The study of inclusion involves intentionally including equitable learning opportunities in our teaching, curriculum and programs, with a commitment to continuous learning. Inclusive teaching strategies engage each child and ensure they feel like they belong and are able to participate in the learning experiences with the rest of the group. The meaning of diversity and equity as they relate to inclusion intersect with each other. While diversity and equity are necessary components to understand and apply to our practice, inclusion requires intentional efforts to actively engage with diversity and plan for equity in educational practices, policies, and environments. In other words, inclusion involves taking deliberate actions to ensure that all children, regardless of their backgrounds or identities, feel welcomed, valued, and supported in early childhood settings.

Acknowledge, Discuss, and Plan

Creating welcoming and inclusive classrooms requires educators to put forth an ongoing effort. When we understand the meaning of diversity and equity within early childhood education, we feel more at ease discussing with children, the differences they observe, and taking actionable steps to address them (Derman-Sparks et al., 2020). Children notice differences such as race, language, ability, family structure, etc. and they ask questions about it (Sullivan et al., 2021). If we don’t acknowledge a child’s observation in a positive way, then it gives them the impression that the difference is a problem or something we can’t or shouldn’t talk about and may be something negative.

Reflect on the following steps when a child sees something that is different in another child or their family.

1. Don’t ignore it. Our initial acknowledgement can be a simple positive affirming statement. For example, a child may ask why their friend has two dads and no moms. A simple positive acknowledgment of this observation is to affirm that the child does have two dads and how wonderful that it is that there are so many different kinds of families.
2. Continue the discussion. Share family pictures and use open-ended questions and examples that validate and affirm the differences we see in families and foster an environment of acceptance. If we feel uneasy about continuing the discussion, we should revisit it at a later time when we feel more ready.
3. Plan for integration. We can plan for a purposeful introduction or integration into curriculum and materials in the classroom. These can be books about families and LGBTQIA+ and planning lessons to learn more about families.

Critical reflective practices that involve consideration about children’s abilities, languages, culture, and temperaments will guide teachers to adjust teaching approaches to create inclusive learning environments. This type of reflective approach focuses on the uniqueness of each child, and their individual needs and social diversity. Following are brief descriptions of inclusive practices and approaches you can apply to your teaching.

Critical Reflection

Critical reflection is required to help us assess our thinking, judgments, and actions in the classroom. Self-reflection is a strategy that teachers should use to stop, step back, pause and think about their work . Then teachers can assess and make changes or affirm what is working well. Sometimes self-reflection happens in the moment in the classroom after a planned activity, or it may happen at a time when you are not in the classroom. Critical self-reflection is a process where we stop and consider why we did what we did, how we did, and specifically to ask if there were any biases in our decision making.

Culturally and socially, many of the developmental theories that have informed our understanding of children’s development, such as the theories from Piaget and Erikson, were from research by White men with children and families who spoke the same language, lived in similar homes, and with similar traditional family structures. They were part of the dominant (White) culture at that time, which was predominantly White, able-bodied, and middle to upper class. As a result, the perspectives and experiences of marginalized or nondominant groups may not have been adequately represented or considered in the development of these theories. Having the ability to reflect on information that is current and culturally responsive helps us engage with diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work with children. Learning more about growth mindset, trauma informed care (ACEs), and language development are places you can start to develop an understanding of current developmental needs and supports.

Anti-bias Approach

Earlier in this chapter, we learned what bias is. Now we will focus on how we can employ an anti-bias  approach in our work. The goal of anti-bias education is to be conscious of and actively fight against biases we have about others and that exist in the institutions we work and live in. Derman-Sparks, LeeKeenan, and Nimmo (2023) explain the anti-bias approach in early childhood education that explicitly works to end all forms of bias and discrimination towards children by those who care, teach, and guide them. It explicitly calls for teachers to be actively engaged in anti-bias growth and learning.

Derman-Sparks, Edwards, and Goins (2020) outline four goals of anti-bias education that will nurture the development of the whole child. They are:

• demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.
• express comfort and joy with human diversity, use accurate language for human differences, and form deep, caring human connections across diverse backgrounds.
• increasingly recognize and have language to describe unfairness (injustice) and understand that unfairness hurts.
• to have the will and the skills to act, with others or against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.

To meet these goals of identity, diversity, justice, and activism, we need to learn about the social, cultural, and economic context of the child, their family, and of ourselves. As we discussed earlier in this chapter, we all have biases that we learned through the cycle of socialization. We also have our own social, cultural, and economic context that influences how we work and teach. Becoming more conscious of our biases through critical reflective work helps us determine how we learned to know what we know and do what we do.

To better assess our awareness and knowledge following are some activities.

