Legislation and the new national standards for under-eights daycare and childminding state that providers must promote anti-discriminatory practice. But what exactly is it? And how do providers set about putting it into practice?
Anti-discriminatory practice can be defined as an approach to working with young children that promotes:
* Diversity and the valuing of all differences A setting whose practice is anti-discriminatory will celebrate and value differences in identities, cultures, religions, abilities and social practices.
* Self-esteem and positive group identity A setting will recognise the impact of discrimination, the social inequalities and their effect on young children and their families. Such a setting will identify and remove practices and procedures that discriminate.
* Fulfilment of individual potential A setting will value children and adults for their individuality and ensure a sense of belonging that promotes self-esteem. It will respect where children come from, what they achieve and what they bring to the learning situation.
* The full participation of all groups in society. A setting will appreciate the importance of what is learned and what can be unlearned in the early years and recognise the wider aim of early education to lay the foundations of a more just and equitable society.
STARTING POINTS
The starting point for anti-discriminatory practice is that every child has the right to live free from discrimination, stated in Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.
Early years practitioners also need to assess the discrimination that occurs in society and their own setting (consciously or subconsciously) and the effect this has on the children.
CHILDREN
Young children's antennae readily tune in to both overt and subtle messages about who is 'better' than who and who is valued in society, at a time when they are beginning to put together a picture of their own identity. But while they may ask awkward direct questions, they seldom make value judgements without the influence of adults (see page 20).
SETTINGS
So much discrimination and inequality is seemingly unchallenged by our institutions, despite legislation to the contrary. Early years settings are no different. Settings do not exist in a vacuum but reflect the real world, where we find racial divisions and conflicts, ignorance regarding disability, confusion about gender roles and sexuality as well as class divisions, poverty and wealth.
Take the disabled child who cannot attend a local playgroup because she is not ready to be toilet trained (no convenient changing area and a shortage of staff), or the traveller child who never gets to go to a nursery because they are always at the bottom of the waiting list (first come, first served admission policies). Both children, and their families, are discriminated against by policy and procedures that may seem reasonable and even equitable on the surface.
PRACTITIONERS
Often we are not aware of the ways in which we have internalised stereotypes and how this affects our expectations for children and families. You may be shocked by some colleagues' views on a child's potential or a certain minority ethnic family, but we all have internalised layers of expectation based on our upbringing and experiences that operate on a conscious and subconscious level.
We need to understand the connections between the building blocks of our own identity, such as gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality and religion. At different times in our lives one or other of these aspects may become a defining feature of the way we view ourselves and will influence how others view us.
Acknowledging the extent of the 'baggage' that we all bring to a learning environment is a vital first step along the road to anti-discriminatory practice.
Try this Have you ever been in a situation where you were a member of a particular group but felt subtly excluded? Identify and record the emotions that the situation aroused in you. Are there any adults or children in your group who may be feeling like this?
PARENTS
Early years settings may be guilty of discriminating against some parents - for example, parents of disabled children who are often stigmatised as 'overprotective' and potentially problematic. At the same time, some parents may discriminate against other parents, their children or practitioners, leaving staff at odds with the views that parents have or express.
Using gender as an example, many parents hold deep-seated conscious and subconscious perceptions and expectations of their children based on whether they are a boy or a girl. Parents can be keen for children to exhibit 'acceptable' gender behaviour and conform to society's stereotypes.
In the context of anti-discriminatory practice, early years settings have a potential role in challenging overt prejudice and discrimination wherever and whenever it occurs in their groups, but it is important that this is done in a way that is sensitive and constructive.
Practitioners need to bear in mind that parents are their children's first educators and an important resource for settings, especially in terms of information about an individual child. A setting where parents feel involved and comfortable will have better outcomes for the children. Early years settings can also have a key role in supporting families and helping to break down isolation or alienation.
Try this Think about how you would deal with the following:
* A group of parents object to the inclusion of a severely disabled child on the grounds that it will 'hold the other children back'.
* You overhear a parent say to their child that they are not to play with a New Age Traveller child who has just joined the group.
* A parent raises objections to her little boy spending so much time dressing up, on the grounds that it will 'make him gay'.
IN PRACTICE
Moving towards successful anti-discriminatory practice involves:
* understanding that diversity is inclusive and that we all have cultural backgrounds and multiple identities that are derived from various sources, including our families, our peer groups and our own unique set of individual experiences * examining our personal prejudices and how they operate, and committing ourselves to 'unlearning' our prejudices * promoting positive values for families, communities and staff * gathering a repertoire of strategies to ensure settings are welcoming, non-threatening and stimulating places to be, where children and families are valued because of their differences and not in spite of them * developing the awareness, confidence, skills and knowledge to challenge and educate effectively, for example, the parent who makes racist assertions, the child who thinks that black skin is dirty or the staff member who makes assumptions about a disabled child's inability to join in an activity * involving everyone in a dynamic and constructive dialogue and process * constantly monitoring, evaluating and adjusting practice and procedures.
FLEXIBLE THINKING
* Among the attributes that we especially need to develop and strengthen are assertiveness, the ability to communicate effectively and the ability to empathise with others. The aim of anti-discriminatory practice is not to generate discomfort, conflict or negativity, although we may well encounter these feelings along the way.
* Treating children 'the same' is not the same thing as treating them equally. To treat children equally we have to recognise that society does not provide a level playing field and we may have to take a variety of unequal factors into account to meet their universal entitlement as future citizens.
* All children stand to benefit from an enabling, enquiring environment where achievements are valued in the broadest possible terms and individual potential is respected.
* Anti-discriminatory practice strives towards all the children and the adults in a setting developing and maintaining high self-esteem and being proud of where they come from.
* One important rule is not to expect to find easy or 'right' answers to everything. This is an area where a little knowledge, if generally applied, can be as dangerous as none at all. While some knowledge can be desirable and useful, it is counterproductive if it leads us to assume, for example, that families from a particular culture or religion will have an identical interpretation or application of those ideas, or that one child with Down's syndrome or cerebral palsy will have much the same needs or (dis)abilities as another.
* This is a process which involves getting to know people and children on a personal and professional basis and avoiding pre-judgement and fixed expectations. This approach will often demand creative and individual solutions.
Try this Make a list of all the groups in society that you think may be subject to discrimination. Who is missing from the list? What might the list be telling you about which groups are dominant in our society?
POLICY IN ACTION
Effective policy making is an active and dynamic process that ideally involves all of the stakeholder groups, including parents and children at some level. While prescriptive or ready-made policies are convenient, they are unlikely to be readily meaningful to individuals who had no hand putting them together.
Guidelines, frameworks and examples are extremely helpful, but ownership and understanding of policy statements and requirements are fundamental if we are to apply them effectively.
We need to look at policymaking as a functional tool and not just as a set of requirements. The Special Educational Needs Policy, for example, is an opportunity to identify the process for a change of ethos, barriers that currently prevent inclusion and what needs to be done to remove those barriers.
Technically, you can create policy on any aspect of your practice that demands attention, such as working with parents and behaviour management. A policy on inclusion, for example, can be useful in incorporating all the different elements of successful anti-discriminatory practice.
POLICY DOCUMENT
In the document include sections on:
* the general environment. Is it accessible, stimulating, safe, etc?
* the curriculum and activities
* parent/carer involvement
* staff training and support
* role of key individuals such as SENCOs and responsibilities of individual staff, that is key workers
* monitoring policy implementation
* timetable for implementation
* evaluation and review of policy
* publicity and dissemination policy.