Fostering Social Justice and Inclusive Play in Early Childhood Education

This assignment content discusses enabling a supportive classroom environment through facilitating children's right to play, as playing plays an important role in child development. It also emphasizes ensuring that children respect play since many games played by children have rules designed to teach them important skills and ethics. Educators should model inclusive behavior practices and attitudes during times of play and create a culture of participation in the classroom. Additionally, social justice is crucial in early childhood education, and it can be taught through understanding fairness as an impartial and just treatment. Parents also have a role in teaching their children on social justice. The assignment concludes by emphasizing that early childhood education and care are connected to various facets of objectives that directly or indirectly relate to social justice.

Running Head: SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Social Justice in Early Childhood Education and Care
Name
Institution

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 2
Introduction
The growth and development stages of a child are very important in their transition to
adulthood. Children learn best from the environments they are exposed to and from the people
surrounding them. Therefore since most of the critical years of growth in the life of a child are
spend in school and with their educators it is important to note that these educators play a vital
role in their development and how they view the issues they face or likely to face in the world
(Adams, 2016). Most important is to understand the social justice issues in their early
development which are passed during their early childhood education and care. It is therefore
important for educators to understand and teach children concerning such the issues to the
children. Parents also play a greater role in the growth and development of the lives of their
children and therefore should be in fore front of addressing these issues in their life.
The understanding of social justice is based on the concept of understanding human
rights, equity and a just and equitable society. However, children at their early childhood and
also individuals at higher growth and development levels find it hard to understand what fairness
or fair really mean (Adams & Bell, 2016). This essay will, therefore, provide an understanding of
what really it means to be fair in line with the social justice advocacy in early childhood and care
as well as provide recommendations which can be used to promote positive social change for
equity childhood. Programs in early childhood adopt social justice and ecological coaching as a
front issue in ensuring effective early childhood development. They prioritize culturally sensitive
and anti-bias learning and coaching with the aim of addressing issues of fairness and unfairness
among children. The essay hence evaluates and clearly presents the aspects of social justice in

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 3
relation to early childhood development. The essay identifies different aspects and issues that
have both direct and indirect effects on various facets of social justice among children with a
primary focus on the meaning of fairness.
The theory of cognitive development by Jean Piaget as well as the Social learning theory
by Albert Bandura plays a vital role in the understanding of early childhood behavior as they
form part of the early childhood education and care through their educators and parents
(Demetriou et al. 2016). The theory of cognitive development helps us understand that children
development occurs through information processing, through conceptual resources, language
learning as well as through other aspects of brain development. While on the other hand, the
social learning theory argues that people tend or usually learn from one another through
observation, imitation and also through modeling (Rosenthal & Zimmerman, 2014). Children are
therefore believed to interpret or make sense of things or the world around them by observing
and interpreting the environment and the people in it. In a social world that is characterized by
inequalities resulting from race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion among other
inequalities which have been used to group individuals children grow up accepting these ethnic
backgrounds, the religion they find their parents in, the socio economic status and family
structures as well as the communities they grow in (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al. 2015). This forms
the basis of their judgments as they make their judgments based on what they see in the world
around them.
It has been a common phrase to many people in the modern society today that “life isn’t
fair” perhaps this makes us question what fairness means and why is it that almost everyone
wants fairness or to be treated in a fair manner. How can educators help children understand
what is fair and just? Fairness is something that every individual wants in our daily interactions

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 4
and something that children need to learn (Sensoy&DiAngelo, 2017). To children it can mean so
many things including sharing with others, playing a game with the rules, taking turns when
talking or even playing, listening to others and seeing many sides of one issue. If understood
from that children view it would be easier for educators to teach to them what really means to be
fair and just. Good character traits in individuals don’t just happen they need to be taught and
nurtured in children. Social justice in early childhood education and care aims for better
participation in alignment with and adherence to international human rights and therefore works
with the groups interested in the rights of children.
Many people find it hard to understand fairness as it is commonly and in most cases
misunderstood for equality or being equal. However fair does not mean equal. Children in early
childhood education as said earlier provide the basis of understanding of the understanding of the
social justice in the world. Due to the inevitable human nature, we all have a likelihood of being
selfish and therefore that makes us want everything to work to our benefit or to our good and so
it does to children (Pianta et al. 2015). It becomes difficult to see the other side of an issue as we
are so filled or preoccupied with our self-being. Fairness in general terms can be said to be the
impartial or just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination. Early childhood
education provides the best platform therefore for teaching fairness and justice and developing a
generation that is conscious of its behavior or treatment to other people (Bloch et al. 2014).
Through playing together, sharing of items, taking turns or even observing certain game rules act
as a foundation of teaching and learning fair and just treatment for others.
The importance of the meaning of fairness or the fair concept in early childhood
education and care can be seen through the understanding of the anti-bias education curriculum
in school. This is an approach that has been developed for early childhood education to set forth

