The assignment aims to design a childhood growth program that adopts a socially just and unbiased approach to teaching. The selected topic for the assignment is linguistic diversity and the influence it has on both teaching and learning experience.
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Running Head: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Early Childhood Education Name of Student Name of University Author note
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1 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 1.Topic and rationale The assignment aims to design a childhood growth program that adopts a socially just and unbiased approach to teaching. The selected topic for the assignment is linguistic diversity and the influence it has on both teaching and learning experience. This topic is highly important to address since I have felt linguistic barriers to be the most challenging factor of my career and my readings fromDiversity and Difference in Childhood: Issues for Theory and Practicehave led me to identify the extent of Multiculturalism in the Australian society and how it can be used as a policy and practice for overcoming linguistic barriers. Australia, like many other nations in the West is an immigrant receiving country with predominant diasporic identities (Robinson and Diaz., 2005). Schools admit students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and it is often difficult for students to settle into a culture that is different of theirs. Being a teacher of Black origin in a white-oriented country is difficult not only in terms of the political and regional differences, but also in terms of cultural and linguistic differences which becomes a hindrance in the process of teaching and learning. The primary mode of communication in the classroom is language, hence discrepancies in it may lead to miscommunication and confusion. The center I am associated with has students belonging from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The official language used in school is English and many students, like me, have different mother tongues. For encouraging them to become individuals who are accepting of differences and has respect for different cultures, it is important to instill liberal thoughts in them with the help of productive activities that challenges the dominant discourse of the country and makes them question stereotypes. The topic of linguistic diversity is essential for growth and progress of the children, since they need to work harmoniously in groups, eradicating
2 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION all barriers concerning language and avoiding any confusion that may arise due to linguistic differences. 2.Resource audit An audit for resources that might initiate dominant discourses concerning linguistic diversity and the beauty of it is a strategic program that has the potential to help children develop new perspectives, and challenge the dominant discourses they currently convey. Some of the resources and the strategies to use them for the purpose are listed below: Pens- A teacher uses red pen while the student uses black or blue; the different colors of the ink indicate the positional difference between the student and the teacher. The colors of the ink may be different but both the parties use the same medium for writing and communication; that is the pen. The difference in colors helps demarcating the teacher from the student, although the mode of expression is the same. Just as the red ink is only different, not superior to the blue ink, the Englishlanguageisjustdifferent,notsuperiortoothernativelanguages. Explained like this, the students will be more receptive and accepting of people with different linguistic backgrounds. Paintings- What makes a painting beautiful is the amalgamation of diverse elements like mountains, birds, huts, clouds, Pasteur and streams. Featuring different elements of nature in the frame makes it more appealing than painting one single object. Similarly, a class becomes more vibrant and inclusive with students belonging from different culturaland linguisticbackgrounds. Each student has the opportunity to have a taste of different worlds. This example will
3 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION help them open up to the beauties of diversity and will also boost their social growth. Extra-curricular- Engaging children more in extra-curriculum activities like music and dance will open up the forum for discussing linguistic and cultural diversity. Students belonging from different nativities specialize in different forms of performing arts, this should encourage the students to acceptand embrace differences for the sake of learning new things and engaging in new activities. Fun activities will keep them engaged and eliminate all the differences of cultural barriers. 3.Learning experiences The purpose is to disrupt dominant discourses by encouraging children to think critically about the topic of linguistic diversity and propagate acceptance, tolerance and respect towards different cultures. Arranging activities to help children think differently and challengestereotypesisa crucialstepineradicatingprejudicesthatarisedueto differences. The activities and their desired outcomes are as follows: Building relationships through interactive sessions- If the students interact with each other frequently enough, they will be able to identify the things they have in common, notwithstanding the linguistic differences. Group discussions followed by sessions of film watching, painting and reciting will initiate the required communication between students from different backgrounds. The activity will provide the opportunity to each student for sharing their thoughts about a film, a painting, a poem or a book with the rest of the class and have their opinion acknowledged or refuted by them. This will encourage productive discourses on
