Anti‐racism in U.S. early childhood education: Foundational principles

Multiculturalism and anti‐bias education remain a significant area of pedagogical practice and scholarly inquiry for early childhood researchers and practitioners. Yet much less attention has been paid to detailing anti‐racist components within the classroom, and also within the broader field of early childhood education, including its foundational knowledge base. This article addresses this gap by advancing a framework for early childhood education informed by specific tenets of anti‐racism theory. Drawing on an analysis of White power and privilege and systemic racism, it outlines three main principles of anti‐racist early childhood education. Next, it presents a critical exploration of these principles and how they can be used to transform the existing paradigm of U.S. early childhood education, so as to offer equitable learning opportunities for racialized children.     

The Play‐Learning Binary: U.S. Parents’ Perceptions on Preschool Play in a Neoliberal Age

Although many studies have examined parental decision‐making patterns in regard to early childhood care and education, few studies have examined how parents’ perceptions on play influence those patterns. This study explores parental perceptions regarding play in early education and the broader socioeconomic context within which these perceptions emerge. Twenty parents of preschool‐aged children completed questionnaires comprised of ratings and open‐ended questions. Findings indicate that the parents in this study defined play and learning in binary terms as opposed to mutually constitutive processes. Subsequently, while parents rated play as important, they also described it as peripheral to, and less important than, the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills. This study argues that this binary thinking is an outgrowth of neoliberalism and ultimately undermines child well‐being.     

Teaching and Learning Guide for “Gender In/equality in Worker‐owned Businesses”

This teaching and learning guide accompanies the article, “Gender In/equality in Worker‐owned Businesses,” which reviews existing literature on gender in businesses with employee stock ownership plans, worker cooperatives, and communes. Worker ownership has attracted renewed interest as a possible solution to the social and economic problems confronting our society. In worker‐owned businesses, workers have greater control over what they produce, how they produce it, and how they are compensated. If workers ran things themselves, so the story goes, jobs would be better and workplaces would be more equal. What do we actually know about work in alternative organizations? Do women fare better? Can they offer alternatives or solutions to the gender inequality that permeates working life? This teaching and learning guide provides supplemental information to facilitate the use of this article in the classroom. This includes a list of recommended readings, online resources, a sample syllabus, focus questions, and project suggestions.     

Social Confidence in Unions: A U.S.‐Canada Comparison

Cet article examine l’évolution des niveaux de confiance sociale envers les organisations syndicales au Canada et aux États‐Unis entre 1982 et 2006 en s'appuyant sur les données de la World Value Survey (WVS). Partant du constat que ces taux de confiance sont relativement similaires au sein de ces deux pays, nous appliquons un modèle de régression logistique sur les deux vagues de données les plus récentes du WVS (soit celle de 2000 et 2006) afin de mieux comprendre la propension des individus à faire confiance aux syndicats dans chaque contexte national en fonction de certaines de leurs caractéristiques sociales et politiques. Les résultats montrent des similitudes entre les deux pays (par exemple, les citoyens les plus progressistes et les plus jeunes ont généralement une plus grande confiance envers les syndicats), mais également des distinctions importantes (à titre d'exemple, seul au Canada les individus répondant à un profil de “classe ouvrière” manifestent une plus grande confiance envers les syndicats). This article examines changes in levels of social confidence in unions in Canada and the United States between 1982 and 2006 based on an analysis of the World Value Survey (WVS) data set. It considers why confidence rates are similar in the two countries, applying a logistic regression model to the two most recent WVS waves (i.e., 2000 and 2006) so as to bring out the effects of political and social differences on the propensity of individuals to trust unions in each national context. The results show similarities between the two countries (e.g., more progressive and younger citizens generally have greater confidence in unions), but also important distinctions (e.g., only in Canada do individuals with a working class profile appear to have greater confidence in unions).