COURSE DESCRIPTION

Diversity is a key feature of early childhood education settings today, and it can produce challenges for the early childhood practitioner who aims to effectively support the holistic development of all the children in their classroom. In this course, participants will first understand and define the concept of diversity, and examine the kinds of diversity and their impact a young child living and learning in Singapore may experience. Participants are also facilitated to deeply reflect on their own preferences and deeply held assumptions regarding diversity.

The course seeks to equip participants with pedagogy for difference in order that diversity in the classroom is celebrated and managed positively. This entails the establishment of a safe and inclusive classroom in which the class engenders a healthy respect for diversity, thrives as a community of learners, and effectively accommodates and supports the diverse learners in the early childhood setting.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

In this course, participants will:

• Understand child development in relation to the development of self- and other-identities
• Examine the concepts of discrimination, prejudice/bias and stereotyping, and discuss the impact of these negative responses on young children
• Review and appraise various approaches to diversity possible in an early childhood classroom, and explore the concept of inclusion
• Acquire relevant knowledge and strategies to create a safe and inclusive whole-class environment which respect and value diversity in the early childhood classroom
• Explore the concept of differentiation and early intervention to support the diverse learning and developmental needs of children ]

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES & REQUIREMENTS

1. Individual Assignment (50%)

2. Group Project

• Group component (30%)
• Individual component (10%)

3. Class Participation (10%)

Individual Assignment

Understanding and valuing differences is a core concept underpinning an inclusive classroom. Explicit teaching of key inclusive values is critical to empower young children in embracing differences in a positive manner. Your assignment for this part is conceptualized as a whole class activity/activities on understanding and valuing differences in the early childhood classroom in response to a child who approaches you on how he/she has been discriminated by peers. Include the following in your discussion:

• decide on a class level
• present the case scenario (i.e., describe the problem/issue faced by the child)
• specify the goal/s for this class activity/activities
• describe and provide the rationale for the activity/activities and relate how it/they achieve your goal/s. You should apply the Derman-Sparks anti-bias education or Bank’s multicultural curricular integration