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4 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION different perspectives and students can be made aware of how different cultural and linguistic backgrounds shape different thought-processes of individual, it is thereforeasmartsteptowardsmakingchildrenthinkinnewways.The discussions will further help them link some of their interests, passions and preferences with that of students who speak a different language, this will provoke them to think of language as an artificially created barrier that stands in the way of making valuable connections with other people. Equal opportunity to each student in the class to share their opinions will promote the spirit of equality among everyone, and encourage them to look beyond the differences in language and race, to make new bonds and make their school life worthwhile and more enjoyable. Questions- Do you feel you would have been able to identify the similar choices and make connections with these people if they had the same native language as yours? What do you think has prevented you from approaching a culturally different individual to strike up a conversation with him/her? Are people with different native languages different as human beings? If yes/not, then why? Now that you have learned more about this culturally different group, would like to interact with them more? If so, why? EYLF/NQS connection- This activity will help them to interact more meaningfully with other students and broaden their ideas about the rest of the word. This will prepare them as effective communicators for the future and develop a sense of identity within the marginalized section of the class.
5 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Multimodal approach to teaching and translation workshops- The multimodal method of teaching makes use of different modes like audio-visuals, speech, text or other movement channels for enhancing the learning experience of students. This approach to teaching would help combat problems arising due to linguistic differences (Jewitt., 2012). For instance, if a lesson is accompanied with audio- visuals, it becomes easier for everyone in the class to follow them and avoid any misinterpretation caused due to dialectal differences. It would also convey the idea that everyone reacts in similar ways to things; a robbery triggers disgust, a beautiful scenery appeals to everyone’s senses in similar ways while a delicious dish leaves people with the craving to devour it. The message is that feelings have no languages and people are all united in their responses to different things in the world. Translation workshops is another potentially productive and fun activity that might bridge the gaps between linguistic differences and extend the horizons of the students to new cultures and the innumerable possibilities of creating meanings in a given text. It will be an engaging activity to ask students with different mother tongues to translate a given piece of English writing and recite it in front of the class. The students will be excited to learn the new meanings of the text after translation and that would make them more sensitive and respectful towards culturally different people. To make the activity more engaging, these students will be asked to translate some of the poems written in their own language and share them with the class. The native English speakers of the class will interpret these translations, they can share their take on the works.
6 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Questions- Do you think you have more in common with the people you thought were different? Why? Would you like to have a taste of the culture of these ‘different’ people by getting to know more about their literature and arts? EYLF/NQS connection- The children have the opportunity to contribute to their world. The exercise on translation is productive enough to build confidence in children and give thema sense of importancesince they are making notable contributions to class activities. Word games and chart making- Crosswords and puzzles are extremely effective means of learning, and when it comes to learning a new language, it is best to involve play in it. The purpose is to inculcate the belief that cultural and linguistic diversity is beautiful and helps us progress and learn new things. The class will be divided into teams, and they can work together for solving puzzles and working out crosswords. This will help the students improve their vocabulary and engage them in productive teamwork. This will also help them learn new words from students with linguistically different backgrounds. Working on charts on topics concerning cultural diversity and its importance will sensitize the dominant culture towards the marginal ones. For encouraging the students further, the teacher will arrange for prizes for the best team. Questions- Do you think the activities would be just as fun if all the team membersspokethesamelanguageandbelongedfromthesamecultural background? What makes these games so interesting? Connections with EYFL/NQS- The activity will promote a sense of well-being and makes children more involved learners. Games have their characteristic
