early ed and culture

Part I: The Care in Caregiving Blog

You are an independent professional development consultant in the field of early childhood education and care. You run a popular website for early childhood educators and caregivers, “The Care in Caregiving,” that focuses on issues of culture and diversity. A popular section of your site is the Q&A section, to which teachers and caregivers across the country can write for advice on certain issues.

The questions in Part I of this Assessment simulate the type of questions asked on the blog. Read the questions and respond to each in one to two pages.

Q1.

Dear Caregiver Guru,

I have a very diverse set of students in my preschool classroom, and I am committed to learning as much as possible about each of the children and their families. My co-teacher thinks I am wasting my time and that there is simply no way to learn about all of their backgrounds in a thorough and thoughtful manner. Can you provide an explanation I can share with my co-teacher about the importance of learning about children’s cultures on a deep level?

Q2.

Dear Caregiver Guru,

I recently moved from a very homogenous suburban school into a very diverse and multilingual urban school environment. I am excited about the dynamic classroom environment and would like to do my best to ensure that all students thrive, no matter what their background. I have heard a lot of discussion about the important role of partnerships between schools or caretakers and families. Can you give me more information about why partnerships between early childhood professionals, schools, and families are so crucial for all children? What are the best practices I can use to engage in this type of interaction?

Q3.

Dear Caregiver Guru,

I have a single Muslim child in a classroom that is primarily Christian. The holidays are approaching, and I would like to figure out a way to include the Muslim child in the celebratory environment without imposing religious beliefs on her. While I think it is important for the Christian children to celebrate their own culture, I understand that the Muslim child faces these cultural biases on a daily basis, both at school and within the world at large. What advice do you have for me on how cultural discontinuity might influence the Muslim child, and how I can celebrate both cultures at the same time, without making the Muslim child feel “different” or like a burden?

Part II: Analysis and Recommendations

You are to analyze the case study documents provided in this Assessment and make a recommendation to the teacher for how to better integrate Abidah and her family into the center. The analysis and recommendation should be 8 to 10 pages in length.

Case-Study Analysis:

Identify three assumptions the teacher is making about the family’s cultural identity, and explain how these assumptions may influence her interactions with the child and family.

Based on the teacher’s weekly reports, identify three situations in which the teacher’s unintentional bias and/or lack of understanding may inhibit Abidah’s ability to integrate in the classroom. Explain how the scenario illustrates cultural discontinuity and its impact on children and families.

Recommendation:

Write specific recommendations for the teacher in the scenario related to Abidah and her family in each of the following areas:

Cultural and social identity. Use the Head Start Principle One document provided in this Assessment to guide your recommendation. 

Dual language development

Partnering with families

Explain the reasoning behind each recommendation you make. Your recommendations should be based on information from the professional knowledge base and credible research related to culturally-responsive practices.

• Document #1: Request for Training
• Document #2: Report from Parent-Teacher Meeting
• Document #3: Teacher’s Weekly Log
• Rubric