Integrate Strategies That Support Diversity and

Anti-bias 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.
Teachers do their best to have an anti-bias curriculum, but it needs to be
accepted from the community to have the full affect. The dynamics of
advantages and disadvantages are deeply rooted in history. There are four
basic goals of anti-bias education they are;
I.

Each child will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family

pride, and positive social identities. A basic goal of quality early
childhood education is to nurture each childs individual, personal
identity. Anti-bias education adds to that goal the important idea of
nurturing social identities.
II. Each child will express comfort and joy with human diversity;
accurate language for human differences; and deep caring human
connections. In an anti-bias approach, encouraging children to
learn about how they are different from other children and learn
about how they are similar go hand in hand. This is at the heart of
learning how to treat all people caringly and fairly.
III. Each child will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to
describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts. Children
cannot construct a strong self-concept or develop respect for others
if they do not know how to identify and resist hurtful, stereotypical,
and inaccurate messages or actions directed toward them or others.
Developing the ability to think critically strengthens childrens sense
of self, as well as their capacity to form caring relationships with
others.
IV. Each child will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act with
others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions. If
the child is the target of prejudice or discrimination, she/he needs
tools to resist and to know that she has worth. When a child speaks
up for another child, it reinforces his/her understanding of other
peoples unique feelings. When children are helped to take action, it
broadens their understanding of unfairness and fairness.
All four goals work together to move the other. It is important to teach
all four so that children receive the full affect. When putting anti-bias goals
into action everyone will benefit because its for everyone, activities will
evolve around realities in childrens lives, education will be developmentally
appropriate, and child and teacher initiated activities.

A persons early childhood years lay the foundation for a

developmental and experimental journey that continues into adulthood. We
are the ones who lay the foundations, whether you are a parent, teacher, or
caregiver. We all need the diverse perspectives and honest feedback of
peers to expand our understanding of ourselves. We need others to help us
uncover and change our learned biases or discomforts. It is important to
take a self-journey to discover who you are, what your beliefs are, and what
your feelings are. It is important to uncover and discover what your learned
stereotypes, discomforts, and biases are. No one escapes learning
stereotypes and misconceptions about various aspects of human diversity.
Becoming an anti-bias teacher is a journey it will not happen overnight and it
takes commitment to continue on the journey. When you begin to teach the
anti-bias education you will begin to expand your own understanding along
with the children.
It is always important to be compassionate and understanding, be a
good listener, and take into consideration how it makes someone else feel.
Be the best person you can be. To create an anti-bias learning community by
having positive interactions with children, having positive relationships with
families, having anti-bias environment, ABC, and putting it all together. It is
important to respond to the childrens curiosity by doing the following
listening, what the child wants to know, checking for feelings behind words,
answering simply and matter-of-factly, always respond, and follow up with
the child. When creating an anti-bias environment it is always important to
respond to prejudice, discrimination, and bias. It is best to address these
issues right away so they dont escalate.
It is important to make the families of your children to feel safe,
secure, and supported. Learn as much as you can about families.
Observation in a home visit can tell you a lot about a family. Stand up for
your beliefs in anti-bias with a family who is prejudice. Make sure the
environment you have your children in is anti-bias and diverse. Go through
books, check for multi-cultural supplies, toys, reading materials, posters,
games, puzzles, and dolls. Remove any bias, stereotyping materials.
Curriculum planning of activities/lessons should also evolve around anti-bias
teachings and lessons. In early childhood education it is important for
children to become aware of societys attitudes toward their familys cultural
ways, their struggle with cultural continuity and discontinuity, start forming
attitudes about other cultural ways of living, and begin to use cultural/ethnic
terms and try to sort out what they mean. It is important to keep your
program culturally consistent and respectful. Understanding that guidance
strategies are a philosophy and everyones views are different will benefit
you. Sometimes you will not see guidance used as it should be. It is
important to use positive reinforcements, and make the environment to fit

your guidance strategies. Young children often dont here no they just hear
the running, yelling, or whatever it is you dont want them to do.
Understanding how boys learn differently than girls all help to ensure you
can provide an environment that is anti-bias and supports guidance.
If you observe a child stereotyping by career choices in play, making
racial remarks, or simply calling someone else names it is important to step
in and use positive guidance to teach the children how to deal with the
situation. Guidance of behavior can be taught. When children know how to
deal with these type of situations, and speak up for themselves it improves
their self-esteem, and self-worth.
No matter how homogeneous your program appears to be, it is
essential to explore the many cultural differences and similarities
represented among its families and staff. The phrase We are all the same;
we are all different, is one of the most important lessons we can teach. It is
going to affect a childs self-concept, self-esteem, and self-worth.