Newsletter

SOCIAL JUSTICE

April 2010

Dear Early Childhood Practitioner,

Welcome to our FREE e-newsletter, Pademelon Notes.

Social justice is the focus of this edition of Pademelon Notes. Social justice equates to a more equal and just society. Implementing social justice initiatives in early childhood environments and elsewhere requires active government intervention and social change that eliminates discrimination and inequalities in both opportunities and the distribution of resources. Early childhood educators continue to play a vital role in bringing social justice to the environments of children.

Children’s innate innocence and purity make them naturally socially just. Experiences that value and strengthen this natural sense of social justice help children become adults who are advocates for social justice in their societies. Early childhood teachers can provide these enriching experiences.

‘Aboriginal (Indigenous) and multicultural issues are a most significant part of everyday early childhood curriculum in Australia. When early childhood curriculum is inclusive, focused on diversity and difference, and politically engaged then social justice is possible.

…
For many years, early childhood educators across the globe have been engaging ideas of diversity and difference, social justice and equity in early childhood curriculum.

…
While the anti-bias curriculum and approaches have led the way, other research has emerged in Australia that takes our anti-bias work and commitment to social justice in another direction.’

From the introduction of Talkin' Up and Speakin' Out

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In this E- Newsletter you will find:

• contributions from those passionate about social justice
• information on our wonderful upcoming publication Talkin' Up and Speakin' Out
• a book review What if All the Kids are White? What if All the Kid's are White?
•teacher resources and children's books on diversity and social justice
• World Forum 2011
• upcoming conferences

••••••••••

We hope you enjoy this edition of Pademelon Notes. To subscribe to our e-newsletter please click here

Bye for now,

Rodney Kenner, and your friends at Pademelon Press.

Talkin' Up and Speakin' Out - Aboriginal and Multicultural Voices in Early Childhood
Pademelon Press is proud to be publishing this wonderful book edited by Kerry Mundine and Miriam Giugni. Talkin’ Up and Speakin’ Out: Aboriginal and Multicultural Voices in Early Childhood is a beautifully written collection from a diverse range of writers. Enhanced by colour photographs and very personal artworks, poems, yarns and feelings, this book reaches to the heart of social justice in early childhood and offers a dialogue of hope and steps for action on including diversity in our early childhood teaching.
Read more...

What If All The Kids Are White — Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families
How do you teach about racial and cultural diversity if all your students are white? This book answers the question many educators may have when there is a narrow range of diversity in their own centre. Written by Louise Derman-Sparks and Patricia G Ramsey it’s published by Teachers College Press in the USA.

What if All the Kids are White? Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families is reviewed by Sue Atkinson Lopez, a Yorta Yorta woman and Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood at the University of Melbourne. Sue has worked in Indigenous education for 25 years with children and adults and is currently involved in setting up a new Aboriginal Child and Family Centre in Melbourne.
Read more...

Diversity and Tokenism
Voices from the field offer readers a conversation with early childhood leaders on topics of interest. In this issue, Joy Lubawy and Miriam Giugni offer two thoughtful perspectives on Diversity and Tokenism.

Joy Lubawy asks us to ‘recognise that diversity is more than skin colour, religion or even the food we eat, diversity is richness of experiences and our ability to adapt to almost anything.’ With this in mind Joy explains how she has incorporated diverse experiences and avoided tokenism by ensuring those experiences are real and relevant to the children she works with.
Read more...

You can also find examples of these ideas in every chapter of Joy’s book Visions of Creativity.

Miriam Giugni, co-editor with Kerry Mundine of Pademelon’s upcoming book Talkin’ Up and Speakin’ Out: Aboriginal and Multicultural Voices in Early Childhood, offers a further perspective on diversity and tokenism in her article Diversity beyond tokenism.
Read more...

To contribute to Voices from the field please click here.

Miriam Giugni
Miriam Giugni is the co-editor of Talkin’ Up and Speakin’ Out: Aboriginal and Multicultural Voices in Early Childhood, the next empowering release from Pademelon Press. But Miriam also sees herself '…as an activist early childhood teacher and a research pedagogue. I work in early childhood … I can learn about and be politically engaged with communities, families, pedagogy and curriculum and … have a voice about inequalities that relate to the job and make a difference. I … produce policy and advise political parties around early childhood policy based on my broad interest in the ‘structural issues’ that affect us as well as the ‘process issues’. I am always interested in bringing all aspects of early childhood politics, policy, theory and practice together.’ In this article, Miriam Giugni gives a fascinating account of her work and her research.
Read more...

2011 World Forum on Early Care and Education
2011 World Forum on Early Care and Education
Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
3–6 May 2011

The World Forum in Belfast, 2009 sold out three months before the event and had a waiting list of 550 people. 2011 is likely to sell out much faster.

The 2011 forum returns to where it all began and is once again to be held in Hawaii at the magnificent Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

Of the 520 people who attended that first World Forum, over 100 were from Australia.

It will be the place to be during the first week of May 2011!

Limited spaces available. Reserve your place now.

Click here for further details.

Early Childhood Australia National Conference

It 'Garla Bauondi: Fuelling the Fire'
29 September–2 October 2010
Adelaide Convention Centre, SA

Conference registration is now open, with our early bird registration closing 31 July.
Read more...

These resources from Pademelon Press will help you embrace diversity and social justice in your early childhood program.

Anti-bias Education
Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards
Practical guidance to confront and eliminate barriers of prejudice, misinformation, and bias.

What If All The Kids Are White?
Louise Derman-Sparks and Patricia G Ramsey
Strategies and resources for teaching cultural diversity.

From My Side Being A Child
Sylvis C Chard and Yvonne Kogan
Colour photographs of children from across the world.

Many Languages One Classroom
Karen N. Nemeth
Answering the unique needs of children from different language backgrounds.

Upcoming Conferences

Early Childhood Intervention Australia
‘ Every day in every way: Creating learning opportunities for every child’
Thursday 20 May–Saturday 22 May 2010
Click here for details.

ACCS National Conference
‘ Waves of Change—Are You on Board’
Friday14 May–Saturday 15 May 2010
Novotel Wollongong Northbeach
Click here for details.