Critical multiculturalism: supporting early childhood teachers to work with diverse immigrant families
TL;DR: This article applied theoretical perspectives and research findings from literature relating to immigrant families' parental practices and expectations to problematise some of the dominant discourses that prevail in New Zealand early childhood education.
Abstract: As early childhood settings in many English speaking countries are becoming increasingly multi-ethnic due to global migration, this poses challenges for many early childhood teachers who work with diverse immigrant children and families. In an effort to include all families, curriculum developers and teachers often suggest and incorporate teaching strategies that are commonly considered as culturally inclusive. While these strategies may be well intended, they may be promoting and reinforcing essentialist views of immigrants and their ethnicities, and also perpetuating social inequity. This article applies theoretical perspectives and research findings from literature relating to immigrant families' parental practices and expectations to problematise some of the dominant discourses that prevail in New Zealand early childhood education. It discusses the possible application of some theoretical concepts from the domains of critical multiculturalism to assist early childhood teachers to develop better understandings of the needs of immigrant children and families, and to generate critical pedagogies that are culturally sensitive and equitable.International Research in Early Childhood Education, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 63-75
Citations
More filters
08 Aug 2019
41 citations
Cites background from "Critical multiculturalism: supporti..."
...Typically, multicultural ‘celebrations of diversity’ (LadsonBillings 1998) present reified views of ‘other’ cultures as static, exotic and/or homogenous (Chan 2011; Holm & Zilliacus 2009; Vass 2017)....
[...]
01 Nov 2011
TL;DR: Learning platforms have helped to increase parental engagement but schools still need to focus on providing data-rich and contextualised information for parents, says Martin Palfrey.
Abstract: Learning platforms have helped to increase parental engagement but schools still need to focus on providing data-rich and contextualised information for parents. Martin Palfrey looks at how they have approached this at his school.
28 citations
Dissertation•
14 Jul 2016
TL;DR: The findings highlight how the dominant influence of Western theories in the curriculum caused confusion for teachers, and resulted in a programme developed out of teachers’ understanding rather than the children’s development and dispositions.
Abstract: Te Whāriki positions itself as New Zealand’s first ever Early Childhood Curriculum with an unique bicultural feature honouring the Treaty of Waitangi (signed in 1840), and the partnership between tangata whenua (Māori) and the Crown (Government). The Te Whāriki curriculum found its origins in a need to maintain consistency with the New Zealand Curriculum Framework as a result of major changes in the Education Department in the late 1980s. The establishment of the Te Whāriki involved a long consultative process from 1990 – 1996 with groups and professionals from diverse Early Childhood Education (ECE) backgrounds, with major influence from the two Māori representatives from the Kohanga Reo National Trust (Tamati and Tilly Reedy) and two European writers from Waikato University (Helen May and Margaret Carr) who led the consultation process. One of Te Whāriki’s special features is embedded in its philosophy of inclusivity represented in a metaphor of a whāriki (woven mat), on which all can stand. This inclusivity broke pedagogical boundaries and established new ‘norms’ of equal opportunity for children, their family/whānau and the ECE community. The whāriki is made strong by the interweaving of four principles, strands and goals through its nonprescriptive nature which some find to be useful, while others see it as a hindrance to the implementation of the curriculum, particularly where there is a lack of proper training on how to put the curriculum into practice. This was found as the biggest challenge facing Samoan teachers in ECE, especially the teachers in Mainstream services with a multicultural background. In addition, the findings highlight how the dominant influence of Western theories in the curriculum caused confusion for teachers, and resulted in a programme developed out of teachers’ understanding rather than the children’s development and dispositions.
27 citations
Cites background from "Critical multiculturalism: supporti..."
...advocate for all cultures, evidence however reveals the dominant cultural group’s values and beliefs are mainly the ones being supported (Chan, 2011; Duhn, 2006)....
[...]
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2017
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a Table of contents and a List of Figures for the first part of this article. But they do not discuss the second part of the article.
Abstract: ............................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. v Table of contents ................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ...................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 – Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 1.
26 citations
Cites background from "Critical multiculturalism: supporti..."
...…these settings, increasing demands 17 and pressures on teachers, teachers’ homogenising orientations towards children’s diversity are well researched (Chan, 2009, 2011; Freeman & Higgins, 2013; Gibbs, 2006; Guo, 2015; Mitchell et al., 2015; Rivalland & Nuttal, 2010), with further research…...
[...]
TL;DR: The authors in this paper argue that a devotion to supporting children of minority cultures has persisted in the curriculum, but there is a reliance on mainstream pedagogy focused on children's learning within the centre environment and teachers' subjective knowledge about children's needs.
