Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This list supports early childhood professionals’ awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and offers resources with suggestions for practices that help young children understand and appreciate diversity.

IEL Resources

Tip Sheets

Let’s Talk About…Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Blogs

Accreditation Renewal Sparks an Anti-bias Journey

Books

Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Second Edition by Louse Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards, and Catherine M. Goins. (2020), NAEYC.
The Making Friends Program: Supporting Acceptance in Your K-2 Classroom by Paddy C. Favazza, Michaelene M. Ostrosky, and Chryso Mouzurou (2016), Brookes.

Web Resources

Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement (also in Spanish)
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

This position statement asserts that all children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society. Recommendations are given for early childhood educators, administrators, faculty, and policy makers to advance equity in early childhood education. Evidence for this position statement, including principles of child development and learning and the social-cultural content of child development and learning, are provided.

CLAD – Cultural, Linguistic, Ability Diversity – Are you self-aware?
Source: PennState Extension

Part of the Better Kid Care series, this article advocates self-reflection on the part of early childhood working with diverse populations.

Conversations that Matter: Talking with Children About Big World Issues
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

This article provides basic guidelines for having affirming conversations with young children about difficult issues they hear about on the news and elsewhere.

Making Connections. Embracing Equity. Helping All Children Reach Their Full Potential
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

This article discusses values and beliefs at the core of professional commitment to equity in early childhood settings.

Many Languages, One Classroom: Supporting Children in Superdiverse Settings
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

This article gives educators strategies to support dual language learners’ language development through family engagement, environmental supports, and dual-language models.

Measuring Racial and Ethnic Diversity for the 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

This blog explains official government census categories of race and ethnicity, defines diversity, and presents race/ethnicity-related findings of the recent census.

Responsiveness to ALL Children, Families, and Professionals: Integrating Cultural and Linguistic Diversity into Policy and Practice
Source: Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

This position paper discusses the value of policies and practices that are responsive to cultural and linguistic differences among families, children, and staff in early childhood programs.

The Social Studies Network
Source: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

This website provides projects, resources for teachers, and research on social studies education using an inclusive, inquiry-based pedagogy.