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Anti-bias CurriculumAnti-Bias Education The anti-bias curriculum, in education, is an active/activist approach that challenges interlocking systems of oppression such as racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, homophobia, and all the other isms. The objective of this approach to teaching is to eliminate bias found in various institutions. This approach attempts to provide children with a solid understanding of social problems and issues while equipping them with strategies to combat bias and improve social conditions for all. The anti-bias curriculum serves as a catalyst in the critical analysis of various social conditions. It is implemented as a proactive means to eradicate various forms of social oppression with the ultimate goal of social justice in mind. Implementation - "Anti-bias education takes an active, problem solving approach that is integrated into all aspects of an existing curriculum and a schools environment" http://www.adl.org/tools_teachers/tip_antibias_ed.asp
A successful implementation of the anti-bias curriculum is applied in both the formal curriculum (also referred to as the core curriculum) and the hidden curriculum. - The formal curriculum consists of the educational content, expectations, course materials (e.g. textbooks), evaluation, and instruction.
- The hidden curriculum encompasses all the values passed on by teachers and educators, and from the school or educational milieu (i.e. the culture of the educational setting). For instance, the hidden curriculum teaches children and students about punctuality amongst other things and transmits dominant culture (e.g. chosen holiday celebration).
The anti-bias curriculum acknowledges that varying degrees and layers of oppression exist in educational institutions. These affect not only childrens abilities and outcomes in learning, but also impede on the level of opportunities, overall well-being, and development. Since education is both an institution and an agent of socialization, it plays a momentous role in perpetuating existing forms of social oppression. The anti-bias approach of teaching urges educators to be aware of these social limitations and eliminate them to create social justice for all. Education should be at the forefront in learning about acceptance, tolerance and respect. The anti-bias approach teaches children that there is an imbedded connection between race/ethnicity, gender, religion, social class, and physical ability to power, privilege, prestige, and opportunity. Through this approach children are taught to critically analyze what is being presented to them while learning about acceptance, respect, and tolerance. Strategies for Implementation The following is a list of strategies that can be used to create a rich educational context that explores issues around gender, race/ethnicity, and physical ability. This list was modified from Derman-Sparks (1989). The Visual/Aesthetic Environment The educational environment should be welcoming, aesthetically pleasing, but most importantly make all children and families feel included and comfortable. - Attractively display pictures of all the children, families, and staff in your class.
- If the class is racially/ethnically homogeneous, include pictures and images of children, adults, and families from the major racial/ethnic group in the community and larger society.
- Ensure that the images and pictures reflect people's current daily lives in work settings and with their families during leisurely activities.
- Make sure people of colour are not represented as "tokens" - only one or two. Have a balance among different groups.
- Include a balance of images and pictures of both women and men shown doing "jobs at home" and "jobs outside the home." Stay away from images that exemplify women and men doing stereotypical gender activities.
- Include images of elderly people of various backgrounds doing a range of activities.
- Use various pictures depicting differently abled people of various backgrounds doing work and participating in recreational activities with their families. Be careful not to use pictures that portray differently abled people as passive and dependent.
- Ensure that the images you use of family lifestyles include diversity. Include pictures of single mothers and fathers, extended families, gay and lesbian families, adopted families, differently abled families (either a child or parent), interracial and multiethnic families, and families in which one parent and grandmother are the parents.
- Incorporate images of important individuals- past and present. They should reflect racial/ethnic, gender, and abledness diversity and they should include people who participated in important struggles for social justice.
- Make sure to include artwork- prints, sculpture, textiles by artists of various backgrounds that reflect the aesthetic environment and the culture of the families represented in the class/program, and of groups in the community and larger society.
