Anti-racist Curriculum
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The anti-bias curriculum is an
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
approach to educational
curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
which attempts to challenge prejudices such as racism, sexism,
ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with Disability, disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableis ...
, ageism,
weightism Social stigma of obesity is broadly defined as bias or discriminatory behaviors targeted at overweight and obese individuals because of their weight. Such social stigmas can span one's entire life, as long as excess weight is present, starting ...
,
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
, classism, colorism,
heightism Height discrimination (also known as heightism) is prejudice or discrimination against individuals based on height. In principle, it refers to the discriminatory treatment against individuals whose height is not within the normal acceptable range ...
, handism, religious discrimination and other forms of kyriarchy. The approach is favoured by civil rights organisations such as the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
. The anti-racist curriculum is part of a wider
social constructivist Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. Like social constructionism, social constructivism states th ...
movement in the various societies of the Western World, where many scientific worldviews are seen as manifestations of Western cultures who enjoy a privileged position over societies from the "
Global South The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...
", along with claiming that there is a
sociocultural Sociocultural evolution, sociocultural evolutionism or social evolution are theories of sociobiology and cultural evolution that describe how societies and culture change over time. Whereas sociocultural development traces processes that tend t ...
aspect to education, i.e. that the studies of these subjects in Western societies have usually exhibited racial and
cultural bias Cultural bias is the phenomenon of interpreting and judging phenomena by standards inherent to one's own culture. The phenomenon is sometimes considered a problem central to social and human sciences, such as economics, psychology, anthropology, ...
, and that they focus too much on "
dead white men The Western canon is the body of high culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly valued in the West; works that have achieved the status of classics. However, not all these works originate in the Western world, and ...
", especially in mathematics.See '' ethnomathematics''.


Purpose

The anti-bias curriculum is seen by its proponents as a catalyst in the critical analysis of various social conditions. It is implemented with the intent of reducing social oppression with the ultimate goal of " social justice" in mind.What is Anti-Bias Education?
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
Quotation: "Anti-bias education takes an active, problem solving approach that is integrated into all aspects of an existing curriculum and a school's environment."


Examples

Margaret Thatcher, in a speech made during the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
Conference of 1987, referred to " hard left education authorities and extremist teachers" teaching "anti-racist mathematics—whatever that may be." and later on in 2005, '' Fox News'' carried a story detailing "The 'anti-racist education' program in place at
Newton Public Schools Newton Public Schools is a school district in Newton, Massachusetts, United States. The district features four middle schools that lead into two high schools. Schools The Newton Public Schools are organized into an elementary school (K–5), m ...
." The article ''The Politics of Anti-Racist Mathematics'' by George Gheverghese Joseph goes through many different assumptions made by teachers of mathematics that can have a negative effect on students of ethnic minorities.Joseph, George Gheverghese
"The politics of anti-racist mathematics."
''
European Education ''European Education: A Journal of Issues and Studies'' is a quarterly academic journal covering European education that was established in 1969 and is published by Taylor and Francis. The journal covers education policy, theory, and practice with ...
'' 26.1 (1994): 67-74.
An anti-racist approach to mathematics education could include any or all of the following: * Discussion of the mathematical knowledge of ancient civilizations outside of Europe, and non-European contributions to mathematical knowledge and discovery; * The avoidance of racial stereotypes or cultural bias in classroom material, textbooks, coursework topics and examination questions. For example, a wide range of names from various ethnic backgrounds might be used in word problem questions. American mathematics instructor Shahid Muhammed has suggested that poor mathematics performance among
African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
is linked to higher anxiety caused by negative stereotyping, as he states that many associate mathematics with
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
white people.


Criticism

There has been criticism of aspects of the anti-bias curriculum.
Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...
professor Deirdre Almeida has stated that most anti-bias curricula omit the contributions of non- African ethnic groups, such as Native Americans, Inuit and
Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...
. Almeida has claimed that portrayals of Native Americans in anti-bias material conflate actual aboriginal practices with invented, obsolete or erroneous ideas about Native American culture. Other critics, such as University of Tennessee professor J. Amos Hatch, have claimed that some anti-bias curricula can be construed as actively or passively adopting an anti-European/western racial bias, seeking to minimize contributions of ethnic Europeans in favor of other ethnic groups. Hatch has stated that this ideology has produced "anti-bias" curricula that are overtly biased against people of European descent or in favor of people of African descent.J. Amos Hatch
Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Settings


See also

*
The 1619 Project The 1619 Project is a long-form journalism endeavor developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, writers from ''The New York Times'', and ''The New York Times Magazine'' which "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery an ...
* Approaches to prejudice reduction * Diversity training *
Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
* Bias in education * Teaching for social justice * Afrocentric education Pioneers in activism and education: * Paulo Freire *
Henry Giroux Henry Armand Giroux (born 1943) is an American-Canadian scholar and cultural critic. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy in the United States, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth st ...
*
bell hooks Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks, was an American author and social activist who was Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. She is best known for her writings on ...
(Gloria Jean Watkins) * Jonathan Kozol Educating and teaching children: * Early Childhood Education * Pedagogy *
Philosophy of education The philosophy of education is the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems. It includes the examination of educational theories, the presuppositions present in them, and the arguments ...


Notes and references


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Anti-Defamation League. (1999). What is Anti-Bias Education?. Retrieved on November 6, 2004 * Biles, B. (1994). Activities that Promote Racial and Cultural Awareness. . Retrieved November 6, 2004, from '' Family Child Care Connections, 4(3) '' * Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). "Creating an Anti-Bias Environment" Chapter 2, in ''Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children''. New York, NY: National Association for the Education of Young Children. * Derman-Sparks, L. & Hohensee, J.B. (1992)
Implementing an Anti-Bias Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms
. Retrieved November 6, 2004, from ''ERIC/EECE Digest'' * Riehl, P. (1993)
Five ways to analyze classrooms for an anti-bias approach
. Retrieved November 6, 2004, from the ''National Network for Child Care (NNCC)''


Further reading

* Bartlett, Lesley and Marla Frederick, Thaddeus Gulbrandsen, Enrique Murillo. "The Marketization of Education: Public Schools for Private Ends." Anthropology & Education Quarterly 27.2 (1996): 186–203. * Ferguson, Ann Arnett. "Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity." (2000): 592–600. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. * Osborne, A. Barry. "Practice into Theory into Practice: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for Students We Have Marginalized and Normalized." Anthropology & Education Quarterly 27.3 (1996): 285–314. * Van Ausdale, Debra and Joe Feagin. "What and How Children Learn About Racial and Ethnic Matters." The First R: How Children Learn Race and Racism. (2001): 175–196. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. {{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-Bias Curriculum Pedagogy Critical pedagogy