Children Of Ethnic Backgrounds : Early Childhood Educators

I think that little kids don’t know what racism is, but their parents are the ones that raise them the way they are, being racist. How can we tell when kids are being racist? Well because you see kids at school and they have their own little groups with their own race. Whites with whites, blacks with blacks, Latinos with Latinos, etc. A lot of little kids don’t like playing with kids of a different race, we see that in places like daycare or preschool.

Overcoming stereotyping is a challenge educators can encounter when it comes to ensuring that teaching strategies are appropriate for culturally diverse children. Some educators may compare one child to another child that comes from the same cultural background and use the same teaching strategy. One way to overcome this is to make sure that educators know each of the students individually instead of comparing one to another or relying on stereotyping. “To truly engage students, we must reach out to them in ways that are culturally and linguistically responsive and appropriate, and we must examine the cultural assumptions and stereotypes we bring into the classroom that may hinder interconnectedness.” (Teaching Tolerance, 1991) Once they know more about each of the students then they can avoid stereotyping and adjust their teaching strategy to meet the individual needs of the students in the classroom.

When young children do express thoughts of race or being bias, it is often dismissed as either bad parenting, child not knowing what they are talking about, or simply bad behavior in children. Research clearly shows that children not only recognize race from a very young age, but also develop racial biases by age’s three to five that do not necessarily resemble the racial attitudes of adults in their lives (Aboud 2008). Three- to five-year-olds in a racially and ethnically diverse day care center used racial categories to identify themselves and others, to include or exclude children from activities, and to negotiate power in their own social/play networks (Van Ausdale & Feagin 2001).

In the collateral-collectivist cultures (African-American, Hispanic and Asian), emphasis is placed on the family, above all else. This means that in these cultures, even education is second to the needs of a family. When teaching children from these cultures, it is important not be ethnocentric, but rather understand the structure of their cultures. As teachers, we cannot be colorblind; for it is a disservice to those we teach.

It is crucial for educators to value, understand and incorporate every child’s cultural diversity in the classroom (The Early Years Learning Framework Professional Learning Program, 2011). This means educators needs to deal with any bias beliefs they might/may hold. For example, some children might not participate in the classroom because

Even though, one parent is black and one parent is white. They still have to learn how to face discrimination as among black children. They are just less likely to be more criticized. They usually view themselves as neither black nor white. Because the mixed families must conform to a racially divided system. As Butler Sweet-, Colleen said, “The transcendent identity, or refusing to have any racial identity is particularly interesting because it questions the need for a positive black identity all together.”(Butler Sweet-, Colleen 2011)

Interracial families are more prevalent today than they have even been and the number of interracial families are growing each year as people are becoming more accepting of people of other races and rejecting the past. However, interracial families still report dealing with issues such as discrimination. Not everyone has yet to accept and welcome the idea of an interracial family in their own family and neighborhoods. Parents and children who are a part of interracial families must deal with multiple biases, how people act towards them, and developing a healthy identity in a world that is not always ready to accept them as they are.

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC) recommendations emphasize that early childhood programs are accountable for creating a welcoming environment. The environment should respect diversity, supports children’s ties to their families and community. It should also support both second language acquisition, children home language, as well as cultural identities. Linguistic and cultural diversity is an advantage, not a deficit, for young children. As stated in the DEC/NAEYC joint position statement, the inclusion contributes to how every child with or without disabilities is developing and learning to reach their full potential. However, this can benefit to young children and their family to experience

In his article, “Children of Interracial Parents Face Special Difficulties”, Frank A. Jones argues that biracial children, especially black males, face difficulties due to their parents raising them based on white parenting standards without considering the way modern society will treat them. Jones describes how biracial children think they are different, which builds up the fear of getting judged and leads to racism. Frank emphasizes the need of not just love and affection in raising a child or more specifically a biracial child but “guidance, discipline, self-perception, and survival perspective” and also the importance of education being a must and not an option. Biracial

Although discrimination and racism is common in today’s society, it is not rare to find a child with many mixed heritages.

Section 3 through 5 provide excellent information on respecting cultural diversity when gathering information. The process of initial contact with the family is an important first step in the early intervention process. The area of assessment is another critical area when working with families in the early intervention system. The fourth section of this book provides much helpful information and many tools when preparing for and collecting information about the child's interests, strengths, abilities and personality characteristics. The final section addresses considerations in

Currently there is a disproportionate number of minority children in foster care system and as a result, individuals and families of other races or cultures are becoming caregivers and guardians for children of different ethnicities. This is what is known as transcultural/transracial placement and has been a highly controversial happening since the 1970’s and 80’s. The concern amongst social workers and child welfare agencies in transracial placements is the loss of culture or racial identity that may result for the child. Because of the disproportion between the ethnicity of a child and the same or similar ethnicity of a potential foster family, the notion of transracial placement has gone through many changes. As a result of several acts signed into law, considering the race of a child and/or the foster family is no longer part of placement guidelines. (U.S. Commissions On Civil Rights, 2010). While this is a positive change to ensure children are in institutional care for no longer than necessary, it could also leave the door open for the chance of racial disparity, a loss of a child’s sense of biological self, poor cultural identity, and could hinder a child’s ability to cope with being different. Research suggests “when children are removed from their cultures or when their cultures are not acknowledged and appreciated emotional trauma and behavior problems are exacerbated” (Coakley & Buehler, 2009)

This research report presents an analysis of and conclusions drawn from the experiences and perspectives of two educators that work in the early childhood setting. The main objective is to identify key elements and issues in relation to the families, diversity and difference. In particular how an early childhood educator implements, different approaches to honour culture and diversity, and to advocate for social justice in an early childhood settings. As such, it allows an insight into the important role that families and their background plays in the everyday lives of the children and educators within early childhood settings. In today’s ever-changing growing society it is essential for educators to be flexible to the

According to my class presentation about racism, teachers play a big role in how race is seen and handled in schools. It’s important that, in their classrooms especially, teachers allow all races of students feel included, and that they teach students about the world beyond their classroom. One way to do this is by making sure that their posters, pictures, books, and dolls are made up of different races. Also, everyone knows that children are curious. When a child asks a question related to racism or differences in a race, their teacher should answer the question directly and honestly, instead of pushing it the side or changing the

The population of the United States of America has been one of mixed race since its very beginning. Boatload upon boatload of enslaved Africans provided a labor force which would fuel the American South’s economy for many years, until national abolition and the subsequent civil rights movement created a primarily biracial population of blacks and whites. The US has come a long way since those days, and today every child