Early Years Literacy: Addressing Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice

This essay explores the integration of diversity, equity, and social justice into early years literacy education. It analyzes a book addressing these themes and its relevance to preschoolers. The essay discusses how public schools can advance social justice by promoting equitable wealth distribution, equal opportunities, and social responsibility. It suggests activities, such as exposing children to diverse images and writing color names, to develop oral communication, reading, and writing skills, aligning with the Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language (2006). The essay relates the book to real-world teaching experiences, emphasizing the importance of understanding societal differences and promoting cooperation among diverse students. It connects to Bandura's social learning theory, advocating for moral reasoning to foster an inclusive learning environment and improve students' literacy skills for effective societal functioning. The goal is to nurture learners who are literate in diversity, encouraging a cooperative learning environment.

Running Head: LITERACY IN EARLY YEARS 1
Literacy in Early Years
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date

LITERACY IN EARLY YEARS 2
Literacy in Early Years
Part 1
Title: Education for social justice, equity, and diversity
Author: Torill Strand and Merethe Roos
Illustrator: N/A
Publisher and date of publication: Ostfold University College, Norway
The genre of book: Philosophical
Age Group: Preschooler
I chose this book because it tackles three fundamental issues like social justice, diversity,
and equity. These social issues are important to preschoolers. This is because it informs them
early enough about tolerance. Although the book is detailed, the issues presented in the book
remain relevant to this age group. An educator should break down the information to the
understanding of learners. Ideally, these social issues are presented by a professor, and that gives
me confidence in the book.
This genre of the book is crucial and it teaches people about diversity, social justice and
equity in-depth. This is the works of Professor Arnesen, and she in details gives her view on how
society needs to be inclusive. By reading the book and sharing its knowledge one gets a sense of
having an inclusive society. The book is important because it underscores the need for embracing
equity, diversity and social justice in education. In essence, this book enables learners to see the
need of becoming tolerant to each other as early as possible.

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Part 2: Retelling the book
According to the book, public schools are keys in the sense that they provide an avenue
to equalize social differences. Public schools need to play a bigger role in advancing social
justice. Although the book targets Nordic countries, its knowledge of social justice is critical. To
achieve a socially just society, it requires that wealth is distributing equitably, people are offered
equal opportunities, and have a social responsibility. It may be hard for the students in grade 3 to
understand how wealth distribution is done, but the book underscores learners to be informed
about that. It is said, the book seems to emphasize to learners to understand the need to
appreciate their roles as citizens to advance an equal society.
In social justice, the book wants learners to embrace a common culture for them to be
able to see themselves as a whole unit. After understanding the need for learners to see
themselves as same, and entitled to equal rights, the next point to teach them is diversity.
Diversity needs to be appreciated because the global society itself is diverse. Migration allowed
people to move from one point to another. Since it is difficult for a young learner to comprehend
issues to do with migration or immigration, the book insists that learners be taught, what makes
one a good citizen. When learners embrace a common culture, understand the roles of a good
citizen, they can then be taught how to embrace each other. Embracing each other would require
teaching them about equity, where they can perhaps see themselves as equally capable.
Generally, the book’s focus is on the three issues as shown in the picture below.

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Part 3: Curriculum Related Activity
Activity: Exposure to materials that focus on diversity and writing color names beneath images
This activity will have images of all people in Canada. The images of black people,
white and any other relevant image that reflects the Canadian diversity should be presented to
students for reading. In this activity, a teacher would write beneath the image, words like a white
uncle, black mum, and brown dad. The reason to use uncle or dad is to connect learners to the
family or surrounding. Learners know who their uncles, dads, or mums are. By mentioning their
relatives and writing they are able to reflect on what skin color any of their relatives, or
neighbors have. After associating learners with image with brown, white or black color, the next
goal is to allow them to write titles like sister, mother, father, uncle or brother on images with
different colors and sexes.
Based on “The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language, (2006)” the objectives of this
activity are to develop oral communication, reading and writing skills. When a child is able to
read and identify the color of their family members or neighbors they begin to recognize that the
society is diverse. The learners in this activity will be reading and writing. A teacher will have to
guide the learners on reading the family member names, like relatives. Also, based on the images
the educator will point image, for instance of a young lady, and ask the learners to identify it as
sister or brother. Using “The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language, (2006)” the skills the
learners will gain in this activity will be speaking, listening, reading and writing.

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Part four: Relative: Text-to-Text
As mentioned earlier, this book discusses three major issues that include diversity,
social justice, and equity. According to Achen, (2014) and Strand, Roos, & Arnesen, (2012),
diversity captures the outlook of the society, especially based on race. The coursework is focused
on promoting literacy, especially in the 21st century. “The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8
Language, (2006)” is being more than reading or writing, but it is about how people
communicate in the society. It is also about relationships, about knowledge, social practices,
language and culture, which in all probability helps learners to gain knowledge about their
society, and be able to communicate sensibly. Thus, the book and the activity are related because
they impart learners with literacy in language, social practices, and race relations.
Part five: Relate: Text-to-self
The book, “Education for social justice, equity and diversity” is related to teaching
experience, where an educator is dealing with diverse pre-schoolers. Teaching a diverse class
requires that a teacher imparts learners the knowledge on society. To unite and promote
cooperation among diverse students, an educator has a role of first educating learners in a way
they can recognize their differences, but see each other as equal. Learners can only learn to
embrace each other and engage in inclusive social practices within the learning environment
once they have literacy on race or diversity, which the book comprehensively teaches.
As a field educator, what I have observed is that learning needs to link students to their
social environment. Bandura, (2014) proposes the social learning theory, which can be used to
develop moral reasoning to govern moral conduct among learners. My approach, therefore,

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enables me to promote moral reasoning among students so that they grow appreciating each of
their learners. Through, this approach, I am able to improve the literacy skills of my students that
can enable them to function properly in society. Thus, my objective in this kind of approach is to
nurture learners who are literate of diversity necessary to encourage or promote cooperative
learning environment among diverse learners.

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References
Achen, C. H. (2014). Why Do We Need Diversity in the Political Methodology Society?. The
Political Methodologist, 21(2), 25-28.
Bandura, A. (2014). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In Handbook of moral
behavior and development (pp. 69-128). Psychology Press.
In Strand, T., In Roos, M., & Arnesen, A.-L. (2012). Education for social justice, equity and
diversity: An honorary volume for Professor Anne-Lise Arnesen.
The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language, (2006)