Amplifying Early Childhood Educator Voices With an Equity Lens

Session Type: Working Group Roundtable

Abstract

Voices and perspectives from the field are a needed and consistently overlooked source of information for policy and decision making in ECE spaces, further creating opportunity gaps both for children and educators. In response to calls for more equitable lines of inquiry, with particular attention to methods, this working group round table seeks to examine truth directly through educators in ways that can advance practice and policy. Uniquely, all papers include the experiences of teachers of color to answer specific questions about equitable practice for BIPOC children, and the ways in which they can be best supported to create responsive classrooms. These perspectives will be discussed with particular attention to practices supportive of DLLs.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Critical Perspectives on Early Childhood Education

Chair

• Andrea Kent, Foundation for Child Development

Papers

• Latina Preschool Teachers' Professional Learning to Support Dual Language Learners: Lessons Learned and Future Implications - Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, National Institute for Early Education Research

• "What Do You Think the Author Was Trying to Tell Us?" Examining Educators' Critical Read-Alouds in Elementary Classrooms - Shana E. Rochester, Child Trends

• Racial Justice Conversations With Young Children: Documented Evidence From Two Unique Teachers - Jennifer Keys Adair, University of Texas at Austin