Recognition and resistance of settler colonialism in early childhood education: perspectives and implications for Black, Indigenous, and Teachers of Color

Abstract

In this article, we utilize the Transformational Indigenous Praxis Model (TIPM) to analyze interviews from beginning teachers and teacher candidates in early childhood education who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC). Findings revealed that participants developed a degree of consciousness to name the settler-colonial constructs that impacted their practice, but their understanding was not enough to overcome such conditions. We conclude with recommendations to support teachers enacting transformational praxis by generating opportunities to collectively develop antidotes to contexts of standardization.

Keywords:

• Early childhood education
• teacher education
• social justice
• decolonization
• teachers of color

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Dolores Calderón and Patricio Marquez for their invaluable feedback in the development of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Building with previous scholarship, we intentionally replace the term neoliberalism with settler colonialism to foreground that such policies have always worked to advance settler colonialism in public schools (Bargh, 2007; Grande, 2015; Tuck, 2013).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna Lees

Anna Lees (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, descendant) is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education. She works to develop and sustain reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities to engage community leaders as co-teacher educators, opening spaces for Indigenous values and ways of knowing and being in early childhood and higher education.

Verónica Vélez

Verónica N. Vélez is an Associate Professor of Secondary Education and the Founding Director of the Education and Social Justice Program at Western Washington University. Her work aims to develop conceptual and methodological approaches that deepen a spatial consciousness and expand the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in critical race research in education.

Tasha Tropp Laman

Tasha Tropp Laman is an assistant professor of Early Childhood Education. Dr. Tropp Laman works closely with schools to build university/school research partnerships. Her research is focused on supporting multilingual children's literacy learning and critical anti-racist literacy practices in elementary school settings.