EVALUATING IMPACTS ON PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

"Almost everything adults say or do around children carries messages about gender, economic class, racial identity, ability, and family culture." 

-Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 32

One of the most important things we can do as early childhood professionals is to assess and reflect on our social identities, schema, and bias.  We know that children, from birth, observe and internalize the words and actions of adults in their lives.  Even the most subtle and covert messages become realities for our children and are reflected in their learned actions and stereotypes.  Even a teacher with good intentions could be perpetuating stereotypes in their language and learning environment which is why it is so vital that we constantly evaluate our perceptions of the world and how we think about gender, class, race, culture, sexual orientation, abilities, and age.

Personally, I have been reflecting on how sexism has affected me in my life as a woman and how it influences my interactions with children and the building of a nurturing learning environment in my classroom.  Internalized oppression can cause me to believe that the stereotypes about girls and women are true.  Then unintentionally I can react and interact with the children in my class in a way that perpetuates those stereotypes.  I have to be aware of my bias so that I do not treat girls as nurturers and boys as builders.  I have to be careful not to compliment girls on their appearance and boys on their actions.  In addition to assessing my interactions I have to ensure that I am encouraging healthy gender exploration in the learning environment as well.  This means that boys feel comfortable and encouraged to investigate different roles in the dramatic play area and that girls feel confident and motivated to explore in the block area.  The library area also needs to have books that do not perpetuate gender stereotypes, but show a wide variety of females and males crossing gender boundaries (e.i. female firefighters, leaders, construction workers, and male nurses, dancers, and caretakers).  

 



Reference
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).