Abstract: Multicultural curricula/programs assume an important role within a cultural approach to learning and teaching in early childhood education in New Zealand. Te Wha-riki , the national early childhood curriculum framework of New Zealand, is an emancipatory and socially constructive document that emphasises equity, social justice and the important position of culture in children's learning and development. In practice this means developing early childhood programs that are sensitive and responsive to the needs and interests of children and families of minority cultures. Drawing on a critical social constructivist framework, this study of one early childhood centre in New Zealand identifies the features of its multicultural curriculum. The paper argues that a devotion to supporting children of minority cultures has persisted in the curriculum, but there is a reliance on mainstream pedagogy focused on children's learning within the centre environment and teachers' subjective knowledge about children's needs.
24 citations
Cites background from "Critical multiculturalism: supporti..."
...Research has reported early childhood teachers’ one-size-for-all practice in multicultural education (Bentley, 2012; Guo, 2014) and that early childhood teachers essentialised culture (Chan, 2011)....
[...]
References
More filters
[...]
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: The postcolonial and the post-modern: The question of agency as discussed by the authors, the question of how newness enters the world: Postmodern space, postcolonial times and the trials of cultural translation, 12.
Abstract: Acknowledgements, Introduction: Locations of culture, 1. The commitment to theory, 2. Interrogating identity: Frantz Fanon and the postcolonial prerogative, 3. The other question: Stereotype, discrimination and the discourse of colonialism, 4. Of mimicry and man: The ambivalence of colonial discourse, 5. Sly civility, 6. Signs taken for wonders: Questions of ambivalence and authority under a tree outside Delhi, May 1817, 7. Articulating the archaic: Cultural difference and colonial nonsense, 8. DissemiNation: Time, narrative and the margins of the modern nation, 9. The postcolonial and the postmodern: The question of agency, 10. By bread alone: Signs of violence in the mid-nineteenth century, 11. How newness enters the world: Postmodern space, postcolonial times and the trials of cultural translation, 12. Conclusion: 'Race', time and the revision of modernity, Notes, Index.
18,201 citations
"Critical multiculturalism: supporti..." refers background in this paper
...The theory of hybridity (Bhabha, 1994) can be used to highlight the fluidity of culture, identity and ethnicity....
[...]
...It argues that each individual experiences an ongoing negotiation between gender, class, and culture, and hence each identity is complex, fluid, and always in transition and transformation within the intersection of time and space (Bhabha, 1994)....
[...]
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The postcolonial and the post-modern: The question of agency as mentioned in this paper, the question of how newness enters the world: Postmodern space, postcolonial times and the trials of cultural translation, 12.
Abstract: Acknowledgements, Introduction: Locations of culture, 1. The commitment to theory, 2. Interrogating identity: Frantz Fanon and the postcolonial prerogative, 3. The other question: Stereotype, discrimination and the discourse of colonialism, 4. Of mimicry and man: The ambivalence of colonial discourse, 5. Sly civility, 6. Signs taken for wonders: Questions of ambivalence and authority under a tree outside Delhi, May 1817, 7. Articulating the archaic: Cultural difference and colonial nonsense, 8. DissemiNation: Time, narrative and the margins of the modern nation, 9. The postcolonial and the postmodern: The question of agency, 10. By bread alone: Signs of violence in the mid-nineteenth century, 11. How newness enters the world: Postmodern space, postcolonial times and the trials of cultural translation, 12. Conclusion: 'Race', time and the revision of modernity, Notes, Index.
14,727 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: Yang et al. as discussed by the authors conducted a longitudinal study of children of immigrants in San Diego and found that early adaptation and achievement was a predictor of educational achievement in the second generation.
