Catch Them Young
Research – practice partnership inspires change in UC San Diego ’ s Early Childhood Education Center .
“ When children feel they belong , they feel safer ; they feel stronger relationships and connections to the teacher . It ’ s a primary requirement for kids to take cognitive risks , to try new things .”
up conversations with classmates . “ It was definitely isolating .”
With the data they gathered from classroom observations , Cohen and Wishard Guerra began conversations with VUSD teachers on what they could do differently in their practice to better support their English learners . A top recommendation was to welcome the home language into the classroom .
“ When you incorporate the home language in the classroom , when you elevate the priority and the value of the home language , children will have better cognitive outcomes in either language ,” says Cohen . “ When children feel they belong , they feel safer ; they feel stronger relationships and
— Shana Cohen , associate professor of education studies at UC San Diego
connections to the teacher . It ’ s a primary requirement for kids to take cognitive risks , to try new things .”
Wishard Guerra and Cohen also spoke with teachers about the benefits of strengthening bonds with families and making more room for dramatic play , which is known to benefit a child ’ s physical , emotional , intellectual and social development .
For Jefferson , the transitional kindergarten teacher at VUSD , the arrival of the research team at her school came at the right time . After 25 years in the profession , she was looking for new ideas and strategies to implement in her classroom . As a teacher who doesn ’ t speak Spanish ,
Alison Wishard Guerra and Shana Cohen are applying what they have learned from their partnership with VUSD teachers to an initiative at UC San Diego ’ s Early Childhood Education Center ( ECEC ), the university ’ s fulltime day care and preschool . The pair , along with Education Studies Professor Thandeka K . Chapman and graduate student Monica Molgaard , are partnering with ECEC teachers to help them foster cultural diversity and inclusivity in their classrooms .
The center , which serves families of faculty , staff , researchers , visiting scholars and students , is a microcosm of the UC San Diego campus . Its young enrollees range in age from 3 months to 5 years and represent numerous languages , races and ethnicities from around the globe . The first phase of the research team ’ s work began in 2019 but was paused during the pandemic .
“ The focus of the ECEC project is anti-racism and antibias pedagogy ,” says Wishard Guerra . “ We have taken a lot of what we learned in Vista and are implementing it here . What does it look like to do developmentally appropriate early childhood education in a way that promotes equity and challenges prejudice and bias ?”
The research team has been conducting classroom observations and professional development and training for ECEC teachers on new ways to openly discuss race and bias . It ’ s a departure from the “ we ’ re all the same ” approach that was prevalent in classrooms everywhere until very recently .
“ From a developmental perspective , we are helping teachers understand a child ’ s awareness of differences , whether race , gender or another difference , and that it is appropriate to talk about it ,” says Wishard Guerra . “ We are working with teachers who are developing amazing strategies and ways to make children feel supported and feel that they belong .”
UC SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE 27