Poster #107 - It Starts Early. Let’s Start Now! Anti-Bias Education in Curricula for Infants and Toddlers

• In Event: Poster Session 17

Abstract

Anti-Bias Education (ABE) in curricula is relevant for infants and toddlers because children start to notice differences and express racial preferences as early as infancy and toddlerhood (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2012; Hooven et al., 2018). Yet, based on inaccurate beliefs that young children don’t notice differences, most existing infant/toddler curricula show minimal evidence of ABE (Kim et al., 2021) and lack guidance for cultural responsiveness (NCECDTL, n.d.). This creates a suboptimal environment for educators to engage in ABE with infants and toddlers. Because infants’ and toddlers’ sense of security and belonging is based on their relationships with and between their caregivers (e.g., families, educators), family inclusion is the key to culturally responsive education that meets ABE goals. However, curriculum development efforts do not typically seek family voices to incorporate their knowledge into the curriculum.

This study aimed to elevate the perspectives of diverse families on what infant/toddler education should be in order to create a new curriculum that is culturally responsive and relevant to their children. Families provided insight into culturally-relevant learning goals, curricular content, and professional learning for educators. We conducted three focus groups with family and community members (N = 21) across two communities within a large metropolitan area in the midwestern US. Coders used a reflexive thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to assess and ensure reliability.

We identified 4 themes and subthemes of families’ perspectives on infant/toddler education: a) Family Engagement, b) Learning Goals for Children, c) Professional Development, and d) Culturally Relevant Curriculum (Table 1). Families emphasized the importance of family engagement where they feel respected, can communicate using multiple methods, and have various opportunities to connect with educators to talk about what they want for their children’s learning and development. Families explained that families need to learn about child development to promote their children’s learning and discussed how their community contexts (strengths and barriers) should shape infant/toddler education. Families expressed their desire for children to have basic life skills (e.g., self-care, problem-solving, confidence in their identities, empowerment) that align with ABE goals. Further, families appreciated many current professional development topics (e.g., trauma; inclusion), but hoped educators would learn the community history and context to guide their teaching and interaction with children and families. Lastly, families voiced the need for curriculum content that promotes and reflects the cultural backgrounds and beliefs of the children and families who are part of the learning community.

We developed a conceptual diagram to reflect these findings (Figure 1) showing how the child is situated in systems with contextual influence on their development and learning. We posit that infant/toddler classroom environments and curricula can be enhanced when the child’s family, neighborhood, and cultural contexts are incorporated into the curriculum. This process of including family voices in curriculum development may be used as a model to inform policies and programming aimed to integrate ABE within infant/toddler classrooms.

Authors

• Loria E Kim, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Anissa Eddie, Michigan State University

• Anike Adekoya, Michigan State University

• Denise Nicole Powell, Michigan State University

• Claire D Vallotton, Michigan State University