Activities
that Promote Racial and Cultural Awareness (PDF) by Barbara Biles,
University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service (1994).
This brief article discusses the development of awareness of self and
others in children, particularly the development of positive feelings
about one's own ethnic and cultural identity as well as acceptance of
others'. The author suggests a few activities that adults can do with
children to encourage a positive attitude toward differences in race and
culture.
Celebrate
Diversity!
by Marilyn Lopes, University of Massachusetts Cooperative.
This brief article provides information on celebrating diversity in a
child care environment so that learning opportunities about individual
differences are made part of a child's everyday experience, not just treated
as isolated lessons.
Celebrating
Holidays in Early Childhood Programs by the NAEYC.
This publication offers suggestions of best practices for celebrating
holidays in early childhood settings
Five
ways to analyze classrooms for an anti-bias approach by Peggy Riehl,
M.Ed., from School-age connections, 2(6), pp.1-3. Urbana-Champaign,
IL: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.
This article provides information on how to evaluate a child care program
for bias based on individual differences. It also offers suggestions for
eliminating bias.
Food
for Thought: Fall Celebrations by Wendy C. Horikoshi, M.S. for the
National Network for Child Care's Connections Newsletter.
In this article the author discusses some of the cultural biases that
are often "habit" in society and child care programs. She encourages
child care providers to rethink how they present these ideas, especially
during holiday celebrations.
Helping Children Develop a Sense of Identity
(PDF) by California Tomorrow
Children notice group racial differences at a very young age, categorizing
and articulating these differences by age 3. The authors of this article
argue that these observations are directly tied to children’s personal
identity development. They go on to explain how and when children develop
their racial identity, highlighting how this process looks different for
children of color, biracial children, and white children.
How
"Special" is Special Education? (PDF) by Jan Bunce and Terri
Mitchell, High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
This article discusses the importance of focusing on a child's strengths
and teaching children through active learning. Examples are given on how
to use the High/Scope daily routine and active learning philosophy as
tools for meeting the needs of all children in the classroom.
Implementing
an Anti-Bias Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms by Louise Derman-Sparks
and Julie Bisson. ERIC Digest.
Issues
of language and culture impacting the early care of young Latino children
by Sylvia Sanchez, Unified Transformative Early Education Model Program
George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.
This analysis discusses the difficulties faced by Latino families in finding
quality childcare with Spanish as a language. It also discusses Latino
children and the language and culture issues they are faced with in early
care.
Preparing
children for a multicultural world by Melia Franklin from the September-October
1999 Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance
for Children.
Teaching Diversity: A Place to Begin
(PDF) by Dora Pulido-Tobiassen and Janet Gonzalez-Mena
This short article addresses the importance of preparing children to live
in a diverse world. It includes suggestions to help you teach children
how to value diversity as well as resist prejudice and discrimination.
Teaching Young Children to Resist
Bias: What Parents Can Do (PDF) by Louise Derman-Sparks, Maria Gutierrez,
Carol Brunson Phillips, NAEYC
This article is not just for parents; the information is useful for teachers
as well. It addresses biases and the ways in which they influence children’s
development. The article includes suggestions for parents and teachers,
responses to commonly asked questions regarding biases, and common questions
that children might ask coupled with suggestions for how to respond.
What if all the Children in my Class are White?
(PDF) by Louise Derman-Sparks and Patricia G. Ramsey
As the authors state, “It is not enough for white people to ‘accept’
and ‘respect’ people of color. Rather, white people need to
undergo a profound shift, from viewing the world through a lens of dominance
to a commitment to equitably shared power and resources (p.1).”
They go on to discuss the history of “whiteness” and how this
social construct has affected our society. The authors conclude with an
examination of white children’s identity development. Additional
resources (books and websites) about racism are included.
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