Month: June 2019

Written by Sujatha Gomathinayagam | 11 June 2019

During my interaction with children, parents, families, student teachers and lecturers, I have found that many a time, what I have assumed as common knowledge has been new information to them. Experiences, backgrounds, skills sets and traits of people, influences their understandings of, and responses to happenings around them.

In children, more often than not, limited exposure or unfamiliarity of ‘the other’ can be a cause of ‘resistance’ to diversity. However, I see this lacuna as a promising ground for engaging children in meaningful learning and thinking about difference. I argue that knowledge of ‘the other’ and the richness of diversity can lead to great social learning opportunities for children, and it be introduced to them in interesting ways. Here by ‘the other’ I mean different ways of being and doing. As Maya Angelou points out, “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

Exposure to new cultures, languages and different ways of being and doing can augment a sense of contribution in children. This exposure to ‘the other’, over time, transcends the tolerance mode, removes resistance, and paves the way for acceptance. Acceptance of ‘the other’ is a manifestation of respect, which can then lead to appreciation and celebration of diversity. Robinson and Jones Diaz (2006) in their research on children’s understanding of cultural diversity in early childhood, urge educators to go beyond the discourse of ‘tolerance’ of diversity to a discourse of ‘respect’.

Early childhood teachers can begin exposing children to ‘the other’ by first drawing on their own culture and later could invite parents to share their cultural practices in the early childhood setting. For both teachers and parents, the exercise of delving into their own culture and weaving aspects of it into the curriculum, can be a ‘coming out of the comfort zone’. However, this endeavour does bring in rewards by way of strengthening relationships, parent partnership and opening up new avenues for learning.

In early childhood, teachers can take the initiative to create opportunities for children to learn about difference (culture, language, clothes, food, religion, celebrations) and identify the ‘teachable moments’ within them. Based on my own experiences as an early childhood teacher, I have found that cultural celebrations have the scope to weave in varied aspects of diversity (which children in early childhood understand) such as food, language, beliefs, religion, music and dance and appeal to children. For example, being the only Indian teacher in an early childhood centre, (and we didn’t have any Indian children enrolled at that time), I took the initiative to arrange for a Diwali party. Me being an Indian from India was contextual enough for me to familiarise my centre with my festival. The entire centre geared up for this party two weeks in advance of the actual date by including Indian music, dance, stories, cooking and visual art into the curriculum. The participation by children and teachers was well documented and as the finale during the Diwali party, a live classical dance performance was arranged where two dancers enthralled the audience with their dance. The children learnt first- hand about the different dance costumes, their material, the make -up, the hair do and the jewellery and had a sense of the effort which goes into a performance. It was a learning curve for some teachers and parents as well that there was more to Indian dancing than what Bollywood offers. 

The kōrero of children, parents and teachers which followed the dance and the Diwali party was robust. Learning happens when one is led to make connections between past experiences and new ideas. With the Diwali party, I could see a rhizome of links being formed. Some children made connections between the dance and their past experiences in Aotea square, where they had seen glimpses of some performers in similar costumes. Other children drew links to the book they had read with me and the costumes of the dancers. Parents were making links to some Indian movies and sarees which they had seen earlier. A lot of discussion was on about the food served and generally there was whakawhanaungatanga happening with this one event. The feedback from the parents after the Diwali party evidenced how the parents, (some of whom came from monocultural backgrounds) were empowered to teach their children about ‘the other’. The documentation of the entire event through learning stories, photos, videos and newsletters enabled children and parents to revisit this experience, enhancing the learning opportunities even further. Cultural celebrations in early childhood centres have huge potential to empower parents and children, enrich the curriculum and ensure celebration of diversity. Early childhood teachers must make every effort to tap into this rich source as a practical and fun filled way of key learning of ‘the other’.

Reference: Robinson, K. H. & Jones Diaz, C. (2006). Diversity and difference in early childhood education: Issues for theory and practice Berkshire, England: Open University Press.