Identifying and Disrupting Systemic Racism in the Early Childhood Education of Black and Latinx Children

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Abstract

One of the tenets of early childhood education is to equip young children with the skills they need to succeed academically. Historically, much of the efforts in early childhood has focused on serving Black and Latinx children. Despite these efforts, there continues to be disparities between the performance of White and Black/Latinx children on traditional educational indicators (e.g., standardized testing). To date, most research addressing these disparities has focused on increasing our understanding of Black and Latinx children’s development and on creating interventions to enhance their school readiness skills. However, little attention has focused on identifying and disrupting the impact of systemic racism on these children’s educational outcomes. The aim of research supporting the disruption of systemic racism is to move beyond reducing bias and prejudice by explicitly addressing the policies, practices, and historical contexts that have given disparate advantages and disadvantages to racialized individuals in the United States.

Dr. Arnold Olszewski will moderate the conversation roundtable as Drs. Xigrid Soto, Kerry-Ann Escayg, Nicole Gardner-Neblett, & Anne Larson engage the audience in a discussion of: (1) the relevance of systemic racism in early childhood education; (2) how systemic racism affects Black and Latinx children; (3) how educators and researchers can apply anti-racism to their work; and (4) how to shift from using deficit perspectives to applying culturally responsive, strength-based perspectives. This timely discussion will expand our understanding of how to effectively identify and dismantle the impact of systemic racism on the education of Black and Latinx children.

Sub Unit

• Solicited Content: Anti-Bias Research or Interventions

Moderator

• Arnold Olszewski, Miami University - Ohio

Panelists

• Xigrid Soto-Boykin, University of Kansas

• Kerry-Ann Escayg, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• Nicole Gardner-Neblett, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Anne Larson, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities