Alexa Negrete,  

Sponsor or Client: 

Title:

Empowering Little Learners with Loud Voices: Preschoolers as Stakeholders in Social Justice Education

Abstract:

What do you often associate with “Social Justice”? Equity? Systemic oppression? Marginalization? Protest? Advocacy? Let’s challenge the idea that these conversations shouldn’t take place until teenagers are exposed to them on social media, or by watching candidate debates when they reach voting age. What if we recognize that the foundation of social justice lies in understanding and curiosity? Cultivating curiosity and generating understanding about our world is exactly what takes place in classrooms every day. Social Justice discussions shouldn’t wait until adolescence, they can and should begin in Early Childhood Education.

Early childhood classrooms are envisioned with ABCs lining the walls, coloring pages, a carpet to sing songs on, and toilets for potty training. What many don’t realize is that early childhood experiences are imperative to shaping young learners, as children’s brains develop the most and make connections most rapidly within the first five years of life. Children utilize play to explore and ask questions about themselves, their peers, and the world around them. They begin to form ideas about why things work the way they do. As educators, we should optimize learning and celebrate the curiosity that is spewing over from our little scholars.

Through research within the College of Education, we have begun forming a curriculum based on the Learning for Social Justice standards. This curriculum aims to grant young children important experiences that develop their sense of identity and relationships with others, engage them in important conversations, and empower them with tools to enact social/societal change.