Understanding The Multicultural Experience In Early Childhood Education

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Taking the discussion about cultural diversity beyond the usual topics of anti-racism and inclusion but without overlooking these issues, Understanding Cultural Diversity in the Early Years considers current debates around the alleged failure of multiculturalism, and encourages practitioners to utilize their own cultural backgrounds and experiences as a way of developing their teaching. With an optimistic outlook, and focusing on the advantages for learning that cultural diversity can offer, the book discusses the concepts of culture, multi-culturalism and inter-cultural competence, and describes the principles that underpin good practice. It is packed full of case studies from a variety of early years settings, with ideas to try out and interactive exercises to aid reflection.

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How can we create truly multicultural classrooms? In this new edition of her popular text, renowned early childhood educator Patricia Ramsey draws on a wide range of research and practice from different communities around the world to further explore the complexities of raising and teaching young children in a world fraught with societal divisions and inequities.Using engaging examples and stories, this comprehensive volume offers concrete suggestions to encourage teachers to reflect on their own histories and experiences and to challenge and rethink their assumptions and attitudes toward children and teaching. This new, up-to-date edition describes research-based classroom practices to engage children in exploring the complexities of race, economic inequities, immigration, environmental issues and sustainability, gender and sexual orientation and identities, and abilities and disabilities. It also addresses the challenges of teaching in the context of globalization, pervasive social media, and increasing standards and accountability. Book Features: Addresses social and economic inequities and how they affect staff relationships, interactions with parents, and children’s classroom experiences.Offers strategies to help teachers initiate conversations with colleagues, parents, and children.Discusses long-term structural decisions about early childhood programs, as well as day-to-day classroom teaching plans.Includes questions that prompt teachers to recognize the influence of overt and covert societal forces on their motivations and views of children.Free supplemental resources, including a comprehensive list of suggested books, can be downloaded at www.tcpress.com. “A pioneer in multicultural/social justice education for young children, this book reflects Patty Ramsey’s life-long commitment to, and ever-deepening understanding of the issues, challenges, and hopes of inclusive, equitable early childhood programs. At a time when our country seems increasingly polarized over the value and meaning of justice for all, her insights and suggestions are as needed as ever.” —Louise Derman-Sparks, international consultant on anti-bias education with children and adults, and co-author of Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change “This book is a timely, relevant resource for anyone who works with young children in any capacity. It supports practitioners to develop an individualized approach to infusing multicultural education—broadly defined—into their world views and work. Ramsey makes a clear and convincing case that multicultural education is not an ‘add-on’; it is a vehicle for shaping children’s lives and creating a more just society.” —Takiema Bunche Smith, Director of the Early Education Leadership Institute at SCO/FirstStepNYC

