How can we create truly multicultural classrooms? In this new edition of her popular text, renowned early childhood educator Patricia Ramsey draws on a wide range of research and practice from different communities around the world to further explore the complexities of raising and teaching young children in a world fraught with societal divisions and inequities. Using engaging examples and stories, this comprehensive volume offers concrete suggestions to encourage teachers to reflect on their own histories and experiences and to challenge and rethink their assumptions and attitudes toward children and teaching. This new, up-to-date edition describes research-based classroom practices to engage children in exploring the complexities of race, economic inequities, immigration, environmental issues and sustainability, gender and sexual orientation and identities, abilities and disabilities. It also addresses the challenges of teaching in the context of globalization, pervasive social media, and increased standards and accountability.

How can we create truly multicultural classrooms? In this new edition of her popular text, renowned early childhood educator Patricia Ramsey draws on a wide range of research and practice from different communities around the world to further explore the complexities of raising and teaching young children in a world fraught with societal divisions and inequities.Using engaging examples and stories, this comprehensive volume offers concrete suggestions to encourage teachers to reflect on their own histories and experiences and to challenge and rethink their assumptions and attitudes toward children and teaching. This new, up-to-date edition describes research-based classroom practices to engage children in exploring the complexities of race, economic inequities, immigration, environmental issues and sustainability, gender and sexual orientation and identities, and abilities and disabilities. It also addresses the challenges of teaching in the context of globalization, pervasive social media, and increasing standards and accountability. Book Features: Addresses social and economic inequities and how they affect staff relationships, interactions with parents, and children’s classroom experiences.Offers strategies to help teachers initiate conversations with colleagues, parents, and children.Discusses long-term structural decisions about early childhood programs, as well as day-to-day classroom teaching plans.Includes questions that prompt teachers to recognize the influence of overt and covert societal forces on their motivations and views of children.Free supplemental resources, including a comprehensive list of suggested books, can be downloaded at www.tcpress.com. “A pioneer in multicultural/social justice education for young children, this book reflects Patty Ramsey’s life-long commitment to, and ever-deepening understanding of the issues, challenges, and hopes of inclusive, equitable early childhood programs. At a time when our country seems increasingly polarized over the value and meaning of justice for all, her insights and suggestions are as needed as ever.” —Louise Derman-Sparks, international consultant on anti-bias education with children and adults, and co-author of Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change “This book is a timely, relevant resource for anyone who works with young children in any capacity. It supports practitioners to develop an individualized approach to infusing multicultural education—broadly defined—into their world views and work. Ramsey makes a clear and convincing case that multicultural education is not an ‘add-on’; it is a vehicle for shaping children’s lives and creating a more just society.” —Takiema Bunche Smith, Director of the Early Education Leadership Institute at SCO/FirstStepNYC

Covering cultural and linguistic diversity as well as special educational needs, this guide helps teachers set up an inclusive classroom; adapt curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and more.

FirstSchool is a groundbreaking framework for teaching minority and low-income children. Changing the conversation from improving test scores to improving school experiences, the text features lessons learned from eight elementary schools whose leadership and staff implemented sustainable changes. The authors detail how to use education research and data to provide a rationale for change; how to promote professional learning that is genuinely collaborative and respectful; and how to employ developmentally appropriate teaching strategies that focus on the needs of minority and low-income children.

For nearly a decade, Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice has been the definitive sourcebook of theoretical foundations and curricular frameworks for social justice teaching practice. This thoroughly revised second edition continues to provide teachers and facilitators with an accessible pedagogical approach to issues of oppression in classrooms. Building on the groundswell of interest in social justice education, the second edition offers coverage of current issues and controversies while preserving the hands-on format and inclusive content of the original. Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice presents a well-constructed foundation for engaging the complex and often daunting problems of discrimination and inequality in American society. This book includes a CD-ROM with extensive appendices for participant handouts and facilitator preparation.

"Polished, clear, insightful, and meaningful.... This volume amounts to nothing less than a complete rethinking of what progressive education can be at its best and how education can be reconceptualized as one of the central practices of a genuinely democratic and sustainable society.... It is the kind of book that has the potential to be transformative." Stephen Preskill, University of New Mexico "The editors and contributors are pioneers in the field of educational theory, policy, and philosophy.... They are opening new areas of inquiry and educational reform in ways that promise to make this book in very short time into a classic.... The practical applications and experiments included reveal the richness of grassroots initiatives already underway to bring educational theory and policy down to earth. While spanning the richest and deepest intellectual ideas and concepts, the stories told are the types that practitioners and teachers will be able to relate to in their daily undertakings." Madhu Suri Prakash, The Pennsylvania State University This volume – a landmark contribution to the burgeoning theory and practice of place-based education – enriches the field in three ways: First, it frames place-based pedagogy not just as an alternative teaching methodology or novel approach to environmental education but as part of a broader social movement known as the "Anew localism", which aims toward reclaiming the significance of the local in the global age. Second, it links the development of ecological awareness and stewardship to concerns about equity and cultural diversity. Third, it presents examples of place-based education in action. The relationship between the new localism and place-based education is clarified and the process of making connections between learners and their wider communities is demonstrated. The book is organized around three themes: Reclaiming Broader Meanings of Education; Models for Place-Based Learning; and Global Visions of the Local in Higher Education This is a powerfully relevant volume for researchers, teacher educators, and students across the fields of curriculum theory, educational foundations, critical pedagogy, multicultural education, and environmental education.