1. Classrooms. Look around your classroom and reflect on the materials you use to teach children. What social identities are represented in your books and in your dramatic play area? What kind of pictures are up in your classroom? Who is visible and who do we not see?
2. Books for Children: Assess your books for bias by using the “Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books” (Derman-Sparks, 2013).
3. Self-assessments: Consider completing a self-assessment about the social identity groups you belong to. How were you socialized into those identities? What did you learn about groups that you belonged to, and what did you learn about groups you did not belong to? Reflect on where you may have experienced privilege and/or discrimination (Derman-Sparks et al., 2020).
4. Books for Teachers: Read more! Start with NAEYC’s Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education position statement (2019). Specifically look over the recommendations for early childhood educators. The book Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (Derman-Sparks et al., 2020) provides a thorough introduction to anti-bias education in early childhood education.
5. Self-education: Continue to learn and build your knowledge and awareness by taking classes on anti-bias education, diversity and equity, and inclusion.  Find ways to expand your knowledge of diverse experiences and perspectives without generalizing or stereotyping about others who are different from you (NAEYC, 2019). TED Talks are an excellent way to hear powerful and empowering authentic stories about systemic oppressions and bias. There are some suggestions to review following the references at the end of this chapter.
6. Intent vs. Impact: Remember good intent does not always lead to positive impact. When you commit a biased act, be ready and willing to be accountable and to take that opportunity to learn rather than being defensive (NAEYC, 2019).
7. Book Clubs: Think about starting a book club focusing on diversity and equity with your co-workers, or with your friends and families. Or even with the children!

This is a journey that requires continuous learning for all of us. Take time to regularly reflect and revisit the anti-bias approaches listed above so you can create an equitable and inclusive early learning setting for children to thrive in. Invite your co-teachers to examine and discuss these topics with you. This collaborative work supports raising awareness of issues and developing an anti-bias approach. For more resources on anti-bias activities, see NAEYC’s publication, Anti-bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (2020).

Anti-racist

If the textbooks and stories we are learning from and are using to teach are mostly from the dominant White culture perspective, then we have to move beyond the anti-bias approach and also be anti-racist. Children are constantly internalizing the messages conveyed in their environments. As  previously discussed, BIPOC children are disproportionately impacted by our education systems. A recent study found that children as young as five years old rated images of Black boys less favorably than images of White boys and girls, with images of Black girls falling in the middle (Perszyk et al., 2019). As teachers we are also socializing children into the dominant cultural norms and values. It is critical that we reflect on what we are teaching children that may not be visible to us.

Dr. Shullman, President of the American Psychological Association, stated that we are living in a “racism pandemic,” which leads to a number of psychological and  physical issues and historical trauma (as cited in APA, 2020). The impact of racism emphasizes the urgent need for each early childhood educator to engage in anti-racist work. This requires teachers to examine their own racial biases that may be based in their own socialization process. Anti-racist work looks different for each person and teacher in the classroom and for our teaching approaches. We all can actively fight against racism. Some educators might say that they do not see color. However, we want to avoid this color-blind approach. When we see color, we truly see children, and welcome the diversity that each child brings.

Teachers must actively engage in learning more about what it means to be an anti-racist. Dr. Kendi (2019) points out that the opposite of being a racist is not just being “not racist,” it is being an anti-racist, where we are actively fighting for racial equity. It means examining our own beliefs about what racial equity is. Through evaluation and reflection, we can dig deeper in our own socialization process and check for beliefs and ideas of others-based anti-racism.

Working with Families

You will read more about the work we need to do with families in Chapter 9. Here we will focus on understanding families as part of our classroom and the communities they live and work in. As we learn more about ourselves, we begin to realize the social and cultural systems that our families lived and worked in influenced us as children and now as adults. This same process is something we are part of for the children and families we are working with. Teachers have an opportunity to disrupt the socialization process that perpetuates the discrimination and marginalization of social identity groups.

It is important to move away from the binary classification of social identities. We have learned to value and espouse the either/or way of thinking about others, but why can’t we be and/both? When we begin to shift our thinking to an and/both perspective we allow for more space to integrate the diverse needs and supports our children and families need. We can use a child’s home language in the classroom and use English to support their language development. Why can’t boys and girls wear dresses in our classroom and also rough and tumble and be assertive in their play?

Home Environments

In Chapter 9 we will learn more about how important home environments are for each child and how their home environments may be very different from early learning environments. Children may be living and thriving in a single parent household; a multi-generational household where other family members are an integral part of the home; or children may be homeless and living in transitional housing. This are just a few ways that diversity in family structure can look for the children in our classrooms.

Connecting with Families

Learning more about a child’s family does not mean that teachers must integrate or engage with all they do for the child. But teachers can begin to consider ways to support the child based on what they are learning from their family and what we are teaching them. Think about the ways you connect with families.