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7 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION tendency to make people feel more lively and productive in their activities (Kilderry et al., 2017). Crosswords and puzzles are highly engaging activities that stimulates the brain and makes proper use of imagination and memory. The activity will promote a sense of well-being, while making charts on the said topic willopenuptheirmindstodiversityandmakethemmoreacceptingof differences,giventheyareworkingwithpeoplebelongingfromdiverse backgrounds. Fraser opines that building relationships between students is one of the primary means of eradicating prejudices that arise due to cultural differences, the activitiesaredevelopedtobuildharmoniousrelationshipsamongculturally diversestudents.Further,theactivitiesadheretoSummer’snotionthat interrupting dominant perspectives lays the foundation for new ones and prepares the young mind to challenge the stereotypes concerning race, culture, language and religion (Summer., 2014). Personal reflection The main ideas that I have been presented in the subject materials are that of my three learning experiences where I have continued to disrupt the dominant discourse by encouraging my students to think in critical manner about linguistic diversity. I have made use of different activities by means of which I have implanted the sense of importance of celebrating diversity within the students. To my viewpoint, I think it is very important to critically reflect our assumptions and knowledge to become socially just teachers in front of the students. This is due to the fact that critical reflection develops and sense of confident and trust within the individuals. Critical reflection is very important in the field of student learning. By collecting information
8 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION and ideas of several scholars and people concerning what went on in the classroom and taking time for analysing them from a distance, we, as a teachers will identify more what worked better and what did not. With the same, we will also be able to look at the unexpressed or the underlying beliefs and principles which define the way in which we work. In my view, the type of self-awareness is a very strong pool of a teacher, particularly when so much of how and what we teach could be changed in the very moment. I think reflecting the way we teach is much about just summarising what has happened inside of the classroom. Hence, if we spend all our time discussing the events of any lesson, or critically reflecting on our bias, beliefs, knowledge and experience, it is possible to jump to an immediate or sudden conclusions regarding why the things have happened as they did. This will create a sense of trust among the students for their teachers and in this way we could become socially just teachers. Connection to EYLF- The exercises will help me to become more flexible and vibrant for my students. It will invite discovery, initiate conversations and collaborations. It will also engage the children in meaningful learning experiences strengthen the bond between me and my students. References and bibliography: Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA]. (2017). National quality standard. Retrieved fromhttp://acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework/the-
9 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION national-quality-standard Child Australia. (n.d.). What is pedagogy? How does it influence our practice? Retrieved from http://www.childaustralia.org.au/ Creaser, B., & Dau, E. (1995).The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood. Australian Early Childhood Association, Inc., PO Box 105, Watson, Australian Capital Territory 2602, Australia. Cummings, T. (2016). Diversity and difference in early childhood education [EEP304 Modules]. Retrieved January 3, 2018, from Charles Sturt University Website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au Inoue, M., O’Gorman, L., Davis, J., & Ji, O. (2017). An international comparison of early childhood educators’ understandings and practices in education for sustainability in Japan, Australia, and Korea.International Journal of Early Childhood,49(3), 353-373. Jewitt, C. (2012).Technology, literacy, learning: A multimodal approach. Routledge. Kilderry, A., Nolan, A., & Scott, C. (2017). ‘Out of the loop’: early childhood educators gaining confidence with unfamiliar policy discourse.Early Years,37(4), 341-354. Maxwell & P. Ninnes (Eds.),The context of teaching(2nded.) (pp. 135-156). Armidale, NSW: Kardoorair Press Ltd. McConaghy, C. (2000). Constructing aboriginality, determining significant difference. In T. W. Maxwell & P. Ninnes (Eds.),The context of teaching(2nd ed.) (pp. 135-156). Armidale, NSW: Kardoorair Press Ltd. Robinson, K., & Jones Diaz, C. (2005).Diversity And Difference In Early Childhood Education: Issues For Theory And Practice: n/a. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Summer,M.(2014).“YouAreaRacist”:AnEarlyChildhoodEducator'sRacialized Awakening.The Social Studies,105(4), 193-200.
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10 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Summer, M. (2014). You are a racist: An early childhood educator’s racialized awakening.The Social Studies105(4), 193-200. DOI: 10.1080/00377996.2014.894903