What is Anti-Bias Education?

Preschool Cognitive Development Lesson 3 Apply What is Anti-Bias Education? Guide	WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG ACTIVITY ID: 24341 Name Certifier Date
By Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards, and Catherine M. Goins Early-childhood educators have deep faith in the principle that all people deserve the opportunities and resources to fulfill their complete humanity. Moreover, we have a unique role in making this principle real, in promoting all children’s chances to thrive and to succeed in school, in work, and in life. Anti-bias work is essentially optimistic work about the future for our children. It provides teachers a way to examine and transform their understanding of children’s lives and do self-reflective work to more deeply understand their own lives. Anti-bias education has four core goals: Goal 1: Each child will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities. Goal 2: Each child will express comfort and joy with human diversity, accurate language for human differences, and deep, caring human connections. Goal 3: Each child will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts. Goal 4: Each child will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice or discriminatory actions. The heart of anti-bias work is a vision of a world in which all children are able to blossom, and each child’s particular abilities and gifts are able to flourish. In this world: All children and families have a sense of belonging and experience affirmation of their identities and cultural ways of being. All children have access to and participate in the education they need to become successful, contributing members of society. The educational process engages all members of the program or school in joyful learning. Children and adults know how to live, learn, and work together in diverse and inclusive environments respectfully and easily. All families have the resources they need to fully nurture their children. All children and families live in safe, peaceful, healthy, comfortable housing and neighborhoods. Adapted from Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, published by NAEYC in 2020.

Guide

WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG

ACTIVITY ID: 24341

Name

Certifier

Date

By Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards, and Catherine M. Goins

Early-childhood educators have deep faith in the principle that all people deserve the opportunities and resources to fulfill their complete humanity. Moreover, we have a unique role in making this principle real, in promoting all children’s chances to thrive and to succeed in school, in work, and in life. Anti-bias work is essentially optimistic work about the future for our children. It provides teachers a way to examine and transform their understanding of children’s lives and do self-reflective work to more deeply understand their own lives.

Anti-bias education has four core goals:

Goal 1: Each child will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.
Goal 2: Each child will express comfort and joy with human diversity, accurate language for human differences, and deep, caring human connections.
Goal 3: Each child will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts.
Goal 4: Each child will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice or discriminatory actions.

The heart of anti-bias work is a vision of a world in which all children are able to blossom, and each child’s particular abilities and gifts are able to flourish. In this world:

All children and families have a sense of belonging and experience affirmation of their identities and cultural ways of being.
All children have access to and participate in the education they need to become successful, contributing members of society.
The educational process engages all members of the program or school in joyful learning.
Children and adults know how to live, learn, and work together in diverse and inclusive environments respectfully and easily.
All families have the resources they need to fully nurture their children.
All children and families live in safe, peaceful, healthy, comfortable housing and neighborhoods.

Adapted from Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, published by NAEYC in 2020.