Addressing Equity in Early Childhood Education: A Culturally Responsive, Strength-based Approach

• In Event: 1-188 - Investigating and Ameliorating Teachers’ Racialized Perceptions and the Race Disparities in Students’ Schooling

Integrative Statement

Education inequities and disparities for Black boys associated with race, ethnicity, and social class, have resulted in opportunity gaps in their educational attainment (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights Data Collection, 2016). While the underlying causes of opportunity gaps are complex and require action on numerous fronts, national dialogue has drawn attention to the impact of implicit bias that has led to deficit-based views about the abilities of minoritized (Flores and Rosa, 2015) children and families while failing to recognize their strengths (Cabrera, 2013). In educational environments, implicit bias influences teachers’ behaviors and expectations about Black boys’ achievement that in turn not only creates barriers on the teacher-child relationship, but may also contribute to boys’ perceptions of their own sense of self-worth.
The Center for Culture, Race & Equity at Bank Street College (CCRE) developed a Culturally Responsive, Strength-based Model (CRSB) that targets bias and deficit thinking in adults working with minoritized children and families. The model targets issues of bias and deficit thinking that create inequities in program policies, practices, and services and lays the foundation for personal, professional, and institutional shifts in adult knowledge, attitudes, dispositions, and practices, with the direct consequence of increasing both positive academic and social and emotional outcomes for children.
In 2015, CCRE collaborated with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to offer the CRSB model as a professional development (PD) intervention to increase the likelihood of positive change in attitudes and behaviors of early childhood educators working with young Black boys and their families, and to increase awareness and advocacy. Participants included 76 PreK teachers from 37 classroom serving 3 and 4 year olds, 48 school Principals/other staff, and 101 families from 8 schools. The PD consisted of trainings for PreK teachers and school Principals/other staff, professional learning communities for PreK teachers, and workshops and focus groups for parents. Pre- and post- data were collected from video-observations of PreK classrooms, teacher surveys and interviews with Principals. Families participated in 4 workshops and 2 focus groups sessions.
The program Design Phase was completed in 2016. The Implementation Phase took place in the 2017-2018 school year and included the PD trainings, workshops, job-embedded goal-setting support for school personnel, and the collection of data to measure the change that took place.
Qualitative data (using grounded theory with multiple coders) and quantitative data (using descriptive research design) revealed significant gains in participants’ awareness and understanding across multiple domains related to Black boys’ development including: the effects of racial and cultural bias and stereotypes as it relates to boys’ development and learning, the value of children and families’ culture in supporting boys’ social and emotional learning, the need for adults to be advocates for change in their schools, homes, and communities, and a change in skills and practices that identify and build upon boy’s strengths and culture to create supportive environments, positive relationships, and guide lesson planning and instruction.

Author

• Lisa Gordon, Bank Street College of Education
  Presenting Author