The Effect of Implementing Culturally Relevant and Anti-Bias Activities with Young Children in a Preschool Classroom

Abstract

The effects of a culturally relevant, anti-bias curriculum on a child's awareness of his or her classroom peers were studied in preschool aged children of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. Eighteen students (7 Black, 5 White, 5 Mixed-race, and 1 Latino) enrolled in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) classroom participated in this study. The culturally relevant, anti-bias unit titled, "Classroom Community" included a variety of activities involving books, music, art, and discussions conducted in both small and large group settings. Overall, goals of the unit were to increase each student's ability to understand, appreciate, and respect differences and similarities in their classroom, as well as build a safe and supportive classroom community where students can learn together and value the range of diversity. Students were assessed by two methods: the Draw-A-Person test and semi structured interviews. It was hypothesized that culturally relevant and anti-bias education would enhance a child's ability to portray the members in their classroom community. After four weeks of the "Classroom Community" unit, students increased the number of human figures depicted in their drawings from a mean of 5.21 human figures per drawing to 7.29 human figures per drawing. In addition, semi structured interviews were conducted to address the following: are students aware of the differences and similarities of their classmates, what are their perceptions of skin color, and is it feasible for educators to implement culturally relevant, anti-bias lessons and activities to preschool aged students.