2000 NAEYC Annual Conference
November 8-11--Atlanta, Georgia
2000 ANNUAL CONVENTION OF
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR
THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN
November 8-11--Atlanta, Georgia
Proposal for Presentation
a. Main Presenter: Dr. Colleen Finegan
Title: Associate Professor, Early Childhood / Special Education
• Business Mailing Address: 376 Millett Hall
Wright State University
Dayton, OH 45435
Work Phone: 937-775-4582 FAX: 937-775-4855
• Home address: 7630 Rozelle Court,
West Chester, OH 45069
Home Phone: 513-779-9994
E-mail address: cfstoll@aol.com
c. Suggested Title of Proposal:
The Antibias Curriculum as the Window on the World
d. Proposed Subject area:
Equity / Diversity / Culture and also Technology
e. Purposes of the proposed presentation:
As those who prepare the citizens of today for the world of tomorrow, it is of paramount importance that pre-service and in-service teachers -- especially those who will become and those who are early childhood educators to receive instruction in multicultural education. "Early childhood professionals are in a position to lead the way in supporting and highlighting diversity in the classroom".(Kupetz, B., Early Childhood News, July/August, 1998)
Children about two or three years of age begin to see physical differences among people
and by the ages of three or four begin to notice racial and gender difference between themselves and others.(Maccoby, 1988; Ramsey and Myers, 1990) As children approach the age of 5 and 6 they often make observations of racial awareness. "Children may even exhibit pre-prejudices toward others based on gender or race or being differently-abled"
(Louise Derman-Sparks, Anti-bias Curriculum)
Youngsters begin to absorb the positive attitudes and negative biases attached to these aspects of identity by family members and other significant adults in their lives at an early age. If we want children to like themselves and value diversity, we must learn how to help them resist the biases and prejudices that are still far too prevalent in our society. Therefore, it is obvious that we must begin at an early age to combat bias and promote acceptance and appreciation for others.
The audience will become participants as resources and methods of promoting the anti-bias curriculum are shared.
How this presentation would be beneficial to members"
NAEYC supports the implementation of the anti-bias curriculum, as well as
Developmentally AND individually appropriate programming. The Internet is
recognized as a great equalizer — providing experience to children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience certain things. Teaching in the future will require that teachers use technology to enhance curriculum in the classroom. Therefore, this topic is an appropriate one for this Conference.
f. Audio-visual equipment needed:
AUDIOVISUAL:
Necessary equipment designated below:
MACINTOSH MINIMUM RAM: 32 MB — Powerpoint software
CD-ROM
INTERNET CONNECTION (Netscape only available)
LCD PROJECTOR
(If not available- we could bring all of our own equipment— as long as you can provide Internet connectibility through a phone line in the room in which we are presenting)
National and state education standards mandate the teaching of multicultural education at all levels of education. NAEYC supports the modeling and support for the anti-bias curriculum in the early childhood environment. As a result, many colleges and universities require multicultural or diversity courses for all pre-service education students. As those who prepare the citizens today for the world of tomorrow, it is of paramount importance that pre-service as well as in-service teachers receive instruction in multicultural education.
Educators are role models for their students, just as parents set an example for their children. If teachers accept students in their classroom who may have some characteristics different from their own, the students in their classrooms will be more likely to accept one another (Finegan, 1999). This process needs to begin at an early age since children begin to notice racial and gender difference between themselves and others at the age of three or four (Maccoby, 1988; Ramsey and Myers, 1990).
Gollnick and Chin (1994) in their textbook, Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, state the often-quoted statistics that by the year 2000, one-third of the school population will be composed of students of color. These authors also reveal that nearly 25% of children in schools today are living below the established poverty level. As the nation increases in diversity, and international commerce becomes an everyday occurrence, citizens of the future will need to grow in their appreciation and understanding of others.
The U.S. macroculture is shared by all of the nation’s citizens; however individual microcultures are also an invaluable part of the society referred to as American. "Conflicting forces related to values, lifestyles, and societal impediments within and between cultural groups are integral to this complexity and the resulting cultural adaptations" (Gollnick and Chinn, 1994, 11). Often these conflicting values and lifestyles become issues of debate or even open conflict in the schools, even in the early grades.
Multicultural education is much more than simply knowing and transmitting facts about the various races, cultures, and belief systems that exist in the United States. It is a process that will produce an affective change in its recipients. Teaching about diversity requires more self- involvement including attention to one’s own feelings and reactions to others, as well as the ability to manage individual emotions. Electronic resources, especially the Internet, provide even young children the opportunity to experience interactive learning. Therefore, teachers will need to become very adept in selecting appropriate content links to use both as teaching resources for themselves and as resources for their students. Computer labs and access to the WWW have become a necessary educational activity for all students, even young ones.
Websites, introduced in this presentation, have purposefully been selected to represent various points of view to assist early childhood caregivers and educators in the process of information gathering, introspection, and self-evaluation. Many sites may be appropriate for young children themselves to investigate the world of children from varying cultures, races, ages and gifts.
Format: The presenters will demonstrate on-line the use of their diversity web site that they designed for instructional use by teachers. Specific sites for early childhood educators will be featured. The presenters and attendees will discuss Internet resources that may be used for multicultural instruction and in establishing the anti-bias curriculum in the early childhood classroom. A handout appropriate for early childhood educators containing WWW addresses of resources will be provided.