2022 EXCEL Silver Award Winner. Together, the voices of early childhood educators, scholars, and professionals can sound the call to advance the profession toward more equitable educational experiences, systems, and practices for all children. This book showcases many of these voices from across the field of early childhood education and invites you to think about and discuss ways you can add your own voice to that call.

Expanding on recommendations from NAEYC’s “Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education” position statement, the contributors to this invaluable resource navigate difficult and complex topics and offer guidance on how to apply more equitable pedagogical practices. Grounded in theoretical frameworks and current research, the chapters look at both the history of inequity in the profession and what the future of education can mean for all children.

Inside, you’ll read the voices of

Teresa Acevedo ● Jennifer Keys Adair ● Rosemarie Allen ● Garnett S. Booker III ● Barbara T. Bowman ● Dina C. Castro ● Jie-Qi Chen ● Stephanie M. Curenton ● Felicia L. DeHaney ● Louise Derman-Sparks ● Lillian Durán ● Tonia R. Durden ● Isauro M. Escamilla ● Belinda Bustos Flores ● Janelle Beth Flores ● Ximena Franco ● Mimi Gray ● Socorro Herrera ● Zeynep Isik-Ercan ● Debbie LeeKeenan ● Junlei Li ● Daniel R. Meier ● Jen Neitzel ● John Nimmo ● Iliana Reyes ● Shubhi Sachdeva ● Hilary Seitz ● Dorothy L. Shapland ● Carla Thompson Payton ● Alandra Washington ● Dana Winters ● Brian L. Wright . . . and many more!

Acknowledgments

Contributor List

NAEYC’s “Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education” Position Statement

Introduction Iliana Alanís, Iheoma U. Iruka, and Susan Friedman

Part 1: Reflections on Equity

Section 1: Reflections on Ourselves

Chapter 1: Looking Inward: Reflections from Early Education Professionals on Their Journey to Reduce Bias and Racism Iheoma U. Iruka, with Anthony Broughton, Michael Gonzalez, Jillian Herink, Steven Hicks, Tamara Johnson, Jen Neitzel, Karen Nemeth, Nicol Russell, and Shannon Wanless

Section 2: Reflections on Our Profession

Chapter 2: Why History? Educating the Early Childhood Workforce for Equity Barbara T. Bowman

Chapter 3: Quality Includes Removing Bias from Early Childhood Education Environments Felicia L. DeHaney, Carla Thompson Payton, and Alandra Washington

Chapter 4: Being an Equity Leader John Nimmo, Debbie LeeKeenan, and Louise Derman-Sparks

Chapter 5: Recognizing Shortcomings of a Traditional Professional Knowledge Base Tonia R. Durden and Stephanie M. Curenton

Part 2: Responsive Pedagogical Practices

Chapter 6: Creating Caring Communities in Early Childhood Contexts Garnett S. Booker III

Chapter 7: Focusing on What Really Counts: How Noticing and Appreciating Simple, Ordinary Moments in Early Childhood Care and Education Can Enrich Human Relationships and Promote Professional Equity Junlei Li and Dana Winters

Chapter 8: Developing the Three Cs of Reciprocity Zeynep Isik-Ercan

Chapter 9: What About the Children? Teachers Cultivating and Nurturing the Voice and Agency of Young Children Brian L. Wright

Chapter 10: Equity, Diversity, and Child Development: Implications for Practice Iliana Reyes, Mimi Gray, and Teresa Acevedo

Chapter 11: Equitable Learning Opportunities for Young Bilingual Children: Strategies to Promote Oral Language Development Dina C. Castro and Ximena Franco

Chapter 12: Creating High-Quality STEM Experiences for All Young Learners: What Do Teachers of Young Children Need to Know? Jie-Qi Chen

Chapter 13: Developing Meaningful and Relevant Writing with K–3 Dual Language Learner Students Daniel R. Meier

Chapter 14: Providing Responsive Supports to Dual Language Learners with Disabilities Lillian Durán

Chapter 15: Making Thinking, Learning, and Development Visible and Inclusive Through Authentic Assessment Hilary Seitz

Chapter 16: Learning Stories: Observation, Reflection, and Narrative in Early Childhood Education Isauro M. Escamilla

Part 3: Moving Forward as a Profession

Chapter 17: The Work: Promoting Equity and Justice in Early Childhood Jen Neitzel

Chapter 18: Agency and Power in Young Children’s Lives: Five Ways to Advocate for Social Justice as an Early Childhood Educator Jennifer Keys Adair and Shubhi Sachdeva

Chapter 19: Creating Anti-Racist Early Childhood Spaces Rosemarie Allen, Dorothy L. Shapland, Jen Neitzel, and Iheoma U. Iruka

Chapter 20: Early Childhood Teacher Educators’ Critical Role: Preparing Culturally Efficacious Early Childhood Teachers Belinda Bustos Flores, Socorro Herrera, and Janelle Beth Flores

Appendix: A Note on Terminology Used in this Book

About the Editors

Index