Teaching About Implicit Bias in Early Childhood Education (2024)

Our students work or volunteer in early learning settings.  We often have discussions about implicit/unconscious bias in teaching. I let students know that we all have this type of bias. It develops from our experiences in life and can lead to prejudice for or against. Implicit bias can also occur when we encounter new or unfamiliar cultures, and in ECE this can be parenting choices from different cultures. The cultural differences can be due to individualist vs collectivist cultures, or other cultural influences.  This is important for students to consider when communicating with diverse families and seeking to understand the cultural values that guide their parenting. Each family has a unique way in which they care for their child.   We ask our students to engage in open communication to bridge the gap between the child’s home culture, and the culture of the early learning program. In order to this in an open way, they need to identify and reflect on the implicit/unconscious bias they have.

Here are some resources that I use to discuss this:

Implicit Bias Video, “We all have implicit bias. So what can we do about it?”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKHSJHkPeLYLinks to an external site.

Cross-Culture Communication with Parents: https://childcareresourcecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/How-to-Communicate-Cross-Culturally-with-Parents-Tip-Sheet.pdfLinks to an external site.

We also discuss issues related to racial bias in preschools, and the impact this can have on children’s future education.

Here is video that I share with students to show how bias influences our work as teachers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucEAcIMkS0cLinks to an external site.

NPR Report related to the video: https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/28/495488716/bias-isnt-just-a-police-problem-its-a-preschool-problemLinks to an external site.

Article about expulsion rates for black boys: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/half-of-the-250-kids-expelled-from-preschool-each-day-are-black-boys/Links to an external site.

More information about suspension rates for black children and removal of children with disabilities: https://sites.ed.gov/osers/2023/05/suspension-expulsion-informal-removals-unexpected-realities-in-preschool/Links to an external site.