61.069 - Shifting Native Early Childhood Education: Toward Justice and Inclusive Family Engagement at the Earliest Levels of Education

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

National focus on early childhood educational opportunities has increased exponentially with President Obama’s Universal Preschool Initiative, Clinton’s Too Small to Fail Initiative, and many more National foundations’ focus on early childhood outcomes. How these national discussions impact Native communities and their unique approaches to strengthen early childhood education is under-researched. This interactive symposium brings together an interdisciplinary group of Native scholars to examine the current status of early childhood education and family engagement. The ground upon which Native education is operating is shifting once again, and this session illuminate lessons learned about inclusive family engagement at early childhood education levels – with the goal to generate discussions about family empowerment and the role research can enhance Indigenous early childhood education.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Chair

• Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, American Indian College Fund

Papers

• National Data: What Can We Learn About Native Families and Their Engagement in Early Childhood Education? - Randall Akee, University of California - Los Angeles; Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, American Indian College Fund

• What's Language and Culture Got to Do With It? Working Effectively With Families of Indigenous Children With Special Educational Needs - Susan C. Faircloth, University of North Carolina - Wilmington

• Practice to Theory: What Families Voice About Early Childhood Education and Their Role in Documenting Success - Danielle R. Lansing, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

• Inclusive Research Methodologies for Advancing Justice and Equity in Indigenous Early Childhood Education - Ananda Maria Marin, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussant

• Jeremy Garcia, University of Arizona