Equity

Culture: A set of values, beliefs, customs, norms, perceptions, and experiences shared by a group of people. An individual may identify with or belong to many different cultural groups. Culture is passed to others through communication, learning, and imitation.

Ethnicity: A socially constructed grouping of people based on characteristics such as culture, tribe, history, and ancestral geographical base. It is often used interchangeably with race and/or national origin, but should be instead considered as an overlapping, rather than identical category. 

Race: Racial categories are socially constructed; have no biological basis; and created whiteness as one of the elements of dominant culture. Race was created to concentrate power and advantage people who are defined as white and justify dominance over non-white people. The idea of race has become embedded in our identities, institutions, and culture, and influences life opportunities, outcomes, and experiences. Racial categories change based on the political convenience of the dominant society at a given period of time. 

Color-Blind: A term used to describe a disregard of racial characteristics or lack of influence by racial prejudice. The concept of colorblindness is often promoted by those who dismiss the importance of race in order to proclaim the end of racism. Color-blind racial ideology is characterized by the central frames of abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism and the minimization of racism.

Disparity: The difference in outcomes that a group experiences based on that identity.  

Disproportionality: Exists when the representation of a group is larger (over representation) or smaller (under-representation) than their representation in the general population. 

Equality: All receive the same treatment without accounting for differing needs or circumstances.

Equity: Equity is achieved when race and other aspects of identity cannot be used to predict how one fares, and our systems are designed and adjusted to work for everyone. It is not just the absence of discrimination, but also proactive and preventative actions to achieve and sustain fairness. Equity is distinct from equality, which refers to everyone having the same treatment without accounting for differing needs or circumstances. 

Implicit Bias: The attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases that individuals may choose to conceal for social and/or political correctness. 

Inclusion: This is more than simply diversity and quantitative representation. Inclusion embodies the values and practices that create access to individualized opportunities for every child and their family. This results in a true sense of belonging and full access to opportunities.

Othering: A strategy to prevent everyone from truly belonging in society. It encompasses systematically expressed prejudice towards group identities including, but not limited to, religion, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (class), disability, sexual orientation, citizenship/immigration status, and skin tone. It is a common set of dynamics, processes, and structures that produces marginality and persistent inequality across differences.  

Privilege: A set of advantages systemically conferred on a particular person or group of people. Privilege is any unearned benefit, position, power, right, or advantage one receives in society as a result of their identity. People can be disadvantaged by one identity and privileged by another. 

Racism: Racism is racial prejudice plus power. In the United States, it is grounded in the creation of a white dominant culture that reinforces the use of power to privilege white people while marginalizing people of color, whether intentional or not. Racism is perpetuated at multiple levels: 

• Individual Racism: Pre-judgement, bias or discrimination by an individual based on race and includes internalized racism, white people internalizing privilege and people of color internalizing oppression. Our private beliefs and biases about race and racism that are influenced by our culture. 
• Interpersonal Racism: When individuals express ideas or take actions that perpetuates racism. 
• Institutional Racism: Intentional or unintentional programs, policies, practices, and organizational culture that work to benefit white people and disadvantage people of color. 
• Systemic/Structural Racism: The interplay and compounding effects of laws, practices, policies, programs, and institutions of multiple systems, which leads to adverse outcomes and conditions for communities of color compared to white communities. This includes the historical, cultural and social psychological aspects of our currently racialized society. 

Racial Equity: Race is not used to predict success and that all systems work for everyone.

Adapted from DCYF Racial Equity and Social Justice Framework

Addressing Early Childhood Suspension by Addressing Implicit Bias and Using Culturally Responsive Practices

A 4-part series with Dr. Rosemarie Allen, the President and CEO of the Center for Equity and Excellence. Dr. Allen discusses early childhood suspension, defines bias, microaggressions and how they show up in early childhood settings and anti-racists strategies to reduce one's own bias.

Historical Roots of Race in Early Childhood Programs
Implicit Bias and Color Blind Ideology
Microaggressions & Cultural Humility
Anti-racism & Anti-racist

Equity Matters: Engaging Families Through Home Visits

This Teaching Tolerance webinar discusses family engagement as one of the key elements to children’s academic success. Learn strategies to implement home visits in ways that promote effective and positive interactions with students, families, and communities.

Strategies for Successful Opportunities in Early Childhood Education

Children who are learning more than one language are a growing group in early childhood education programs. This webinar provides an overview of dual language learners’ cognitive, social-emotional and language development and provides examples of specific ways to support children.

Home Visiting Programs Serving Immigrant and Dual Language Learner (DLL) Families

This recorded webinar marks the release of a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) policy brief exploring program and policy opportunities to improve home visiting services for immigrant and DLL families. It includes an overview of the home visiting services landscape and promising strategies to build effective partnerships with immigrant parents.

Sensitive Locations and Beyond: Roles and Responsibilities for Early Childhood Educators working with Children in Undocumented Families.

NAEYC partnered with CLASP to create a webinar series to share tools and resources to support early childhood educators in support of immigrant families.

Explore the history and concept of race in the United States.

The Myth of Race (Video)

While the concept of “race” is exceptionally important in our lives, the racial categories to which we are assigned are not based on permanent, objective facts. Watch The Myth of Race Debunked in Three Minutes to learn more.

Discover resources to build deeper understanding of structural racism and tools to assess inequities in systems and policies.

What Is White Privilege, Really?

The concept of white privilege refers to the ways in which white people benefit from the fact that they aren't a racial minority. Recognizing white privilege begins with truly understanding the term itself. Read Teaching Tolerance’s article that examines subtle versions of white privilege and the negative effects it has on people of color.

Layers of Racism in our Social Structures (podcast)

Seeing White is a Scene on Radio podcast series that deeply explores the notion and history of “whiteness” along with interrelated and enduring racial inequity in schools, housing, criminal justice, and hiring.

Learn how implicit bias informs our daily actions and thoughts.

Implicit Bias and Structural Inequity

Most efforts to address implicit bias focus on increasing awareness in order to change how individuals view and treat others. In order to achieve deeper, more meaningful change, we must look at how current inequities in our institutions came to be, how they are held in place and what our role as leaders is in perpetuating inequities despite our good intentions. The National Equity Project offers important cautions and considerations for this work. 

Overcoming Our Biases

This TED talk features Verna Myers who shares an approach to overcoming our biases: Walk boldly toward them. After initially acknowledging our biases, the next step is to move toward – not away from – the groups that make you uncomfortable.

Project Implicit

This is a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. The IAT may be especially interesting if it shows that you have an implicit attitude that you did not know about. Choose a test to take at Project Implicit.

Explore and anti-bias education in early childhood.

NAEYC Anti-Bias Resources

Visit NAEYC Anti-Bias webpage for resources related to Anti-Bias education in early childhood.

Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves

This is a classic resource that has been expanded and updated. The is a guide to building a stronger anti-bias program.

Reflecting on Anti-Bias Education in Action: The Early Years (Video)

A new film, Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years (48 minutes), features vignettes of anti-bias strategies in early childhood classrooms interspersed with teachers reflecting on their practice.By taking viewers into diverse early childhood classrooms, the film seeks to demonstrate the importance of teacher reflection on identity, context, and practice in anti-bias education and provides a much-needed resource for teacher education and professional development.

Focus on advancing equity in early childhood education

Families and Communities: Co-Designers of Education

This policy memo, jointly released by the National Education Policy Center and the Family Leadership Design Collaborative, explores justice-based approaches to family engagement. The memo describes how parents and families, particularly from communities of color, contribute as fellow leaders in transforming schools and educational systems to better serve all. 

Engaging Diverse Families in Your Early Childhood Program

Read more about the McCormick Center’s resource, The Value of Culture in Your Family Partnerships, for some ideas to help engage diverse families in your program.

Addressing Racial Inequities in Child Care and Early Education Policy 

This publication gives a current and historical account of how race and ethnicity have shaped policies concerning child care and early education policy. It also provides a list of recommendations for addressing affordability and access, building racially and culturally competent programs, and making high-quality jobs for a diverse workforce.

Resources and information to support young children who are learning both English, a home language or native language other than English

Seeing Language as a Strength

Much of the academic discussion involving English language learners in U.S. schools focuses on deficits. It is important to turn around the conversation and talk about English learners’ strengths. Looking at the lingual, cognitive, cultural, and academic assets of English learners is a way to reframe the conversation. Learn more about changing perspectives.

Dual Language Learners

Resources and information to support young children who are learning both English, a home language or native language other than English.

Seeing Language as a Strength

Much of the academic discussion involving English language learners in U.S. schools focuses on deficits. It is important to turn around the conversation and talk about English learners’ strengths. Looking at the lingual, cognitive, cultural, and academic assets of English learners is a way to reframe the conversation. Learn more about changing perspectives.  

Dual Language Learners Toolkit

This toolkit provides resources to support young children who are learning their home language and English. There are three components in the toolkit:

• Administrators and managers;
• Teachers, caregivers and family services staff; and
• Families.

Watch a related video and explore the toolkit

Resources to support immigrant families and dual language learners.

Ways to Stand with Immigrant Families

Educators across the country are taking action when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids happen in their communities. Read how you can stand with undocumented students and families — whether or not you live in a vulnerable community.

Expanding Preschool Access for Children of Immigrants

A study conducted by the Urban Institute identifies practices that increase immigrant children's enrollment in preschool. Understanding how to reduce barriers to preschool access for immigrant families is key to program success.

Resources for staff professional development

National Equity Project

The National Equity Project produces a monthly newsletter with outstanding resources. One example is Racialized Trauma is a free five-day online course developed and presented by Resmaa Menaken, a clinical social worker, therapist, trauma practitioner, and author. This course is based on his latest book, My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies.

Color brave conversations are honest talks about race that can help us better understand each other’s perspectives and experiences.  The opposite of color brave is color blind. 

How to Talk to Kids about Racism

Do you talk with young children about race and racism? Maybe you think they’re too young or that a specific conversation isn’t necessary. This article offers some ideas about the importance of having those conversations and for how to choreograph them.

Color blind or color brave (Video)

The subject of race can be very touchy. Mellody Hobson, a finance executive says, that’s exactly why we need to start talking about it. In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race — and particularly about diversity in hiring — makes for better businesses and a better society. Watch her TEDTalk

Find resources related to addressing and preventing exclusionary practices.

Creating Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Families

Children’s identities and senses of self are intimately tied to their families. The experience of being welcome or unwelcome, visible or invisible, begins in early childhood. This article explores four focus areas for early childhood providers to create supportive and inclusive settings for all children and families.

New LGBTQ+ Best Practices Guide

This excerpt from Teaching Tolerance’s new LGBTQ+ Best Practice Guide offers insight into how even small policy adjustments can make a big difference in the lives of queer and non-binary students.

Disability/Inclusion Network

Engage with the disabilities and Head Start community around the country in an online community hosted on the MyPeers platform. The community currently has more than 1,000 members who are sharing resources, engaging in conversations and asking questions. Register as a member of MyPeers or if you are already a member, find the Head Start Disability/Inclusion Network community under "All Communities" and select the blue “Join” button.

Resources on Personal Pronouns

A perspective on ways to use personal pronouns in an empowering and inclusive way. MyPronouns.org is a resource dedicated to the empowering and inclusive use of personal pronouns in the English Language.

For more information and resources please visit DCYF Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion webpage.