TEA4202 3 Diversity in Early Childhood Education

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TEA4202 (3) Diversity in Early
ChildhoodEducation
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The objectives for this lecture on cultural
issues which pertain to Indigenous people are

• Recognising core cultural concerns
• Developing learning environments which are
  relevant to cultural experiences
• Selecting teaching strategies relevant to the
  community context

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The objectives for this lecture on cultural
issues which pertain to Indigenous people are

• Offering relevant support to child family
  cultural pattern
• Relating ant-bias curriculum to culture and
  gender issues

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• How do you as an early childhood educator, view
  the cultural behaviours that Aboriginal children
  bring to your centre?

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This lecture will cover

• 1. Equality
• 2. Practical competence
• 3. Communication
• 4. Affiliation
• 5. Personal Attributes
• 6. Working with Parents

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1. Equality (within own social context)

• Social equality exists between Aboriginal adults
  children
• Aboriginal children are encouraged to be
  independent regarding day to day activities
• Aboriginal children are allowed more freedom

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1. Equality (within own social context)

• Aboriginal children are not expected to comply
  with directions immediately or sometimes not at
  all
• Aboriginal children live in an environment which
  uses indirectness of control. This is consistent
  with the respect for personal autonomy for both
  adults children

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1. Equality (within own social context)

• Discussion
• What are the implications for us as early
  childhood educators?

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2. Practical competence (within own social
context)

• Aboriginal children have enormous practical
  competence
• Aboriginal children are given a large amount of
  trust
• Aboriginal children have the ability to observe
  well

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2. Practical competence (within own social
context)

• Discussion
• What are the implications for us as early
  childhood educators?

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3.Communication (within own social context)

• Aboriginal children bring to preschool an
  aboriginal or Koori/Murri English as opposed to
  Standard Australian English.
• Use of silence is a feature of Aboriginal
  language usage

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3.Communication (within own social context)

• Aboriginal children have a different conceptual
  understanding of courtesy
• Eye contact avoided as a sign of politeness

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3.Communication (within own social context)

• Discussion
• What are the implications for us as early
  childhood educators?

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4. Affiliation (within own social context)

• There is a strong sense of affiliation in that
  Aboriginal children have a sophisticated
  awareness of family
• They have an awareness of the exact relationship
  from one family member to another

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4. Affiliation (within own social context)

• Aboriginal children focus on each other rather
  than adult authority figures
• Aboriginal children tend to be very nurturing
  towards younger siblings playmates
• They seek help from peers as much as from adults

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4. Affiliation (within own social context)

• Discussion
• What are the implications for us as early
  childhood educators?

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5. Personal Attributes (within own social context)

• Aboriginal children are emotionally physically
  resilient.
• Aboriginal children approach new tasks cautiously
  to avoid making mistakes

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5. Personal Attributes (within own social context)

• Discussion
• What are the implications for us as early
  childhood educators?

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6. Working with parents (within own social
context)

• Aboriginal parents are more comfortable with a
  personal style of communication e.g. first names,
  friendly talk before the formal discussions
• Equal status is everyone. However the teacher
  should be careful not to be pushy not assert
  his/her position or rank

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6. Working with parents (within own social
context)

• Be courtesy through indirectness. Dont ask too
  many whyquestions of Aboriginal parents. Use
  statements like We missed Jo yesterday. Was he
  sick? instead Why couldnt Jo come on the trip
  yesterday?
• Avoid direct verbal confrontation. Silence may
  signify disapproval to an idea or proposal

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6. Working with parents (within own social
context)

• Parents discussions are potential situations for
  conflict. Use humour with Aboriginal parents to
  laugh with them not at them
• There may be semantic differences in Aboriginal
  parent discussions. Discussions should be free of
  teacher jargon

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6. Working with parents (within own social
context)

• Remember that Aboriginal parents could have had
  negative school experiences
• Aboriginal styles of communication are generally
  not time efficient - allow plenty of time
• Be indirect in both speech and behaviour
• Dont categorize Aboriginal people into
  stereotypes

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• Cultural behaviours of young Aboriginal children
  should be seen as a positive resource to be used
  in the early childhood centre. They should be
  seen as a hurdle that the centre is trying to
  clear or bypass. These cultural behaviours should
  be used as the educational base to support the
  young child in his/her development. (Harris
  Malin, 199519)