Black kids and families are forced to overcome marked disparities in early care and education settings
Early care and education (ECE) programs were created to support the social, emotional and academic development of young children before they enter kindergarten. Yet, there are marked disparities and inequities in how Black children and their families are perceived and treated in ECE, according to a recent review article.
The work is in a special issue on Racism in the Early Years in Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
Authors include Courtney Zulauf-McCurdy, Ph.D. (Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago), Olivia R. Nazaire (Loyola University Chicago), Tunette Powell, Ph.D. (Arizona State University) and Iheoma Iruka, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina).
The authors argue that anti-Blackness is the mechanism leading to inequalities in early childhood outcomes for Black children and their families. They define anti-Blackness as a specific form of racism that devalues, minimizes, and marginalizes people racialized as Black. It includes cultural and structural racism as well as interpersonal forms of racism reflected in interactions of teachers with Black kids and families. These forms of racism and interactions, according to the authors, often fuel what they call the "deficit perspective."
"The deficit perspective is when Black children are perceived as having poor upbringing, for example, and so viewed as having underlying deficits as individuals, while the effects of social circumstances, such as poverty, are ignored," explains lead author Courtney Zulauf-McCurdy, Ph.D., a clinical community psychologist, Early Childhood Research Lead at the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children's and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
"We need to change this narrative and focus on the unique resilience and strengths of Black children and their families. We need systemic changes and support for teachers to help them partner with families, which in itself is known to decrease expulsion."
Dr. Zulauf-McCurdy and colleagues cite research that suggests that ECE centers, administrators and teachers are more likely to pathologize Black children's behavior, which results in low and unfair expectations, more harsh interactions and more severe discipline. Black children make up only 19% of ECE enrollment but comprise 47% of children suspended or expelled, and are 3.6 times as likely to receive one or more suspensions relative to their white peers.
Black children are also less likely to be identified by their teachers as needing support and less likely to receive appropriate treatment compared to white children. These disparities are not a result of Black children and their families, but rather a result of anti-Blackness.
"The effects of anti-Blackness also contribute to the 'cradle-to-prison pipeline' or the disturbing national trend wherein Black children are placed on a negative developmental trajectory, increasing the likelihood of entering the criminal justice system in the future," said Dr. Zulauf-McCurdy.
"We need to imagine a different future in which ECE honors the unique assets of Black children and families and becomes a place where all Black children can thrive."
More information: Courtney A. Zulauf-McCurdy et al, Interrogating the role of anti-Blackness in the early care and education experiences of Black children and families: A call for advancing equitable science and practice, Early Childhood Research Quarterly (2024).
