Early Childhood Education in America: Adapting for a Diverse Population - Essay Sample

Introduction

The American early childhood education curriculum has undergone numerous modifications to meet the needs of the diverse American citizens. Given that the United States has people of different cultures whose children converge in one classroom to learn, teachers must adopt a practical curriculum that caters to their diverse social, cultural, economic, and political needs. The Americans of different races have immensely contributed to the development of an early childhood education curriculum. However, this paper mainly focusses on the efforts that have been made by African Americans in shaping the curriculum of early education. The involvement of African Americans in the development of early childhood education curriculum relays an expression of positive self-esteem towards self-actualization, thus, inspiring higher achievement for the black child. In teaching African American subject matter, it is relevant to incorporate the contributions of black people in civics, health, science, technology, art, literature, and arithmetic, including spiritual leaders’ ingenuity that have made a sizeable indelible imprint on the American culture. Imparting knowledge to children about their heritage would reflect positivity on the black child's identity, which will enhance their interest in higher academic achievement in learning.

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Literature Review

The involvement of African Americans in the development of early childhood education curriculum has undoubtedly positively impacted the engagement of a black child in school activities, and their self-esteem towards self-actualization. Different studies have been carried out to establish the importance of African Americans' involvement in the formulation of the curriculum of early childhood education. As noted by Blaise and Ryan (2019), even though most pre-school teachers’ respect and honor children, it is tough for one to identify educators who have a strong commitment and desire to listen to and engage with students of color. These sentiments are also reiterated by Denbo and Beaulieu (2002) who were shocked by the fact that most educators still view children of color via the lens of European American children and either fail to identify their strengths and beauty they bring to the classroom or fail to build on this massive untapped power. For some reasons that are not inherent in children, families, or communities and that go beyond this review’s scope, African American children are arguably the most in need of government support in the U.S. schools. They rank last behind all ethnic groups in the USA, and as noted by Bacon (2017), they have been shortchanged by the curriculum of the American schools that neither covers much of the cultural heritage nor meets some of their essential needs. A primary factor in the continuous existence of such inequities is a pervasive and a wholly ignored perspective that is employed in judging children of color (File & Mueller, 2019). It is refreshing to note that some European American teachers view children of African American descent through Afrocentric lenses. This is attributed to the efforts that have been made by African Americans in redefining the curriculum of early childhood study, which they are engaged in during its formulation.

Important Influencers

Early childhood curriculum is one of the critical areas in education that has been modified in the past to meet the demands of black students. At the center of this fight are key African American figures who have made massive changes in the Afrocentric Curriculum. It is integral for women to be placed at the center of the discipline of African studies in all aspects of life. Women constitute more than half of the world population, and this population should be reflected in every aspect of the academy. Women play an integral role in the creation of any endeavor in American scholarship. Without them, life becomes incomplete, and the human thought processes that are shaped by education become distorted. All women are aware of the role they play in shaping the education of African Americans, and now demand their place in the education system. Their efforts have also been boosted by some men who recognize their relevance to the full development of the enterprise and promote their centralization.

Pryah Mahabeer is one of the women who helped shaped the Afrocentric curriculum. She is a lecturer in the discipline of curriculum and education studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban ("Top ten most Influentaial women in American education," 2019). Her research focused on the study of the curriculum, its policy, decision-making, and development. Her study also covers curriculum leadership and development and the development and education of teachers. She adopted an interdisciplinary approach to curriculum studies and developed an interest in early childhood education in which she grossly shaped how the Afrocentric curriculum, especially for kindergarten, should be. Her constructivist teaching and approach of learning cover the early learning, undergraduate, and master's levels, and it elaborates on the components that should be included in the curriculum to meet the demands of black students ("Top ten most Influentaial women in American education," 2019).

Alice Palmer is another woman who played a massive role in shaping the American education curriculum. The discussion of American education cannot be complete without her. Her educational career opened the gates to opportunities for women to go to school. She created and acted as the president of the American Association of University Women and served as the president of Wellesley College between 1881 and 1887 (Jarvis, 1992). More integral than her career was her engagement in the discourse on the education of women. She believed that women must obtain college degrees so that they would become independent. Mary McLeod Bethune also played an integral role in building better livelihoods for the black via education and modification of the curriculum ("Top ten most Influentaial women in American education," 2019).

