The use of films in the classroom is not new, as they promote critical thinking and reflection (Prats, Lluis. 2005. "Cine para Educar." Barcelona: Belacqua). However, their role in promoting inclusive values with young learners remains relatively unexplored. Films have been considered a powerful pedagogical tool that helps students be in…

In this manuscript, we recognize that young children learn stories that propagate white supremacist narratives through selective traditions of early childhood curriculum. The role of early childhood teachers, therefore, is to critically examine curriculum for biases, omissions, and distortions, as well as to rewrite curriculum to tell accurate…

Universal prekindergarten initiatives have increased at the local and state levels. With the goals of supporting children's development and increasing families' access to high-quality, affordable early learning opportunities, prekindergarten programs have gained political support and funding. Approaches to program design and implementation vary…

The purpose of this study was to examine character racial, ethnic, and gender representation of main and secondary of apps designed for preschoolers using a quantitative content analysis. Because of the design of characters for apps differs from other forms of media, this study examined traits associated with racial, ethnic, and gender groups…

This mixed-methods study investigated how two White preschool teachers, who were familiar with anti-bias pedagogy but had low training on anti-racist teaching strategies, discussed race and racism, using books, in two predominantly White classrooms. Teachers were observed in two classrooms, during book discussions with children, and teachers'…

Research Findings: Despite widespread calls to advance equity in early childhood classrooms, there are few observational measures of equitable classroom processes that can be used for academic research or professional development for teachers. In this study, we investigate the psychometric properties of an observational measure of equitable…

Using propositions within critical race theory, this study examined differences between parent and teacher engagement in ethnic-racial socialization and links between parent--teacher congruence in ethnic-racial socialization and children's social and emotional development across racial and ethnic groups. The participants were 59 parents or…

In this essay, I reflect on my lived experiences as a girl child growing up in my home country of Botswana, and also as a mother in a foreign country, Canada. I am experimenting with my personal essay and making connections with academic articles that will help me understand my behaviors, attitudes, and responses to challenging situations that…

Oklahoma HB1775 seeks to both shape the discussion of race and gender in PK-12 education. We conducted a content analysis of the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Standards (2019) in reference to HB1775. This paper examines how the language of the law is reflected in the standards and implications for teachers and administrators. The authors…

Ladson-Billings (2014) asserts educators often fail to carry out a critical form of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) by neglecting the development of sociopolitical consciousness and attending to limited understandings of "culture." Using narrative inquiry, this study explored preschool teachers' narratives on various factors which…

Low pay and unequal wages make it hard to recruit and retain the high-quality early educators that young children need to thrive in early care and education (ECE) programs. Not only are early educator wages lower than those of comparable workers, but there may also be racial and ethnic wage disparities within the ECE workforce. Using a…

This systematic literature review examines research on U.S. professional development (PD) in which practicing teachers are asked to engage explicitly with race and racism. Using Kennedy's PD theories of action, this review examines 64 studies published from 1981 to 2019 and analyzes race-related PD goals, pedagogical approaches, and documented…

This study explores the racial pedagogical decision making of teachers presented with the opportunity to address the #BlackLivesMatter movement in their classroom. Findings of more than 4,000 teachers indicate that suburban, urban, African American and Latino/a were most likely to address BLM through an antiracist positioning. Rural and more…

Much attention has been paid to storybook reading as a context for supporting preschoolers' emergent language and literacy. Inferential thinking is essential to listening comprehension and to reading comprehension. Understanding the story deeply and reasoning about events and characters are central to children's enjoyment and to comprehension…

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the national enrollment rate for pre-k children ages 3 to 4 was 40% (a drop from 54% in 2019; National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). This is partly due to fewer children in the 0-5 age group (23.4 million of 72.8 million children in the United States in 2020; U.S. Census Bureau, 2020).…