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 5
value based principles as well as methodology designed in support of respecting and embracing
differences and acting against bias and unfairness (Nucci et al. 2014). It is important in early
childhood development as it creates a climate of positive self among the children as well as
group identity development through which every child will be in a position to achieve his or her
fullest academic and social capabilities and potentials. Since children make comparisons among
themselves by looking at ways through which they are similar and different to each other they
learn that differently is okay and it is not good to use their differences to discriminate against
each other or create some inequalities. This creates the foundation for respecting and valuing
differences among themselves or evident in their social groups beyond their own families and
communities. The curriculum aims at teaching for change which focuses on social justice in
education.
The understanding of fairness or learning to be fair in early childhood education through
the anti-bias education is important as it provides an opportunity for each child to demonstrate
self-awareness, confidence, have pride in his or her family and develop positive social identities.
Dermas sparks also argue that it provides a platform where children can express comfort and joy
with the human diversity as well as recognize unfairness and develop a language to describe
unfairness as well as understanding the fact that unfairness hurts (Davis, 2014). The knowledge
of fairness in the life of a child is also important as it helps them demonstrate empowerment and
the strength as well as the skills to act with others or alone in pursuit of fairness and against
prejudice and discriminatory actions or behaviors. It, therefore, leads to the development of a
generation that is self-conscious of social justice and a generation that is united against
inequalities, all forms of discrimination against those who are systematically and institutionally

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 6
disadvantaged by their race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and economic status as well as by
religion and sexual orientation.
The Australian government has always seen children as the future economic resources or
as the country’s future and therefore has placed a lot of importance in them by investing highly
in educational development (Hawkins, 2014). In Australia schooling is seen as an educational
policy rather than law and therefore the protection of children from all forms of injustices,
inequalities or forms of abuse is the responsibility of everyone including the children educators,
the parents, the government as well as the government? One of the policies which the Australian
government has put in place to solve the issues of unfairness in early childhood education is the
policy of social inclusion which acts under the principle of social justice and the human rights
movements. The policy provides equal opportunity to the children with disabilities to equal
accessibility to education and schooling and the right to parents to take their children to the
school of their choice without any form of discrimination. The policy has seen therefore the
development of a standard form of education for students with disabilities. This has great
influence to the children learning about fairness as they can observe in their classrooms despite
the physical differences they all have equal opportunity (Rutland & Killen, 2015). The
government has also established a national framework for protecting children 2009-2020 which
aims at placing the interests of children at the center of everything. The government believes that
children deserve a safe and a healthy and happy childhood and therefore should be protected
from all forms of inequalities by teaching them on how to be fair and just to each other. It has
also supported the development of the anti- bias curriculum which has played a vital role in the
development of a socially conscious and just generation.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 7
The aim of early childhood education and care is to ensure that children achieve positive
outcomes. For this to be achieved, their educators must employ the effective use of pedagogy.
This refers to an art or science of education which incorporates an array of teaching and learning
strategies that support intellectual engagement, connectedness to the larger society, recognition
of differences as well as enabling a supportive classroom environment (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al.
2015). This application can be achieved through facilitating children right to play since playing
plays an important role in a child development. It can also be done through ensuring that children
respect the play since many games played by children have rules designed to teach them
important skills and ethics as well as behaviors and can effectively teach on the subject of
fairness and justice to the children. The educators should also model inclusive behavior practice
and attitudes amongst the children during times of playing and also they should ensure that they
create a culture of participation in the classroom as it provides a platform for setting the
appropriate classroom environment for learning (Basford& Bath, 2014). The educators should
also use play as a learning vehicle and therefore they should be keen in identifying the different
behaviors, attitudes, talents, and character of the children at this stage which will help in
understanding the children better than it is the case of classroom environment where many
children are dull and fail to participate in class activities.
Social justice in early childhood education is a concept that has to be taught to the
children and also to their educators. The understanding of fairness as an impartial and just
treatment is therefore very important in child development and to the growth of a socially just
society. However, it is recommended that parents should take also a lead role in teaching their
children on social justice since they also spent most of their time with them (Adams & Bell,
2016). A child that observes his or her parents behaving in a manner that is not appropriate may

