Technology and Early Childhood Education: A Look at Disrupting Racist Frameworks

• In Event: 25.042 - (Re)Considering STEM Education for Social Justice and Sustainability

Abstract

Question: Technology is of paramount importance in early childhood classrooms. Children need to learn the latest technology in order to succeed in their later schooling (NAEYC, 2012). Yet, access to technology is still a segregated practice. Black young children have less access to modern technology than their White counterparts (Yelland, 2006). This is a part of a larger structural problem within the public school system that stems from a dominant ideology of racism. My contention is that these technological inequities are rooted in structurally racist practices. Therefore, inequities in school funding are just a symptom of this racist framework that must be confronted and disrupted.
Framework: Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings/Tate, 1995) and Critical Social Theory (Leonardo, 2009) are utilized as visible frameworks in which to study this phenomenon. They are designed to deconstruct taken-for-granted practices within mainstream institutions, presenting transformative alternatives that are emancipatory to marginalized populations.
Method: I conducted a qualitative study in a public elementary school (Grayson) in a suburban/urban school district. I observed five Black children (grades K/1) during the school year and interviewed their teachers. Their classrooms had significantly less technology than classrooms in predominately White schools in the same district. Other schools nearby had powerful PTO’s that raised technology funds, giving each k-2 classroom a plethora of materials (IPads, computers, laptops, chromebooks, auto document cameras and etc.). At Grayson, PTO funds were limited, and most classrooms had to share carts of laptops and chromebooks.
Conclusions: This is just a symptom of the larger problem within this school district, as racist practices dominate the overall structure of schooling. Examples of this, are high referral rates of Black children to the special education team, high percentages of suspensions of young Black children, higher retention rates and large populations of non-White students receiving some type of academic intervention due to low assessment scores in reading and math (Harry & Klingner,2006; Ferguson, 2001; Leonardo, 2013; Randolph, 2013) Highly populated non-White schools suffer the most. They have even higher referral rates, larger populations of special education students and a majority of White teachers (over 84% of the teacher workforce). White teachers in densely populated non-White schools refer 30 to 50 % of their Black students to the special education team (Harry & Klingner, 2006). Black children do not just receive fewer technological resources; they are labeled as deficient learners and tracked at an early age.
Significance: By disrupting racist practices within the larger structure of school districts, early childhood educators will become more aware of normative exclusionary practices. Awareness is the first step in this disruption, and yet it is the most challenging. As it stands now, there are too many districts, like the one in this study, that are unaware of their ongoing discriminatory practices. Lawsuits, such as the one filed by the Office of Civil Rights against this district, are only one way to bring about awareness. Teacher trainings, anti-racist pedagogy, anti-bias curriculum workshops and other local forums need to be in place so early childhood educators can respond to institutional bias.

Authors

• Miriam B. Tager, Westfield State University

• Mark Wolfmeyer, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania