Application: Co-Creating Culture, Equity, and Social Justice—An Evaluation

Bring to mind the key elements of your studies this week: Through the resources, you were introduced to the concept of working for social justice; you familiarized yourself with theoretical ideas about child development as a cultural process; you studied ways in which children actively place themselves into culture and, through personal relationships, transform it; and you examined questions about social justice and equity in early childhood environments.

For this assignment, write a formal analysis paper, at least 3 pages in length, in which you demonstrate your comprehension of the nature and the implications of the topics you studied this week. This paper will consist of two parts. For Part 1, analyze and evaluate Chapter 6 of the course text The Developing Child in the 21st Century. For Part 2, choose one additional topic from the options provided below.

Part 1: Required

• The Child in Culture, pp. 77–91 of the course text The Developing Child in the 21st Century:

• What does the author mean when she speaks of the “child in culture?”
• In what ways does the author connect culture and children’s interactions with culture with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model?
• What is “cultural capital,” and what is its significance in relation to equity and social justice for children and families?
• In what ways is the question of bilingualism or multilingualism relevant in relation to equity and social justice?
• In what ways, according to the author, are high culture and popular culture related to equity and social justice?

Part 2: Choose one of the topics below:

• Social Justice in Early Childhood Environments: With regard to the two articles by Boutte and Hyland about social justice in early childhood environments:
  • Why does Boutte speak about “love” and “hate” in relation to social justice?
  • Which two examples does Boutte provide that illustrate misconceptions about diversity and which, in her opinion, contribute to inequities and injustices?
  • What pedagogical strategies supporting social justice does the author present?
  • What is the key difference between culturally relevant pedagogy and critical pedagogy?
  • How are issues of power and inequity addressed in either of these pedagogies?
  • What relevant insight about social justice in early childhood environment did you gain from studying these two articles?
• Intergenerational Relationships: With regard to the article by Larkin and Kaplan about intergenerational relationships:
  • What is the nature of intergenerational relationships?
  • What specific benefits for children resulted from the intergenerational relationships documented in this article?
  • What specific benefits for adults resulted from the intergenerational relationships documented in this article?
  • In what ways do the authors connect the principle of fostering intergenerational relationships with reducing ageism?
  • What other positive contributions to honoring diversity and working for equity and social justice do you discern as a consequence of intergenerational relationships in early childhood environments?
  • What, if any, challenges might the fostering of intergenerational relationships in early childhood settings present?
• Global Citizenship: With regard to the article by Miranda about global citizenship:
  • Provide a brief summary of the global citizenship project.
  • In what specific ways does this project address issues of diversity?
  • What connections does the author suggest between working for social justice and working for peace?
  • What dispositions of the people involved contributed, in your opinion, to the success of this project?
  • What challenges can you discern if you wanted to implement a similar project in your community?
  • What is your evaluation of the idea of “global citizenship” as a contributing factor to social justice?