results of this analysis suggest that participating early childhood professionals were reluctant to name and acknowledge incidents of racism in early learning environments, and engaged in discursive strategies that minimized and negated such incidents. Implications for the training and education of early childhood educators are noted and implications for provincial policy are discussed.</p>

Exploring the role of Black feminist thought in pre-service Early Childhood Education: on the possibilities of embedded transformative change

“…The hesitation in ECEC to discuss race, gender, class, Indigeneity, disability, sexuality, immigration status, larger geopolitical issues, religion, ethnicity, and language stems from the childhood innocence approach, as discussed earlier. Scholars have long identified the assumption that racism and discrimination do not materialize in ECEC settings (Bernhard et al, 1998 as cited in Berman et al, 2017). Some reconceptualist scholars have pinpointed the importance of centering children's diverse realities and experiences by employing an anti-bias approach moving beyond diversity (Derman-Sparks and Edwards 2010).…”

“…The developmental framing of childhoods permeates the field and as a result, children are deemed as 'too young' to comprehend or engage in dialogue regarding topics of race and racism, let alone sustain systemic racism. Childhood innocence results in the colour-blind approach dominating many of the settings in the field resulting in a disavowal of racism (Berman et al, 2017;Boutte et al, 2011). And even when educators aspire to implement a culturally responsive education, they feel a lack of access to resources to do so consistently resulting in sporadic pedagogical practices in this domain (Alaca and Pyle, 2018).…”

Exploring the role of Black feminist thought in pre-service early childhood education: On the possibilities of embedded transformative change

“…The developmental framing of childhoods permeates the field and, as a result, children are deemed ‘too young’ to comprehend or engage in dialogue regarding topics of race and racism, let alone sustain systemic racism. Childhood innocence results in the colour-blind approach dominating many of the settings in the field, resulting in a disavowal of racism (Berman et al, 2017; Boutte et al, 2011). And even when educators aspire to implement a culturally responsive education, they feel a lack of access to resources to do so, consistently resulting in sporadic pedagogical practices in this domain (Alaca and Pyle, 2018).…”

“…The hesitation in ECEC to discuss race, gender, class, indigeneity, disability, sexuality, immigration status, larger geopolitical issues, religion, ethnicity and language stems from the childhood-innocence approach, as discussed above. Scholars have long identified the assumption that racism and discrimination do not materialize in ECEC settings (Bernhard et al, 1998, cited in Berman et al, 2017: 53–55). Some reconceptualist scholars have pinpointed the importance of centring children's diverse realities and experiences by employing an anti-bias approach, moving beyond diversity (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 2010).…”

“…Earlier, I described the colour-blind approaches in ECEC (see Berman et al, 2017). The lack of the centring of raced experiences in childhoods, educators, families and communities results in a deficit-based view of race.…”