This unique book features an array of approaches, strategies, and tools for teaching multiculturally in the early years. The teachers and classrooms portrayed here provide young children with rich educational experiences that empower them to understand themselves in relation to others. You will see how amazing teachers engage in culturally responsive teaching that fosters educational equity while also meeting state and national standards (such as the Common Core State Standards). This engaging book is sprinkled with questions for reflection and implementation that encourage educators to start planning ways of enhancing their own teaching, making their early childhood setting a more equitable learning space. Book Features: Multicultural education in action,including the everyday issues and tensions experienced by children and their families. Powerful vignettes from diverse Head Start, preschool, kindergarten, 1st- and 2nd-grade classrooms throughout the United States. Sections on “Getting Started” and “Considering Obstacles and Exploring Possibilities” in each chapter. A list of multicultural children’s books and resources for further reading. Chapters: Multicultural Tools and Strategies for Teaching Young Children Multicultural Education as Transformative Education Interviews: Encouraging Children to Ask Questions Critical Inquiry: Supporting Children’s Investigations Culture Circles with Multicultural Literature: Addressing Issues of Fairness Community Resources and Home Literacies: Developing Funds of Knowledge Technology: Media(ting) Multicultural Teaching Storytelling and Story Acting: Creating Spaces for Children to Negotiate Change Reflecting on the Possibilities of Teaching Multiculturally: What Next? What If? Mariana Souto-Manning is Associate Professor of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. “A profound, rich, and rewarding meditation and deep conversation with teachers fully engaging young children with culture, social history, and learning for the future. This wide-ranging book escapes temporal, spatial, and disciplinary boundaries. Read it and reflect on how you can take it into your own life of learning.” —Shirley Brice Heath, Professor Emerita, Stanford University “Early childhood educators will experience this unique book as a warm and detailed invitation to engage in multicultural education. The emphasis throughout is on “multi”—multiple pedagogical approaches, from culture circles to podcasts to story acting, and multiple cultural heritages embodied by active children and teachers. From a critical perspective and alongside creative teachers who aspire to be transformative, Souto-Manning links accessible theory with rich and thoughtful practices.” —Celia Genishi, Professor of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University “Mariana Souto-Manning’s Multicultural Teaching in the Early Childhood Classroom rightly places the use of deficit thinking and ineffective teaching strategies in the wasteland of classroom instruction. The author superbly documents and explains ways of teaching multiculturally that will richly benefit the learning of all students and make teaching become the fun that teachers dreamed it would be when they first said, ‘I want to teach because I love kids.’” —Carl A. Grant, Hoefs-Bascom Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison “Multicultural Teaching in the Early Childhood Classroom encourages teachers to honor, affirm, and challenge even our very youngest children to think inclusively, critically, and democratically—a necessity if we are to help develop knowledgeable, caring, and empowered learners.” —Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Written for use in Early Childhood Development courses, or courses in Cultural Diversity. This successful text is the first of its kind to take a multicultural approach/focus to child development. Using a hands-on approach, it presents both typical and atypical development while addressing all current and important topics and issues. The book is arranged within an ages/stages format from birth through age eight. The author continues to provide many practical multicultural/multiethnic cases and examples to implement research findings for working with children. This text is appropriate for development courses in early childhood programs.* NEW-Provides an observation/assessment feature. * NEW-Expands information on Vygotsky. * NEW-Updates relevant information on brain research. * NEW-Includes a companion website-So students can access the most recent information/ research in the field and be informed of any revisions to the text. * Focuses on multicultural applications-For early childhood educators. * Discusses key ideas in language development-Including second language learning and the acquisition of non-English languages. * Covers the unique play styles of children from other cultur

Bridging Cultures in Early Care and Education: A Training Module is a resource designed to help pre-service and in-service early childhood educators, including infant-toddler caregivers, understand the role of culture in their programs. It is also intended for professionals who work with children and their families in a variety of other roles, such as social workers, special educators, and early interventionists, and for use in college courses focused on early childhood education and child development. The module explains and illustrates how early childhood educators can use the organizing concepts of individualism and collectivism as a means of understanding cultural conflict and difference. These concepts have been shown to be highly useful in improving home-school understanding across cultures. Based on real-life examples of cultural dilemmas in early care and education settings, participants engage the concepts of individualism and collectivism to solve a variety of scenarios in a dynamic and engaging manner. *Chapter 1 introduces the Bridging Cultures for Early Care and Education approach, provides a brief history, and explains the training module. It presents the conceptual framework of individualism and collectivism, which is at the heart of the training. *Chapter 2 provides the information needed for a two-hour workshop, including a script and notes to the facilitator. The script is not meant to be read word for word. Rather, it is offered as a guide, based on a pilot-tested approach. Appendices at the end of the book contain transparency masters for the overheads referenced in the script, and masters for suggested handouts. *Chapter 3 offers ideas for augmenting the basic two-hour training by expanding it over a longer time period. It also identifies additional diversity resources that can complement the Bridging Cultures training. *Appendices providing additional information, data, and bibliographic resources are included. This module originated as part of the Bridging Cultures Project at WestEd--a nonprofit research, development, and service agency working with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.