This in-depth exploration discusses the need for addressing diversity and multicultural realities in the classroom. It prepares you with the necessary knowledge, skills, and strategies to create a developmentally appropriate, respectful, and culturally responsive classroom and teaching environment. You'll find practical information, ideas, and strategies that you can apply to classroom practice for young children. There are guidelines on how to create relationships between the school, community, and family as essential partners that influence a child's success. Questions about how to deal with a bilingual child, a child with exceptionalities, and non-traditional parents are also addressed. Finally, you'll learn the benefits of teaching multiculturalism from a global perspective.
Part I: FOUNDATIONS FOR MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN TODAY'S EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS.
1. Living in Diversity: The Intricate Nature of Our Society.
2. The Nature of Culture, The Nature of People.
3. Families in Our Classrooms: Many Ways, Many Voices.
4. Who Is the Child? Developmental Characteristics of Young Children in a Diverse Society.
Part II: EXPLORING THE ROOTS OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: ISSUES AND DIRECTIONS.
5. Tracing the Beginnings of Multicultural Education.
6. Approaches to Multicultural Education: From Frameworks to Action.
Part III: INTO ACTION: IMPLEMENTING A MULTICULTURAL PROGRAM FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.
7. Classrooms, Where Words Become Action.
8. Language Diversity in the Classroom: Working with Young Dual Language Learners.
9. Activities and Resources for Multicultural Teaching: A World of Possibilities!
10. A World of Resources: Engaging Families, Friends, and the Community.
Appendix A: Recommended List of Selected Multicultural Children's Books.
Appendix B: Organizations That Support Multiculturalism and Diversity.
Appendix C: Developing Multicultural Awareness: Sample Activities.
Glossary.
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Wilma Robles de Melendez
Wilma Robles de Melendez, Ph.D., is an associate professor of early childhood education at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has over two decades of experience in the field of early childhood and is a specialist in multicultural education issues and practices. An active member of state and national early childhood associations, she has written and published several articles in education journals as well as another text with Vesna (Ostertag) Beck for Delmar Learning: TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN EARLY EDUCATION.
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Vesna Beck
Vesna Beck, Ed.D., was a university administrator and professor at the community college and university levels for over 40 years. During her 24-year tenure at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she was the administrator of the doctoral program in organizational leadership and professor in the Master of Science in early childhood education where she taught research and assessment courses. Vesna’s partnership with Wilma, that began more than two decades ago, resulted in two books, many workshops, conference presentations, teacher training, and journal publications. Vesna is the co-author (with Wilma Robles de Melendez) of TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN EARLY EDUCATION.
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A vibrant full-color design featuring color photographs and improved color illustrations makes reading easier and helps to highlight important content.
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Numbered Learning Objectives, listed at the beginning of each chapter and correlated with main headings throughout the chapter, provide a framework for students as they read, helping them to locate key content and understand expected outcomes.
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Professional Resource Downloads include summaries of strategies and practices, checklists, sample questionnaires, activities, assessments, and other useful documents that are downloadable and often customizable. The Professional Resource Download label identifies these items throughout the text.
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Content in each chapter is now aligned with the ACEI Global Guidelines. Along with the NAEYC and InTASC standards, these guidelines provide the framework for the "Your Standards Portfolio" activity at the end of each chapter.
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An extensively updated chapter on dual language learners (Chapter 8) includes the most current information on ELLs and ESOL as well as comprehensive coverage of teaching strategies.
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New or expanded coverage of global realities includes such topics as the refugee crisis and poverty, executive functioning, and the latest discoveries in brain/neuroscience research.
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Revised "Think and Reflect" boxes provide more opportunities for student self-reflection and can be expanded into class assignments.
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Revised "In Action" boxes offer hands-on class activities and assignments.
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Updated lists of children's books are primarily found in "Literacy Connection" boxes.
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The book contains many ready-made resources designed to assist instructors in planning engaging and meaningful experiences for students. The topics addressed include history of immigration, the meaning of culture, families and family models, curriculum frameworks, gender equity, ESOL children and children with special needs, Developmentally Culturally Appropriate Practice (DCAP), and the role of the teacher and curriculum development. Extensive lists of multicultural children's books appear in each chapter and in an Appendix.
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Content throughout the text is aligned with key standards. Each chapter opens with a list of the NAEYC Standards, InTASC Standards, and ACEI Global Guidelines that will be addressed in the material that follows. A detailed correlation chart listing the standards coverage in each chapter appears on the inside front and back covers of the book.
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"Think and Reflect" boxes promote self-reflection with questions that encourage students to focus on their own values and biases. These reflections can be used as the basis for interesting activities and/or assignments about the students' ideas and experiences.
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"In Action" boxes suggest discussions and activities focused on "doing" rather than personal introspection.
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"Focus on Classroom Practices" boxes provide ideas for classroom projects and activities that students can later use in their professional careers.
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Updated figures, boxes, graphs, and tables can serve as springboards for students wanting to do further research to broaden their knowledge of the field.
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"Your Standards Portfolio" focuses the students' knowledge on the pillars of the profession. The experiences with the professional portfolio will serve them well in other courses and when they seek employment as early childhood educators.
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Children's literature found in "Literacy Connections" boxes can be used by students to start a library of children's books to use in the future. These lists are also available as Professional Resource Downloads.
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The book's breadth and numerous resources for practical application allow instructors to pick and choose the content and the emphases that are best suited to their students. For example, if the majority of students are interested in being teachers of young children with exceptionalities, class time and assignments can be focused on issues related to children with special needs. If many students show interest in collaborations with families and communities, the content allows for more emphasis on that area.
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