Promoting racial justice with emotion and culturally focused strategies in early childhood classrooms

Abstract

An important indicator of equity in early childhood settings is discipline, particularly the removal of young children from the learning environment, reflecting larger issues of the preschool to prison nexus (Becker, Carr, Knapp, and Gustavo Giraldo, 2017). For the past 15 years, research on preschool discipline has indicated that Black children and boys remain disproportionately excluded from learning environments compared to their total enrollment, and most recently that Black girls are removed at rates as high or higher than white boys (Gilliam, 2005; U.S. Department of Education, 2020). Given the persistent racial and gender disparities in exclusionary discipline outcomes there is a need to understand the role of intersections of race, gender, implicit bias, and discrimination (Collins & Bilge, 2019) and how they manifest in the early learning environments, specifically in teacher practices. This article draws from the first author’s research, specifically a single-subject multiple baseline across participants design, that examined whether a practice-based coaching (PBC) (Snyder et al., 2015) framework enhances teachers’ use of emotionally supportive practices with Black boys (Catherine, 2019). The study was conducted in the U.S. in a mid-Atlantic state with two Black preschool teachers and Black boys. We also discuss research related to ways that bias can inhibit healthy emotional learning of certain children, particularly Black children and boys and how to support teachers as they promote racial justice in early learning contexts. We conclude with recommendations for addressing racial injustice in early childhood contexts through practice-based coaching and other professional development approaches, particularly for boys of color.