TEA4104 4 Diversity in Early Childhood

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TEA4104 (4)Diversity in Early Childhood
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This lecture on multiculturalism bilingualism
will cover

• 1. What is Australian Multiculturalism?
• 2. What is multicultural education?
• 3. Student-Centred pedagogy
• 4. Multicultural curriculum

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• 5.Supportive school classroom climate
• 6. Continual evaluation assessment
• 7. Bilingualism
• 8. Implications for Early Childhood Educators
• 9. Successful EC programs depend upon
• 10. Refugee children

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The Objectives for this lecture pertain to chn
families from minority ethnic groups

• Offering culturally sensitive support to child
  family patterns
• Relating anti-bias curriculum to multicultural,
  ethnic, religious and gender issues

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1. What is Australian multiculturalism?

• Addresses the challenges opportunities of
  cultural diversity in Australia
• Recognizes celebrates diversity
• Accepts respects the rights of all Australians
  to share express their individual cultural
  heritage
• Within an overriding commitment to Australia

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• Multiculturalism is underpinned by 4 principles
  of
• Civil duty
• Cultural respect
• Social equity
• Productive diversity

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2. What is multicultural education?

• Multicultural education has different
  conceptualizations to different people such as
• A shift in curriculum to be more inclusive of
  traditionally under-represented groups
• Or teaching styles that serve certain groups yet
  present barriers to others

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• Or institutional systematic issues such as
  funding discrepancies
• Or changes reflecting larger societal
  transformations such as global socioeconomic
  situations

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• All differing conceptualizations have shared
  ideals such as
• Every student must have equal opportunity to
  achieve her/his full potential
• Every student must be prepared to competently
  participate in an increasingly intercultural
  society

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• Teachers must be prepared to effectively
  facilitate learning for every individual student,
  no matter how culturally similar or different
  from her/himself
• Schools must be actively participate in ending
  biases stereotyping of all kinds from within
  and in the community
• Education must be fully student centred and
  reflect the cultures experiences of the
  students
• Educational practices how they affect the
  learning of students, need to examined constantly
  

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3. Student-centred Pedagogy

• The cultural context of students is pivotal to
  make learning more active, interactive engaging
• Traditional teaching approaches pedagogical
  models must be deconstructed to ensure they do
  not reflect anti-bias or discriminatory practices
• All aspects of the curriculum need to focus on
  students instead of standardized tests

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• Emphasis should be put on critical creative
  thinking, learning skills and social awareness
• Pedagogy must provide all students with equal
  potential to reach their potential as learners
• Pedagogy must be flexible enough to allow
  for the diversity of individual
  students learning styles

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4. Multicultural Curriculum

• All aspects of the curricula need to reflect
  diverse perspectives
• Inclusive curricula means child centred
  approaches where children are given choices
• Materials and resources need to reflect the
  cultures of the chn in the EC centre
• Curricula should reflect the diversity of
  learning styles in the early childhood centre

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5. Supportive School Classroom Climate

• EC teachers need to be prepared to foster a
  positive classroom climate for all students
• EC centre cultures should be examined to
  determined how they might be cycling recycling
  biased societal conditions and attitudes

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• Administrative hierarchies in educational
  institutions should examine whether they produce
  positive teaching environments for all teachers
• All educational staff need to ensure that
  practices which are deemed to be racist, sexist,
  heteosexist, classist, or in other way
  discriminatory, are eradicated

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6. Continual Evaluation Assessment

• Early childhood educators need to implement a
  variety of observational techniques of young chn
  in naturalistic settings
• EC educators need to examine the emphasis on
  standardised test scores

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7. Bilingualism

• Bilingual education provides opportunities for a
  curriculum which is relevant to the chns culture
• Useful to the chns own community
• Integration of children, family, school and
  community

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• Can reduce alienation cultural fragmentation
• Cultures are preserved not crushed
• Cultures are valued and respected
• Provides opportunities for language learning
  maintenance of childs first language

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8. Implications for Early Childhood Educators

• Success in school depends upon the childs
  mastery of cognitive/academic language, which is
  different from the social language at home
• The development of cognitive/academic language
  takes time ( up to 7 years of formal teaching)

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• Chn can easily develop literacy skills in a
  familiar language
• Chn can easily develop cognitive skills master
  curriculum content when they are taught in a
  familiar language
• Once cognitive/academic language skills are
  mastered, chn can readily transfer from one
  language to the other

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• To experience success in a second language chn
  need to be proficient in their first language
• Chn learn a second language in different ways
  depending upon their culture their individual
  personality
• Time assisting a child to master second language
  proficiency in a supportive environment, is a
  wise investment

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9. Successful EC programs depend upon

• Development of the first language is encouraged
  to promote cognitive development a basis for
  learning the second language
• Parental community support involvement are
  essential

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• Tchers are able to understand, speak use the
  language of instruction proficiently (regardless
  of 1st or 2nd language)
• Tchers are well trained, have cultural competence
  and are continually upgrading their training
• Adequate funding is available to develop and
  maintain educational programs for children for
  whom English is not their first language

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10. Refugee Children

• Increase in the number of refugee chn accepted
  into Australia
• Many attend early childhood centres while their
  parents attend English classes
• Many chn have experienced trauma through war,
  dangerous boat trips, mandatory detention

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• Chn develop behaviours which help them cope with
  stress fear
• These coping behaviours are perceived as
  maladaptive undesirable
• Until chn feel safe they are unable to change
  these behaviours

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• Behaviours such as chronic fear, fear of benign
  items people, unnatural clinginess )
  over-dependent behaviour, ongoing sleep problems
  sleep, aggression, irritability disorders

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• According to Sims, Hayden, Palmer Hutchins
  (2000) best practice in early childhood is also
  the best practice for children who have
  experienced trauma. Best practice begins with an
  empathic understanding of children and families.
  This starts with an awareness of an emphasis on
  establishing connections with families
  children.
• (Sims,M., Hayden, J., Palmer, G., Hutchins, T
  (2000). Working in early childhood settings with
  children who have experienced refugee or
  war-related trauma. Australian Journal of Early
  Childhood, 25(4), 41-46)
  

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