Education for transformation: What happens when early childhood educators engage in curriculum dialogues that have posi

1. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Education for transformation: What happens when early childhood educators’ engage in curriculum dialogues that have positive impacts on the children of the world? Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Assistant Professor, Elementary & Early childhood Education University of Wyoming at Casper Center (UWCC) ACEI Conference May 2007 Lnganga@uwyo.edu

2. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Introduction One of the critical roles of education is to educate our children to be global citizens. Educators can do this by reflecting on their practices, current curriculum and choice of children’s literature. Engaging in reflective curriculum dialogues allow educators to form democratic collaborative inquiry that leads to professional growth and enhances pedagogical practices through reflection. Such purposeful curriculum dialogues promote the development of collective strategies for achieving social justice.

3. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Introduction continued.. These dialogues must include developing an anti-bias multicultural curriculum, exploring materials, teaching strategies and professional development opportunities. In this presentation, participants will learn about the value of engaging in multicultural curriculum dialogues as a form of professional growth and in promoting change in instruction, curriculum and pedagogy (Civic responsibility for promoting children’s well-being).

4. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Process Introduction Literature review Participants Methods Discussion & conclusions Questions & reflections

5. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu The Study The goals of education for transformation (anti-biased education) are to help children develop positive self-identity, develop empathy towards others, develop critical thinking and to help children to speak out about biases (Derman-Sparks, 1992). An anti-bias curriculum is based on values that “differences are good; oppressive ideas and behaviors are not ……. It asks teachers and children to confront troublesome issues rather than covering them up and is integral of all aspects of daily classroom life” (Derman-Sparks, 1998, p. X). I considered this study an opportunity to explore the issues that surface in an early childhood program when educators work on their approach to multicultural curriculum & the meaning of anti-biased multicultural curriculum for “Education Transformation”.

6. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Theoretical framework An anti-bias curriculum is based on values that “differences are good; oppressive ideas and behaviors are not ……. It asks teachers and children to confront troublesome issues rather than covering them up and is integral of all aspects of daily classroom life” (Derman-Sparks, 1998, p. X).

7. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Theoretical flame work continued Derman-Sparks argues that for such a curriculum to be effective early childhood educators must provide activities that address gender differences, and physical differences, provide developmentally appropriate materials that help children construct positive self-identities, and consider the impact of prejudice to the development and interactions of children. Educators must create a diverse environment as a first step (Derman-Sparks, 1989). Children’s ways of seeing reality should be challenged.

8. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Literature Multicultural education can help children understand others (Banks, 1992, p.35). Culturally responsive early childhood curriculum is essential (Marshall, 2001; Klein & Chen, 2001) Availability of professional development opportunities for educators is critical to the success of implementing multicultural curricula. Opportunities allow educators to access the latest skills in the craft (Ornisten & Behar-Horensten,1999)

9. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Literature continued If early childhood teachers are going to sufficiently meet the needs of children from diverse cultural backgrounds, their teaching strategies must be appropriate for all children within their classrooms” (Hart, Burtis, & Charlesworth, 1997, p. 372). The curriculum must also equip children with skills and knowledge that will help them become responsible global citizens.

10. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Participants The participants are four educators in an early childhood setting with a predominantly White population of children, parents and staff. All White women, there are two lead teachers, a director, and an assistant teacher. The participants have worked in early childhood settings ranging from 2-15 years. All four participants took part in a curriculum committee for a period of three months. The goals of the curriculum committee were to revise the parent questionnaire and to change the existing curriculum goals from a tourist multicultural curriculum approach to an anti-bias approach following the guidelines from The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

11. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Methods Participant observation I conducted this three-month study in an Early Childhood setting for birth to five year old children in a community in the Rocky Mountain region. observed in two classrooms and attended and participated in meetings of the multicultural curriculum committee. As a participant observer, this opportunity helped me understand the dynamics of the group. Methods used to collect data were: observations, interviewing, and collection of physical artifacts.

12. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Methods: Benefits of being a participant observer Content: Gets first hand information on what is being discussed in order to achieved the group’s goals. Process: able to observe the sequence of group members’ actions that take place over time and are aimed at achieving the group’s goal. Interviews Direct observations Participation in the life of the group & analysis of personal documents produced within the group (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998).

13. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Research Questions What are the effects of a multicultural curriculum dialogue among early childhood educators? What are the struggles these teachers face in pursuing an anti-bias curriculum in their program? What sustains them in their work? How does their understanding of “education for transformation & anti-bias” translate to curriculum, instruction, and teacher-child relations, etc.?

14. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Findings: Emergent themes Importance of the “image” of the child Understanding the meaning of anti-bias curriculum The link between available resources and professional development The importance of parental involvement

15. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Findings: The importance of the image of the child Importance of the image of the child The encouragement of positive self-identity or image of the child is a critical aspect in healthy development. This study revealed a number of ways children were validated in the setting. Data exemplars also illustrated areas/instances in which the center could better address “image” issues.

16. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Importance of the image of the child Positive Teacher-child interactions were observed Children were encouraged children to make their own choices for play at learning centers and facilitated their play at the centers Children were expected the children to show respect for others and to work as a team. Activities were provided to help children gain these skills. Teacher worked in collaboration & guided the children by asking questions, listening, paraphrasing, helping problem solve, validating actions, and modeling.

17. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Validating the image of the child through curriculum materials Curriculum materials. Several incidences were noted that showed understanding of the importance of validating the image of the child through curriculum materials. Other observations revealed an underutilization of curriculum resources children’s literature reflected a need to increase materials from diverse backgrounds, diversity of gender roles, differently abled people, different occupations and age

18. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Understanding the meaning of an anti-ibias curriculum Early childhood participants in this study struggled with understanding the meaning of anti-bias curriculum and how it fits within the goals of multicultural curriculum..

19. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Meaning continued The teachers treated each child with respect, and provided guidance as needed. Children were given opportunities to explore their interests. Each child was given special attention. Other observations revealed missed teaching opportunities, that could have been used to discuss diversity & race issues within the context of play.

20. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Meaning continued although a variety of multicultural curriculum materials were present, their use was not maximized. One staff member noted that “there are many, many resources in the lounge, but they are not used to their potential” (field notes).

21. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Meaning/dilemma Celebrating holidays. one of the dilemmas that the early childhood educators dealt with was how to include holidays in the curriculum. Celebrating holidays was considered as one way of connecting home and school. Activities should help children to develop an understanding of other cultures. One staff member expressed frustration when asked why a holiday theme indicated “Reindeers and Music” by stating that “you will need to ask my co-teacher who was not available”. For change to take place, commitment is important.

22. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Available resources and professional development The link between availability of resources and professional development is an important aspect of an anti-bias curriculum. It is crucial for early childhood educators to be able to evaluate curriculum materials. However such materials can only be helpful if they are used (Derman-Sparks, 1989).

23. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Available resources Program had a wealth of resources; However their use was not maximized. Teachers checked out the materials on their own. I copy and discuss materials or suggest materials from what I read that really stands out. We also have discussions and or recommendations from the other teachers in our group. Parents and the community are welcome to use those. We check them out to anybody who wants to use the material) (field notes, p. 17, Director of program)

24. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu A need for professional development Educators expressed a need for professional development in anti-bias curriculum development and implementation. One educator observed: More training is definitely needed in order to get better understanding of what we should be doing and how to implement it. Many times I think teachers think they are offering an anti-bias curriculum because they have no intention of hurting the children. It is important for teachers to have researched information, talked with a diverse group of families, and attended training in order to provide the best culturally responsive elements (field notes, p. 36).

25. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Fear of change One Educator felt that the changes in curriculum were too confusing and “might deny” celebration of important holidays and other activities she was used to doing. Another educator felt like “these changes were not necessary.” two participants expressed fear of loosing control However, a staff member said: I always see myself as someone who is not prejudiced. But I think that does not mean not taking part in anti-bias curriculum training. I have attended two such trainings in the last two years. I think we require more of such training (interview transcription, p. 31)

26. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu The importance of parental involvement In these meetings, early childhood educators acknowledged the importance of encouraging parent participation in curriculum development These educators took part in revising a parents questionnaire to make it more parent friendly.

27. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Conclusions I think we had great discussions from different points of views. I think we all have the best interest of children and families in mind when we are trying to make changes. It has been very helpful to have you and …….(name omitted) to get other perspectives but I also think we still need to hear from others and how they feel about their child’s programs and what they would like to see. I think we still need to work on how to implement holidays and birthdays because that seems to be one of our biggest dilemmas. Especially when we don’t want to leave anyone out (field notes, p.37). (director of program)

28. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Conclusion/Recommendations/Solutions Based on data from this study: teachers must engage in reflective multicultural curriculum dialogues, have opportunities for professional development, have adequate resources, be knowledgeable of child development in the cultural context and receive administrative support. Provide culturally responsive classroom environments that promote education for change Importance of Curriculum dialogues Opportunities for professional development Importance of the outside expert

29. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Finally In conclusion multicultural education is particularly essential in the current society that is increasingly pluralistic (Banks, 1997a, Banks, 1997/98). Unfortunately, the culturally pluralistic nature of the American society is not adequately reflected in the public school (Banks, 1993). To successfully transform education, early childhood educators should fully integrate anti-biased content in their curricula. Early childhood educators should also promote the wellbeing of the children they work with and create caring communities that validate the uniqueness of each child in their programs. Dialogues must continue “Engaging in reflective curriculum dialogues allow educators to form democratic collaborative inquiry that leads to professional growth and enhances pedagogical practices through reflection”.

30. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Lnganga@uwyo.edu Questions/reflections Questions/reflections: Thank you. Lydiah Nganga, Ph.D Assistant Professor, Elementary & Early childhood Education University of Wyoming at Casper Center (UWCC) ACEI Conference May 2007 Send emails to : Lnganga@uwyo.edu