Becoming Just: Nurturing the Roots of Kindness & Empathy in Infant-Toddler Care & Education

• In Event: Just(ice) Beginnings: Researchers’ Life Stories of Caring and Just Practices in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Teachers in Infant-Toddler Care and Education (ITCE) play a role alongside families in the social-emotional development of our youngest citizens. Their impact may lead children to positive or negative long-term ways of thinking about self and others and how we treat one-another in a caring and just society. This phenomenological study used ethnographic methods to examine early prosocial development in 3-to-18-month olds (x̄=13 months). Major findings discussed include that prosocial infants/toddlers are: cared for and respected as individuals; friendly, kind, and concerned about others; and experience a sense of belonging to their communities. Examples from the research are shared and implications considered about caregiving and teaching practices that encourage and/or discourage prosocial behavior in ITCE group settings.

Author

• Mary Benson McMullen, Indiana University