• How do we get to know families of our students, and how do they raise their child at home? What are some ways to incorporate into your program the cultural ways of being of the families?
• How do we reflect or consider a child’s home environment’s impact on the child’s way of being in our classrooms?
• What networks of support does the family have outside of the home? How can we create a supportive network within the early learning program?
• How are we creating a sense of emotional and physical safety for the family? For example, if a family is undocumented, then the way they engage with the school will depend on the level of safety they feel with the teachers and the school. This will be something that impacts the child.
• How are we integrating the funds of knowledge that children and families already have into our classroom?

Ultimately, to create culturally responsive equitable learning opportunities we must understand the lived experiences of the family and the child outside of our classroom. When we reflect on how a child is influenced and impacted by the environments that their families have to navigate to function and survive, we can create equitable opportunities for the child and the family because we have a better understanding of the barriers that the family is experiencing.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

When we integrate culturally responsive teaching into practice we are moving to another level of critical reflection. We not only see how our social identities influence our decision making, we also acknowledge and find ways to teach using the cultural context of the children in our classroom. Culture is increasingly understood as inseparable from development (Rogoff, 2003). Therefore, it is important to ensure cultural continuity, where the child’s home culture is reflected in the classroom and is not invisible. Many marginalized social identity groups are invisible in our classrooms and teaching materials.

Zaretta Hammond (2014) writes about the pliability of young children’s brains. Her focus was mostly on older children, but it is a reminder of the role teachers play in setting the stage for how children see and feel about themselves and where they fit into the classroom environment. Following is a summarized list of Hammond’s three strategies to use with children.

1. Culturally responsive teaching in practice can be as simple as making learning fun with interactive games that focus on social and verbal interactions, instead of just sitting and listening.
   1. Children learn by doing, so adding a game to the learning makes it more engaging. Teachers can facilitate group activities in which children work together to create a story or mural. Create a guessing game using felt boards when teaching about body parts. Give children felt pieces that represent different parts of the body and have them guess which part they use to smell something they cook at home.
2. Another strategy is to make it a social experience. Think about how to lead circle time. Do we allow children to share and talk during our reading of a story or teaching of a specific lesson?
   1. Do we make time for children to talk with each other about what they are learning? Consider asking children to share their favorite smell, family activity, food they eat together at home, or play a song that they listen to at home.
3. A third strategy is to add stories.
   1. Invite families to share or make up stories with their children about smells. Have elders come and tell stories in the classroom during circle time. Instead of reading books, listen to stories families have recorded. This also helps to see how play could be a culturally responsive strategy.

Ultimately, culturally responsive teaching occurs when we integrate teaching strategies that are centered from the children and their family’s culture. This does not mean we have to know about all the cultures of our families and how they live outside of the classroom. When we are open to learning more about children and families, we will build connections and partnerships that support children’s development. These connections demonstrate that we welcome all families and strive to incorporate children’s cultures into the learning experiences. We can also move beyond being responsive and relevant and lean into being culturally sustaining in our approach as well.

Derman-Sparks, LeeKeenan, and Nimmo (2023) define culturally sustaining care as an approach that sustains diverse communities and cultures that have and are facing systemic oppression. Culturally sustaining education maintains, supports, and nurtures the cultural identities, languages, and traditions of diverse communities. It goes beyond cultural responsiveness and inclusivity by actively sustaining and perpetuating the cultural strengths, knowledge, and practices within educational and caregiving settings. Children and their families’ cultures are dynamic, evolving, and valuable sources of resilience, wisdom, and identity.

Advancing Equity Recommendations for Everyone

There are several recommendations that can support our ability and capacity to work towards inclusion where all children feel like they belong. Recommendation Two in the Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education statement tells us that we need to recognize the power and benefit of diversity and inclusivity and Recommendation Three asks us to take responsibility for biased actions, even if unintended, and actively work to repair harm (NAEYC, 2019, p. 6).

In our classrooms, children are learning about the world around them. Developmental theories and brain research tell us that the first eight years of a child’s life is a time of exponential growth (Centers for Disease Control, 2023). Children are curious and engaged in what we share during circle time. They are active and excited when they participate in planned or spontaneous activities. During this time of active cognitive learning, children are also learning about themselves and others. Children in our classrooms are not only working towards meeting developmental milestones, but they are also being socialized by their families, teachers, and the communities they live in. They are beginning to learn about the cultural norms of their family as well as the social norms that we have in our classrooms and our society.

We are an intimate and integral part of a child’s social and cultural growth and development. Whether we know it or not, we may be contributing to the deep inequities that exist for children and their families because of their social identities. As the fifth recommendation in the Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education statement mentions, we just need to be willing to be open to learning and commit to learn based on our experiences with children and their families. It is imperative and necessary for us to consider ways that we can be more inclusive in our work.

Attributions

1. Figure 5.3: image by Office of Child Care, and Office of the Administration for Children & Families in the Public Domain; Materials produced by federal agencies are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission
2. Figure 5.4: Student teachers read to class by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages is released under CC BY-NC 4.0