Decolonial Education Through Solidarities: Anti-racism Learning in Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada

Abstract

This work takes a decolonial and, specifically, an antiracist approach to thinking about teaching and learning in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) within the settler-colonial Canadian context, a context in which Euro-centric developmentalist narratives predominate. To address this situation, a team of academics, along with the College of Early Childhood Educators and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario, carried out antiracist professional learning with the early childhood sector in Ontario, Canada. Four two-hour sequential on-line sessions were offered. Three hundred professionals participated. This knowledge transfer initiative focused on sharing information and providing a platform for educators to ask questions, learn, and unpack their own positionalities in challenging race and racism in early learning pedagogies and curriculum. Pre- and post-session surveys were distributed, the results of which are discussed in this chapter. Strengths and weaknesses of this initiative are considered, along with impact and next steps.

Citation

Abawi, Z. and Berman, R. (2024), "Decolonial Education Through Solidarities: Anti-racism Learning in Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada", Moncrieffe, M.L., Fakunle, O., Kustatscher, M. and Rost, A.O. (Ed.) The BERA Guide to Decolonising the Curriculum: Equity and Inclusion in Educational Research and Practice (The BERA Guides), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 51-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83549-144-720241005