Abstract
In this chapter, De Gaetano asserts that education that is multicultural and promotes social justice is critical to the development of young children. She points out, however, a mismatch between what we know to be good early childhood development and what parents, teachers, and administrators of early childhood programs often do. She believes that education that is multicultural and promotes social justice is currently not being implemented in most early childhood settings for several reasons. More prominent at this time is the focus on developing academic skills earlier and earlier in young children as a result of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Early learning and the development of skills are not in opposition to an education that focuses on fairness; however, children’s individual and age readiness for certain skills and learning, as well as their cultural and linguistic differences, have to be taken into consideration for learning to occur. A dynamic focus on multicultural and social justice education means that there must be equity in the learning process for all children. De Gaetano ends the chapter with examples of multicultural strategies that some teachers are implementing in their classrooms and makes recommendations for how to teach within an educational framework that is multicultural and promotes social justice.
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De Gaetano, Y. (2011). Education That Is Multicultural and Promotes Social Justice: The Need. In: Fennimore, B., Goodwin, A. (eds) Promoting Social Justice for Young Children. Educating the Young Child, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0570-8_7
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