Content Creation Standards
Category: Instructional Materials
Standard A9: Content represents diverse children and families
Description: Applications, examples, and scenarios relate to diverse audiences, communities and demographics.
Our courses should reflect the diversity of people who use them. When examples, vignettes, or scenarios are present in the content, the details provided should represent different learning settings, styles of teaching/learning, relationships between educators, children, and families, and more using an asset-based approach. Where possible the content can be left open-ended or lead to reflection that allows instructors and participants to apply their own understanding and funds of knowledge. Demographic and/or identity-related descriptors for people in scenarios/vignettes/examples should only be provided intentionally as a relevant component that furthers the goals of the content and learning.
Standard A10: Content includes a variety of perspectives
Description: Applications, examples, and scenarios present nuanced perspectives on issues, events, and concepts.
When thinking about this standard, consider the danger of a single story. How do you make sure you are looking at different perspectives, even if you don’t personally agree?
For more information, watch The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Standard A11: Practices for children with diverse abilities
Description: Content includes evidence-based and/or emerging practices for children with diverse abilities and their families.
When it comes to preparing educators to teach in an early learning setting, we want to focus on practices that promote positive outcomes for children, families, and communities. Many of the practices included in EarlyEdU courses are evidence-based, meaning they have been demonstrated as effective within multiple research studies that document similar outcomes. At the same time, we recognize this is not the only way to determine what teaching practices are effective. Other promising and emerging practices exist that promote positive outcomes for children, families, and communities, yet they have not undergone what is traditionally accepted as rigorous study. In part this is due to structural power imbalances that have long determined what and who is worthy of study. We seek to include and elevate knowledge from a wide range of sources that best represent the communities we serve, while still promoting positive outcomes for children, families, and communities.
When thinking about any teaching practice presented in coursework, it is equally important for participants to consider how it applies to their individual context. Content should encourage participants to be open to learning from families and to think critically about the methods and limitations of data collection associated with any research and/or evidence stating that certain practices are effective. They should ask themselves, “For whom is this evidence true?”
Example
Standard A12: Practices for children who are multilingual
Description: Content includes evidence-based and/or emerging practices for children and families who are dual language learners, or multilingual.
See description for Standard A11
Example
Standard A13: Practices for children from diverse ethnic and racial identities
Description: Content includes evidence-based and/or emerging practices by and for children and families from diverse ethnic and racial identities.
See description for Standard A11
Standard A14: Variety of content formats and supportive materials
Description: Content is delivered in a variety of forms (audio, video, written, etc) and includes supportive materials. (e.g. glossaries, illustrations, videos, interactives)
Note: Refer to standard B8 in Course Design for a complete description.
Standard A15: Visible and audible representation (photos, videos, etc.)
Description: Visual, audio, and musical components capture racial and ethnic, skin tone, family makeup, gender, or disability diversity in non-stereotypical ways.
The components listed in this standard do not cover every dimension of diversity it is important to represent. Course materials should be responsive to the specific communities they are intended to serve. For instance, other considerations may include:
- Representing various dialects
- Representing different generations as primary caregivers
- Representing a range of learning environments (ex. informal, Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) care, high-resource and low-resource programs)
Standard A16: Assignments honor funds of knowledge
Description: Session assignments honor and elicit participants’ funds of knowledge.
“Funds of knowledge can be described as:
- Academic and personal background knowledge
- Accumulated life experiences
- Skills and knowledge used to navigate everyday experiences
- World views structured by broader historically and politically influenced social forces”
Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Funds of knowledge toolkit.
Example
- An assignment that asks, “Think about a time you…”
Standard A17: Context-based assignments that promote equitable practices
Description: Session assignments and activities across the course are context-based, designed for participants to reflect and think about the needs of ALL children, and how they would apply anti-racism pedagogy and equitable practices in their own classrooms.
Examples
Inclusive, accessible, culturally sustaining, responsive, trauma-informed practices for children with diverse abilities, from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, diverse communities, multilingual learners, etc.
Additional resource
Iruka, I., Curenton, S., Durden, T., & Escayg, K. (2020). Don’t look away: Embracing anti-bias classrooms. Gryphon House, Inc.
Standard A18: Assignments promote self-reflection, critical thinking, or decision making
Description: Session activities and assignments engage participants in meaningful self-reflection, critical thinking, or decision making.
Example
EarlyEdU course: Culturally Thriving and Socially Just Early Childhood Education, Sessions 1-9
- Multicultural Education A.C.E. Self-Assessments: Participants complete a self-assessment of their Attitude, Curriculum, and early learning Environment in each session.
- Reflective Practice: Participants use what they learned in class and from their self-assessments to identify what they will start doing which they have not tried in the past, what they will stop doing that may possibly be having an adverse impact on children, colleagues, communities, families, and/or themselves, and what will stay the same regarding their interactions, curriculum, or learning environment.
Standard A19: Readings are reputable, freely available, and relevant
Description: Session readings represent a variety of reputable, freely available, relevant sources such as blogs, narratives, research articles, position statements, or policy briefs.
Additional considerations
- When selecting readings, consider flexibility and availability to adapt to other languages.
- Instructors should consider bringing in leaders from their own communities in addition to readings to make the content more relevant to their learners.
- Instructors can search for federally funded research that is published for free if they are looking for additional course resources.
- While we strive to meet this standard, there are times when participants are asked to read articles or research that is still regarded as seminal work in the field of Early Childhood Education, even though it may be based upon what we now recognize as biased or racist assumptions. When this occurs, instructors are encouraged to have an open dialogue with participants. Name the positionality from which the article was written and acknowledge its flaws.
Standard A20: Readings address topics of oppression and systemic inequities
Description: Readings across the session explicitly address topics of privilege, intersectionality, oppression (racism, sexism, classism, ableism, linguistic oppression included), diversity, inclusion, culture, racial and systemic inequities which encourage participants to reflect on their own biases and practices.
In order to educate ALL children and families with diverse cultural backgrounds and abilities in an effective and equitable manner, it is important to diversify the practices, experiences and systems embedded in the reading assignments of the course. In addition to the Eurocentric perspectives typically included in Early Childhood Education courses, it is equally important, if not more, to amplify the voices and cultural perspectives of authors outside of White-European countries (i.e., BIPOC researchers/authors).
Examples
- Reading assignments from the EarlyEdU course– Supporting Multilingual Learners
- Heinemann Publishing (207, May 31). Your Pedagogy Might be More Aligned with Colonialism than You Realize [Blog post]
- Banks, J.A. (1998). Approaches to Multicultural Curriculum Reform. In E. Lee, D. Menkart, M. Okazawa-Rey, & Network of Educators on the Americas (Eds.), Beyond heroes and holidays: A practical guide to K-12 anti-racist, multicultural education and staff development (pp. 37-38). Washington, D.C.: Network of Educators on the Americas. [PDF]
Standard A21: Readings are inclusive
Description: Readings across the session represent children with diverse abilities and their families, children and families who are multilingual learners, and/or children with diverse ethnic and racial identities.
The strategies and practices educators use in the classroom need to vary depending on the needs of all the children. Children who are multilingual learners and/or have diverse abilities may need different approaches to learning and additional support or scaffolds in order to meet their developmental milestones and gain new knowledge and skills. It is important that educators participating in the course are exposed to readings that specifically address a variety of practices, approaches, and strategies that support children with diverse abilities, children who are multilingual learners, and their families.
Examples
