4 Chapter 4: Promoting Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood Settings
4 Chapter 4: Promoting Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood Settings
Learning Outcomes
- Promote inclusive practices respecting individuality, diversity, and cultural contexts
- Apply the concepts of reflective practice in one’s pedagogical work as a leader
- Receive and integrate feedback on decision-making practices, conflict resolution skills, and teamwork behaviours
LET’S NOT DANCE AROUND IT
In the field of early childhood, issues of prejudice have long been important to research, and in this country, Head Start was developed more than 50 years ago with an eye toward dismantling disparity based on ethnicity or skin color (among other things). However, research shows that this gap has not closed. Particularly striking, in recent years, is research addressing perceptions of the behavior of children of color and the numbers of children who are asked to leave programs.
In fact, studies of expulsion from preschool showed that black children were twice as likely to be expelled as white preschoolers, and 3.6 times as likely to receive one or more suspensions. This is deeply concerning in and of itself, but the fact that preschool expulsion is predictive of later difficulties is even more so:
Starting as young as infancy and toddlerhood, children of color are at highest risk for being expelled from early childhood care and education programs. Early expulsions and suspensions lead to greater gaps in access to resources for young children and thus create increasing gaps in later achievement and well-being… Research indicates that early expulsions and suspensions predict later expulsions and suspensions, academic failure, school dropout, and an increased likelihood of later incarceration.
Why does this happen? It’s complicated. Studies on the K-12 system show that some of the reasons include:
- uneven or biased implementation of disciplinary policies
- discriminatory discipline practices
- school racial climate
- under resourced programs
- inadequate education and training for teachers on bias
In other words, educators need more support and help in reflecting on their own practices, but there are also policies and systems in place that contribute to unfair treatment of some groups of children.
It is not possible to simultaneously “respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual” and watch a significant number of students from a particular group be expelled from their early learning experience, realizing this may frequently be a first step in a process of punishment by loss of opportunity.
How Will I Ever Learn the Steps?
Woah—how do I respond to something so big and so complex and so sensitive to so many different groups of people?
As someone drawn to early childhood care and education, you probably bring certain gifts and abilities to this work.
- You probably already feel compassion for every child and want every child to have opportunities to grow into happy, responsible adults who achieve their goals. Remember the statement above ab