Engaging Families Around Anti-Bias Classroom Conversations: Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of Barriers and Facilitators

• In Event: The Role of Teachers in Perpetuating or Dismantling Racialized Practices/Behaviors

Abstract

Rooted in developmental science, early education professional standards identify high-quality learning environments as those which recognize, appreciate, include, and capitalize on children’s sociocultural identities (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2020; Reid, Kagan, & Scott-Little, 2019). Moreover, a growing evidence base shows the benefits and urgency of intentionally creating anti-racist early childhood spaces (Iruka,Curenton, Durden, & Escayg, 2020). At the same time, a national reckoning with systemic racism and white supremacy in recent years has brought to the forefront active resistance to anti-racist education, with many states and local communities taking policy action to ban or restrict a range of anti-bias curricula, even at the level of what’s acceptable content for classroom discussions (Ray & Gibbons, 2021). 

Strong partnerships with families are a cornerstone of high-quality early childhood education (ECE). As such, to optimize the benefits and effectiveness of anti-biased approaches, teachers would ideally implement them in ways that respond to and include families. Teachers are likely to vary in their skills and efficacy for doing so, however, and resistance or pressure from families may create challenges for implementing culturally responsive, anti-bias practices. Yet, little is known empirically about how ECE teachers interact with families around these topics, especially in the current social and political climate. To address this gap, the current study draws on recently collected data from approximately 100 preservice and practicing teachers of young children to examine their perceptions and experiences of parental support for anti-racist classroom conversations.

Data for this analysis come from a larger study of teacher racial inequity beliefs, multicultural teaching practices, and responses to children’s behavior within a large sample of current and recently graduated education students (Birth-Kindergarten, K-12) at three universities, which varied in geographic region, size, and their status as Primarily White (PWI) or Minority Serving (MSI). We focus on the subsample completing coursework and/or teaching children from Birth to Grade 2. As part of the larger survey, teachers provided closed- and open-ended data about how receptive families in their program are to developmentally-appropriate classroom conversations with young children that promote positive racial-ethnic identity formation and enhance children’s understandings of diversity and equity.

Among the results, we find that a majority of teachers perceive parents as generally supportive of anti-biased/anti-racist conversations; yet, 40% of the sample believed parents would be in favor of discussions that ignore or minimize racial-ethnic identities and 27% said parents would be opposed to conversations acknowledging that people are sometimes treated differently based on these categories. A qualitative, thematic analysis is underway to examine teachers’ open-ended responses about engaging with families around these topics and their perceptions of facilitators and barriers to this work. The final presentation will report on how results vary by classroom age group and racial-ethnic composition, teacher race/ethnicity, and their sense of efficacy related to culturally responsive and anti-racist teaching. Study findings have implications for early childhood teacher preparation and support in terms of broadening the lens to consider how family views and engagement impact the implementation of anti-bias practices.

Authors

• Danielle A Crosby, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  Presenting Author

• Ireti Aderayo Adegbesan, University of North Carolina at Greensboro