The creation of the Afrocentric curriculum was also facilitated by Lucy Diggs Slowe, who made many changes in American society with numerous accomplishments. She became the first African-American woman to be named Dean of Women at Howard University. She also took part in the creation of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. During the last century, there were tremendous changes in the theories and practices in the early education field, which was propagated by female progressive education reformers. One of the women who took part in this change was Maria Montessori, who designed hands-on materials to generate experimental and global learning. Edna Nobe White also took part in the change by supporting an interdisciplinary approach of children to early childhood. Patty Smith Hill also brought creativity in early education classrooms and reorganized the National Association for Nursery Education to meet the demands of black pupils in kindergarten ("Top ten most Influentaial women in American education," 2019). These women improved early learning experience by emphasizing a play-based approach which was backed up the modern standards for early childhood education. The last centuries had attempted to impede women from acquiring leadership positions and playing integral roles in processes such as the formulation of the Afrocentric curriculum. However, through their constant struggle, they found a robust influencing human development that protected their rights and enabled them to be part of the team that shapes the learning of black children in early learning institutions. Women such as the ones discussed above professionalized their fields, fought for their societal needs and formulated best practices. Through civil rights, women have achieved a lot. They can now have families and play considerable roles in the decision-making process of education. However, much is to be done to enable women to adequately perform their tasks in shaping the curriculum of early education. Women are up for any challenge regarding the issues affecting children in kindergarten.

Men were not left behind in the creation of an early childhood education curriculum. They equally played an important role in modifying the Afrocentric curriculum to meet the needs of black students. One of the men who was at the forefront in the creation of an early childhood education curriculum is George Washington Carver, an American agricultural scientist. He was one of the most prominent black scientists in the early 20th century and advised people to plant other crops instead of cotton to prevent the depletion of the soil. He dedicated his life to learning the practical application of science. By applying scientific talent, spiritual inclination, and artistic talent, he immensely contributed to the environment, such as inventing more than 300 peanut-based products, the advancement of the sweet potato species, and the creation of revolutionary theories of crop rotation. His services were not limited to a classroom setup since he educated and empowered farmers in applying a new agriculture technique. He was the first black man to study at Iowa State University, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1894. He also contributed heavily in writing contents that were later used in teaching the African content, and as indicated before, such information enhances learning among black children. Besides his classical farm work, he also heavily contributed to creating an education curriculum that met the needs of a black student. The work that was done by George ushered in a new dawn that has prompted Americans to search for effective educational methods that would enable them to resolve the poor conditions of education that students face, especially African American learners.

The 21st century has been marked by many African Americans beginning to delve more into creating an effective curriculum that can cater to the needs of black students. Afrocentricity is an integral discourse that is being applied to develop an instrumental pedagogy that is referred to as the African-centered education. It is designed to teach African children their history, identity, politics, and culture for the primary reason of solving the challenges they have faced while following the Eurocentric curriculum. However, the origin of the Afrocentric philosophy cannot be established with certainty. The male founders of the curriculum can barely be found, but some of the perpetrators of the practice have been documented. One of the most active propagators of the concept was Marcus Garvey, and the ideology gained momentum during the civil rights movement in the USA. The philosophy was first institutionalized in the Temple University School of scholars. Marcus Garvey subsequently championed for the program to be applied in new schools that had many black students by developing an epidemiological and methodological base for the formation of the Afrocentric curriculum, which was mainly based on African perspective but to obtain a global understanding. He suggested that for the program to be effectively adopted, blacks must view it from an African perspective. His plan suggested that an analysis of the issues affecting blacks must be considered form an African perspective; otherwise, it would yield misunderstanding when viewed from other races. The observation of Afrocentricity from an African perspective enables blacks to see themselves as agents, participants, and actors rather than being at the periphery of economic or political experience.

Effects of Creation of Afrocentric Curriculum

The challenges faced by African American children in classrooms prompted blacks to play a significant role in the designation of the early childhood curriculum. Accor...