Abstract: List of Tables and Figures Preface Acknowledgments 1. Twelve Stories Miami Stories MarIa de los Angeles and Yvette Santana: August 1993 Melanie Fernandez-Rey: September 1993 Aristide Maillol: August 1993 Armando and Luis Hern*ndez: July 1995 Mary Patterson: February 1995 EfrEn Montejo: May 1994 San Diego Stories Jorge, Olga, Miguel Angel, and Estela Cardozo: January 1994 Quy Nguyen: December 1987 Bennie and Jennifer Montoya: October 1995 Sophy Keng: November 1987 - June 1988 Yolanda and Carlos Munoz: March 1994 Boua Cha: 1988 - 1990 2. The New Americans: An Overview Immigration Yesterday and Today The Size and Concentration of the Second Generation Studying the New Second Generation: The Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study The New Second Generation at a Glance Census Results CILS Results 3. Not Everyone Is Chosen: Segmented Assimilation and Its Determinants How Immigrants Are Received: Modes of Incorporation and Their Consequences Acculturation and Role Reversal Where They Grow Up: Challenges to Second-Generation Adaptation Race Labor Markets Countercultures Confronting the Challenge: Immigrant Social Capital Parental Status, Family Structure, and Gender The Immigrant Community Conclusion 4. Making It in America Early Adaptation and Achievement General Trends Nationality and Achievement Determinants of Parental Economic Achievement Interaction Effects Nationality and Family Composition Conclusion 5. In Their Own Eyes: Immigrant Outlooks on America Aura Lila MarIn, Cuban, 53, Single Mother (1994) Pao Yang, Laotian Hmong, 57, Father (1995) Optimism Permissiveness Ambition Community and Pride Conclusion 6. Lost in Translation: Language and the New Second Generation Bilingualism: Yesterday and Today Shadow Boxing: Myth and Reality of Language Acculturation General Trends National Differences Forced-March Acculturation What Makes a Bilingual? A Game of Mirrors: Language Instruction and Types of Acculturation 7. Defining the Situation: The Ethnic Identities of Children of Immigrants Sites of Belonging: The Complex Allegiances of Children of Immigrants Developing a Self Past Research Who Am I? Patterns of Ethnic Self-Identification Ethnic Identity Shifts Stability and Salience Ethnic Self-Identities by National Origin Where Do I Come From? Nation, Family, and Identity Correlates of Self-Identities Family Status, Composition, and Language The Influence of Parental Self-Identities Region, Schools, and Discrimination The Race Question Determinants of Ethnic and Racial Identities Conclusion: From Translation Artists to Living Paradoxes 8. The Crucible Within: Family, Schools, and the Psychology of the Second Generation San Diego Families Family Cohesion, Conflict, and Change School Environments and Peer Groups Psychological Well-Being: Self-Esteem and Depressive Affect School Engagement and Effort Educational Expectations Determinants of Psychosocial Outcomes Self-Esteem and Depression Ambition Conclusion 9. School Achievement and Failure Early Educational Achievement Preliminary Results Determinants of Early Achievement Educational Achievement in Late Adolescence Grades in Senior High School Change over Time Dropping Out of School Two Achievement Paradoxes Southeast Asians Cuban Americans Conclusion 10. Conclusion: Mainstream Ideologies and the Long-Term Prospects of Immigrant Communities Two Mainstream Ideologies A Third Way: Selective Acculturation and Bilingualism The Mexican Case Theoretical Reprise Time and Acculturation Reactive Ethnicity and Its Aftermath Appendix A. Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study: Follow-up Questionnaire Appendix B. Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study: Parental Questionnaire Appendix C. Variables Used in Multivariate Analyses: Chapters 6 to 9 Notes References Index
3,834 citations
"Critical multiculturalism: supporti..." refers background in this paper
...…argues that the success of second generation immigrants in upward social mobility depends to a large extent upon the resources and support that their parents can provide, including parental educational level and income and their social status before migration (Hibel, 2009; Portes & Rumbaut, 2001)....
[...]
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a pedagogical documentation as a practice for reflection and democracy in the context of the early childhood institution and the Stockholm project, which aims to construct an early childhood pedagogy that speaks in the voice of the child, the pedagogue and the parent.
Abstract: 1. What this book is about 2. Theoretical perspectives: modernity and postmodernity, power and ethics 3. Constructing early childhood institution: what do we think it is? 4. Constructing the early childhood institution: what do we think they are for? 5. Beyond the discourse of quality to the discourse of meaning making 6. The Stockholm project: constructing a pedagogy that speaks in the voice of the child, the pedagogue and the parent 7. Pedagogical documentation: a practice for reflection and democracy 8. Minority directions in the majority world: threats and possibilities
1,187 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: In this article, Crocco et al. present a set of essential principles for teaching and learning in a multiracial education system, including Citizenship Education, Teacher Knowledge, and Curriculum Transformation.
Abstract: 1. Goals and Misconceptions. 2. Dimensions and School Characteristics. 3. Curriculum Transformation. 4. School Reform and Intergroup Education. 5. Knowledge Components. 6. Teaching with Powerful Ideas. 7. Citizenship Education and Teacher Knowledge. 8. A Pedagogy for Re-Envisioning America: Margaret Crocco Interviews James A. Banks. 9. Multicultural Benchmarks. Glossary. Appendix A. Essential Principles for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society. Appendix B. Nebraska Multicultural Education Bill. Appendix C. Checklist for Evaluating Informational Materials. Appendix D. A Multicultural Educational Evaluation Checklist. Appendix E. A Multicultural Education Basic Library. References. Index.
957 citations