Cultivating Antibias Antiracism Early Childhood Teachers Through Practice

• In Event: Constructing Racially Just Educational Experiences: Problems and Solutions From Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

(1) Objectives or purposes. Teacher programs need to support preservice teacher to reflect their bias, embrace diversity, and practice against racism. This proposal aims to understand the Anti-Bias Anti-Racism (ABAR) experience of preservice teacher in Early Childhood Education (ECE).

(2) Theoretical framework. This study is built on the framework of Anti-Bias and Anti-Racism (ABAR) framework. Osta and Vasquez (2021) explore the relationship between individual bias and structural racism. The implicit bias is primed by the structural racism which everyone grows up with. While the systematic racism is reinforced by the individual bias.

(3) Methods. The intervention includes a workshop throughout two cohorts of early childhood internship courses. Before the internship starts, researchers examined student’s knowledge, perceptions, and experience of ABAR practice with a survey. During the internship seminar, an ABAR workshop presentation was implemented at the beginning of the course. At the end of the internship, researchers conducted a post survey of student’s knowledge, perceptions, and experience of ABAR practices.

(4) Data sources. Samples of the current study include 47 ECE teacher candidates in their internship semester. The survey was distributed at the beginning and the end of the internship course. Survey questions begin with demographic questions. Then, ABAR related questions are put into three categories:
a) Properness. How well do they feel prepared for different groups of students. Specific groups were asked in sub questions.
b) Experience. Such as what are students’ experience of ABAR events before and after the internship. What were their reactions and self-reflections. Both open and closed ended questions were asked in the sub questions.
c) Supports.What are the supports they have been offered during the program, and what other supports they wish to have for ABAR practice.

(5) Results. The ABAR experience of ECE preservice teachers are following: awareness of race and ethnicity in the classroom; Peer discussion and understanding of ABAR. Interacting with children about ABAR. Discussing family topics around ABAR. Meeting needs of an individual student. These ABAR practices were applied by preservice teachers during their internship: support with books and teaching materials; relationship building; self-awareness; positive attitude/responses. Challenges and implications are discussed.
(6) Scientific of the study or work. The goal of this study is to increase the level of ABAR practices in early childhood teacher education program. Practical significance includes:
• Reconstructing courses to prepare preservice teachers for ABAR teaching.
• Creating space and time for preservice teachers to reflect and discuss.
• Requiring ABAR implementation in ECE courses and faculty trainings.
• Prioritizing the ABAR focus at leadership level to support the changes.
• Building community networks with diverse schools. This enables preservice teachers to have the experiences with diverse classrooms.

Reference

Osta, K., & Vasquez, H. (2021). Implicit bias and structural racialization. National Equity Project.

Authors

• Xin Li, University of Houston

• Regena F. Nelson, Western Michigan University