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 8
translate that to be a positive behavior and therefore they should be careful on with the types of
environments they expose their children to. It is also recommended that other than the anti-bias
curriculum development, the government should also promote the development of a curriculum
that not only supports the intellectual development but also the social development by providing
the children through the education department an opportunity to engage in co-curricular activities
and talent development for children who may not be good in classroom work (Schneider et al.
2014). It should also take action on the individuals caught practicing discriminatory behaviors in
the society in which ever form as this will act as a teaching and learning opportunity for the
children to know that these injustices are not supported in the society. The knowledge of fairness
in the life of a child is also important as it helps them demonstrate empowerment and the
strength as well as the skills to act with others or alone in pursuit of fairness and against
prejudice and discriminatory actions or behaviors. It is therefore important to know that a society
built on social justice does not only grow socially but also economically as it creates the world of
possibilities and of love where everyone feels appreciated and therefore promotes integration and
a sense of belonging.
Conclusion
Early childhood education and care have often been connected with various facets of
objectives that directly or indirectly relates to social justice. In most cases, the analysis of this
paper depicts that it has its roots in the education and philanthropic reforms movements with the
aim of preventing injustice in the early 20th century. Many studies show that early childhood care
and education have also been connected with achieving the associated aims towards redressing
inequality and any other related disadvantage. Different authors point out that educational
leaders have the full mandate of promoting of promoting equity in the process of articulating the

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 9
needs of marginalized children who have been disadvantaged in any manner. These objectives
need to be met as they work towards giving a challenge to the nature of the social order that
causes inequality issues to occur. In the reference to critical theory, critically informed, strategic,
and intentional leadership plays a vital role in creating opportunities and changed circumstances
for families and children. It hence requires the distributed and positional elements articulation of
beliefs and values, as well as collective action that is informed and mindful. It is hence essential
to adopt strategies that can effectively ensure that objectives towards achieving social justice
towards early childhood education and care are met.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 10
References
Adams, M. (2016).Pedagogical foundations for social justice education.Teaching for diversity
and social justice, 27, 118-121.
Adams, M., & Bell, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). Teaching for diversity and social justice. Routledge.
Basford, J., & Bath, C. (2014).Playing the assessment game: an English early childhood
education perspective.Early years, 34(2), 119-132.
Bloch, M. N., Swadener, B. B., &Cannella, G. S. (2014).Reconceptualizing Early Childhood
Care and Education.A Reader. New York: Peter Lang.
Davis, J. (2014). Examining early childhood education through the lens of education for
sustainability. Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International
perspectives and provocations, 21-30.
Demetriou, A., Shayer, M., &Efklides, A. (Eds.). (2016). Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive
development: Implications and applications for education. Routledge.
Hawkins, K. (2014). Teaching for social justice, social responsibility and social inclusion: a
respectful pedagogy for twenty-first century early childhood education. European Early
Childhood Education Research Journal, 22(5), 723-738.
Nucci, L., Krettenauer, T., &Narváez, D. (Eds.).(2014). Handbook of moral and character
education.Routledge.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 11
Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Nxumalo, F., Kocher, L., Elliot, E., & Sanchez, A. (2015). Journeys:
Reconceptualizing early childhood practices through pedagogical narration. University of
Toronto Press.
Pianta, R. C., Barnett, W. S., Sheridan, S. M., & Justice, L. M. (Eds.).(2015). Handbook of early
childhood education.Guilford Publications.
Rosenthal, T. L., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2014). Social learning and cognition. Academic Press.
Rutland, A., & Killen, M. (2015). A developmental science approach to reducing prejudice and
social exclusion: Intergroup processes, social‐cognitive development, and moral
reasoning. Social Issues and Policy Review, 9(1), 121-154.
Schneider, W., Schumann-Hengsteler, R., &Sodian, B. (Eds.). (2014). Young children's
cognitive development: Interrelationships among executive functioning, working
memory, verbal ability, and theory of mind. Psychology Press.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). Theories of personality.Cengage Learning.
Sensoy, O., &DiAngelo, R. (2017). Is everyone really equal?: An introduction to key concepts in
social justice education. Teachers College Press.
Programs in early childhood adopt social justice and ecological coaching as a front issue in ensuring
effective early childhood development. They prioritize culturally sensitive and anti-bias learning and
coaching with the aim of addressing issues of fairness and unfairness among children.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE 12