Navigating ECE Advocacy in Precarious Times: Equity Rhetoric and Digital Silence during the 2024 Election

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Sunday 11:45 am
  In Poster Session: Constructing Early Childhood Education: Ideologies, Influences, and Discourses

Abstract

This study critically examines how the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) navigated its public discourse during the 2024 U.S. presidential election and the extent to which it aligned with its stated equity commitments in its foundational document, Advancing Equity. We find a marked shift toward rhetorical silence during a period of democratic backsliding, underscoring the structural constraints equity-focused nonprofits face under 501(c)(3) regulations. We situate NAEYC’s position within a longer history of advocacy under constraint and offer implications for justice-oriented early childhood policy work.

Authors

• Shana E. DeVlieger, NYU

• Seth Badu, New York University

• Fabienne Doucet, New York University