Toys and Materials The learning environment should contain materials representing the backgrounds of the families and also extending beyond the major groups in your community and in the country. Books By most measures children's literature is definitely not bias-free. Since children's literature reflects social values and norms, they too can contain forms of bias, discrimination, and overt as well as covert forms of racism. Children's books play a significant role in children's development and learning both at home and in the school. Thus, they must be carefully selected. The following points address what to look for in chosing children's books. Children's Literature should: - Reflect diversity in all its forms, from gender roles to racial and ethnic background, to special needs and abilities. As well, it should reflect a variety of occupations and a range of ages.
- Depict accurate images and information.
- Show people from various groups living and interacting together. Include books that demonstrate individuals working, being with family, solving issues, as well as having celebrations together.
- Depict a variety of children and families within a group. (Make sure to avoid stereotypes and include few books about every culture).
- Show various family lifestyles and incomes.
- Reflect different languages such as alphabet books, stories in Braille, sign language, and different spoken languages.
- Include wordless books so that language is not a barrier for children who have not yet mastered the dominant language or who are newcomers to the country.
Dramatic Play The Dramatic play area should not be neglected. Children adore pretend-play and taking on characters and roles of those individuals they look up to. As such, the materials in the dramatic play area should be enforced by the anti-bias curriculum. Here are some things to keep in mind when selecting items for this area: - Ensure diversity of gender play. This should be applied to tools and spaces for working in and out of the home setting, rooms in the home other than the kitchen, and male as well as female work and play clothes.
- Include cultural diversity. Materials used in cooking, eating, various objects, work tools and clothes, personal objects (such as combs and brushes), objects used in holiday celebrations should reflect the cultures of the children and those of the community and larger society.
- Make sure to include an array of tools used by people with various special needs such as wheelchairs, crutches, braces, canes, heavy glasses, and hearing aids.
- Include child-size mirrors.
Language An anti-bias environment consists of one that allows various opportunities for children to see and hear various languages, including sign language and Braille. Labeling materials (e.g. puzzles and other toys) in various languages is also a strategy that can introduce children to various languages in their written forms. Numbers and alphabet posters as well as books, story tapes, songs, and finger play games should also be available in various languages. Music Music should also reflect the cultures of the children and staff in the class/school as well as other groups in the community and larger society. Art Materials Art materials should include various shades of skin-tone paints, crayons, paper, collage materials and play dough. Dolls - Dolls should reflect a fair balance of all the major nationalities in the country and reflect a range of skin tones.
- Ensure that the dolls are anatomically correct.
- All dolls should be authentic-looking. Avoid dolls with unnatural weight, figure, complexion and appearance.
- Have a fair balance of male and female dolls with a variety of clothes (i.e. don't limit female dolls to dresses or skirts).
- Dolls with different kinds of disabilities should be available. These dolls should represent various ethnic and racial backgrounds and include boys and girls respectively.
Manipulatives Manipulative materials such as puzzles, card games, board games, and figurines should depict diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities, and occupations. Cameras Use a camera to create anti-bias materials of your own if access or funding is limited. Examples of oppression See also Some examples of reform movements Pioneers in activism and education Educating and teaching children Further Reading External Links References - Anti-Defamation League. (1999). What is Anti-Bias Education?. Retrieved on November 6, 2004, from http://www.adl.org/tools_teachers/tip_antibias_ed.asp
- Biles, B. (1994). Activities that Promote Racial and Cultural Awareness. Retrieved November 6, 2004, from Family Child Care Connections, 4(3) : http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/pdf_pubs/CHLDCARE.PDF
- Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). "Creating an Anti-Bias Environment" Chapter 2, in Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children. New York, NY: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
- Derman-Sparks, L. & Hohensee, J.B. (1992). Implementing an Anti-Bias Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms. Retrieved November 6, 2004, from ERIC/EECE Digest: http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-1/early.htm
- Riehl, P.(1993). Five ways to analyze classrooms for an anti-bias approach. Retrieved November 6, 2004, from the National Network for Child Care (NNCC): http://www.nncc.org/Diversity/sac26_anti-bias.analyz.html
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