ECE 205: Diversity and Ethics in Early Childhood Education

Course Description

This course is designed for students who work or are preparing to work in early childhood education.  Students taking this course will develop an historical and contemporary understanding of diversity and anti-bias teaching practices focusing on the United States. Participants will examine the meaning of culture, race, ethnicity, language, gender, families and how those concepts influence identity and school experience. Students will review the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and consider strategies for affirming diversity in the early childhood classroom.  (3 credits)

Prerequisite

• None

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

At the Associate of Science level, students will: 

1. Promote Child Development and Learning- understand how young children develop and learn and how to use developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive and challenging learning environments inclusive of all young children (NAEYC, Standard 1).
2. Establish Family and Community Relationships- understand and support diverse family and community characteristics and engage with families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships (NAEYC, Standard 2).
3. Observe, document and Assess- utilize a variety of assessment tools to observe and document development and to plan for future instruction respective of each child’s developmental needs (NAEYC, Standard 3).
4. Utilize Developmentally Effective Approaches- develop positive relationships and supportive interactions with young children and using effective strategies and tools for teaching and learning in early education, (NAEYC, Standard 4). NAEYC, Standard 3).
5. Use Content Knowledge to build Meaningful Curriculum- develop experiences within environments that are safe, healthy, inclusionary and culturally pluralistic and reflect understanding of developmentally appropriate practices, (NAEYC, Standard 5).
6. Develop as a Professional- engage in continuous reflective and collaborative learning and identify oneself as an emerging professional within the early childhood field (NAEYC, Standard 6). 7.
7. Engage in Field Experiences to support learning with various age groups and across multiple early childhood settings (NAEYC, Standard 7).

At the Bachelor of Science level, in addition to the above, students will: 

8. Promote Child Development and Learning- have a deeper understanding of child development and be able to use both developmental knowledge as well as early childhood research to create healthy, respectful, supportive and challenging learning environments for inclusive of all young children (NAEYC, Standard 1).
9. Establish Family and Community Relationships- understand and support diverse family and community characteristics and engage families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships in young children’s development and learning (NAEYC, Standard 2).
10. Observe, document and Assess- support young children’s development and learning and effectively be able to administer and interpret assessments for young children with special needs, provide interventions and make referrals when appropriate (NAEYC, Standard 3).
11. Utilize Developmentally Effective Approaches- develop experiences within environments that are safe, healthy, inclusionary and culturally pluralistic and reflect understanding of developmentally appropriate practices for each child, (NAEYC, Standard 5).
12. Use Content Knowledge to build Meaningful Curriculum- demonstrate advanced content knowledge related to the academic disciplines, central concepts and inquiry in teaching, and appropriate early learning standards and other resources to design, implement and evaluate developmentally appropriate meaningful and challenging curriculum for each child (NAEYC, Standard 5). 
13. Develop as a Professional- engage in continuous reflective and collaborative learning and identify oneself as a professional within the early childhood field by mentoring others (NAEYC, Standard 6).

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Recognize that diversity is a trait of culture in the United States.

2. Explain the historical sources of diversity in the United States.

3. Describe major historical points of immigration into the United States and contemporary issues related to immigration.

4. Survey characteristics of major cultural groups and compare similarities and differences with mainstream culture.

5. Explain how culture shapes identity.

6. Define culture within the context of core elements across various cultures and as it creates diversity.

7. Analyze the impact of stereotypes and discrimination on culturally diverse groups.

8. Investigate the importance of race and ethnicity in the context of culture.

9. Recognize the family as the means of cultural transmission.

10. Compare child rearing practices across cultural groups.

11. Explain family organization in contemporary society as it reflects societal change.

12. Identify the primary factors that influence the development of identity, specifically in young children.

13. Describe historical efforts addressing equality and social justice for children and the influence of these events on the emergence of multicultural education.

14. Describe two models of multicultural education.

15. Describe three early childhood multicultural approaches to curriculum.

16. Describe curriculum development that is responsive to a diverse learning environment.

17. Analyze the meaning of linguistic diversity and how to integrate dual language learners into the classroom.

18. Demonstrate the key components of a multicultural classroom environment.
19. Discuss the importance of family, school, and community as collaborative partners.

20. Describe the importance of an anti-bias curriculum and demonstrate appropriate activities.

General Education Outcomes (GEOs)

Please check the applicable GEOs for this course, if any, by outcomes at GEO Category Search, or by subject area at GEO Discipline Search.

Course Activities and Grading

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak's online bookstore

• Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J.O. (2020). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. 2nd ed. Diversion Books. ISBN-13: 978-1-938113-57-4

• Feeney, S. & Freeman, N.K. (2018).  Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator: using the NAEYC Code, 3^rd ed. Washington, D.C.: National Association for Young Children. ISBN-13: 978-1-938113-33-8

• Robles de Melendez, W. & Beck, V. (2019). Teaching Young Children in Multicultural Classrooms: Issues, Concepts, and Strategies. 5th ed. Delmar Learning. ISBN-13: 978-1-337-56607-0

Additional Resources

• National Association for the Education of Young Children

• McIntosh, P. (1992). "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” In Filor, A.M. Compliation. Multiculturalism, 1992. New York State Council of Educational Associations. October: 30-37. (Available through Charter Oak's Virtual Library)

Course Schedule

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.