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Integrate Strategies That Support Diversity and Antibias Perspectives

Anti-bias work is a vision of a world in which all children are able to
blossom, and each childs particular abilities and gifts are able to flourish.
Cultural influences can affect a childs identity and their formation of selfidentity. Culture is not the only things that can influence a childs identity.
There is bias on gender, race, economic class, and having differing
disabilities or abilities. The dynamics of advantages and disadvantages are
deeply rooted in history. That is why it is so important in early childhood
education to eliminate any prejudice and bias from your classroom. The first
step is to look at yourself, then the room/environment, props, and
curriculum. If you take the time to observe children in your care you can stop
most bias before it becomes an issue. Children need guidance and support
as they begin to discover new people and diverse cultures. A child needs to
feel comfortable with who they are, where they come from, who their
families are, and their cultures. We want children to thrive in a diverse
world and chose to stand up for themselves and others, then we must chose
to help young children make sense out of the confusing and often
emotionally charged messages they receive about themselves and others.
At a young age children listen and watch everything. They begin to perceive
their world and the people in it by what they hear. This is why it is so
important to be diverse and teach children that even though we look and talk
different we are all the same also. This lesson is so vital in your curriculum.
We want children to identify with who they are and where they come from.
They should never be ashamed of who they are. Teaching children
compassion and empathy towards the human race is a goal to stop bullying.
No matter how different we are, we all belong to the human race and that is
what many people should look at.
As a teacher you are going to have families and children with the same
views and culture as you, and many differing ones too. That is why it is
important for you to know who you are and correct any bias feelings you
have. You cant let them interfere with how you teach young children. You
need to be free of bias and prejudice too. There are four basic goals of antibias education they are; each child will demonstrate self-awareness,
confidence, family pride, and positive social identities; each child will express
comfort and joy with human diversity, accurate language for human
differences, and deep caring human connections; each child will increasingly
recognize unfairness, have language to describe unfairness, and understand
that unfairness hurts; each child will demonstrate empowerment and the

skills to act with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory

actions. Knowing these goals will help when you observe your room and
curriculum to remove any bias, and to add to the environment to make it
diverse to all cultures. Your traditions may vary from others and its
important to include others that may be important to your diverse families.
Knowing how to correct bias and prejudice that is developmentally
appropriate for the young children in your care will help to keep your
environment diverse and anti-bias. Invite people of diverse cultures and
stereotypical jobs to come and talk to the children so that they have a
broader view of just a book or lesson.
Children in our care need to have their basic needs met. Feeling
security and affection are some of the basics to move on to other
developmental domains. We need to meet these by being free of bias and
prejudice. We are here for the children in our care and if you cant be antibias maybe you are in the wrong field.