Open access peer-reviewed chapter - ONLINE FIRST
Framework for LGBTQ+ inclusive ECE.
Abstract
This chapter presents a rationale and framework for LGBTQ+ inclusive early childhood education. It includes an examination of present literature on practices supporting young LGBTQ+ children and those with LGBTQ+ caregivers. Next, a framework for examination of and reflection on early childhood systems and pedagogy is presented, including suggested enhancements to early childhood education and care environments, dimensions of practice to consider and curricular additions and modifications necessary to support equitable practices in the short term and social justice for LGBTQ+ people in the long term, including addressing the needs of preservice and practicing LGBTQ+ educators. Finally, resources for early childhood educators who aim to address the erasure of LGBTQ+ people from early childhood education, curriculum, and teacher preparation are shared.
Keywords
- LGBTQ+
- children’s literature
- curriculum
- social justice
- early childhood education
- inclusion
- developmentally appropriate practices
- teacher education
1. Introduction
Recent history has highlighted the fragility of inclusive education practices of every kind, as politically motivated attempts have intensified to undermine diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in education and elsewhere. Intensified efforts to forbid the meaningful inclusion of diversity in school curricula have largely focused on elementary, secondary, and higher education [1]. However, threats to early childhood education (ECE) are likely not far behind. The risks associated with expanding these efforts to ECE are great, in part because this field already lags behind the rest of the educational continuum in acknowledging and responding to the needs of diverse children and families [2]. In general, educators report challenges in introducing discussion or practices that respond to gender diversity, LGBT-led families, and inclusive curriculum for a range of identities [3]. Teachers have expressed concern about the inclusion of inclusive materials in their classrooms, even when those materials represent their students and their families. ECE literature still primarily emphasizes a welcoming environment and representation through classroom materials, which achieve only one dimension of inclusion (i.e., representation) and do not address the need to emphasize equality and justice (i.e., practices that provide optimal support for and eliminate harm to diverse children and families). Frameworks are needed to help organize efforts toward equal educational rights and opportunities for LGBTQ+ people and the individual and systems-level changes required to ensure optimal supports and outcomes for educators, children, and families [2].
This chapter reviews the present landscape of inclusive practices related to LGBTQ+ identities in ECE and describes a practical framework for facilitating meaningful supports for LGBTQ+ children, families, and teachers in the systems and settings addressing early childhood (EC). Implications for EC teacher education are also discussed. Such efforts may also mitigate ongoing and increasing harm caused by a culture of anti-LGBTQ+ bias and discrimination.
2. Context
Nearly 20 million adults in the United States (U.S.; 7.6% of the population) identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) -a number that has steadily risen over the past decade [4]. Approximately two million adults in the U.S. identify as transgender, with similar estimates for the European Union (EU) and UK [5]. The experiences (including stressors, barriers, and the effects of discrimination) of LGBTQ+ people vary tremendously from country to country. While certain rights are protected in both the U.S. and the E.U., attempts to erode or eliminate these have intensified, with transgender people the particular focus of targeted legislation to exclude or erase them from public life [6]. In other countries, circumstances vary but threats persist, and hate-fueled prejudice invades and disrupts the lives of LGBTQ+ people around the globe.
ECE remains an important and underutilized context for addressing the needs of LGBTQ+ people and the contexts in which they live and work. ECE serves families led by LGBTQ+ adults and employs LGBTQ+ educators. EC educators care for and teach children who will grow up to be LGBTQ+ adults, and the settings of ECE serve as important contexts where the seeds of understanding, acceptance, empathy, and allyship can be planted to the benefit of all stakeholders. Recommendations for ECE programs have primarily focused on creating educational environments that are welcoming to families of a variety of backgrounds; more comprehensive and impactful long-term frameworks for transformational LGBTQ+ inclusive ECE are still needed [2].
3. Who benefits from LGBTQ+ inclusive ECE?
Policies and practices that support LGBTQ+ inclusion in ECE offer protection, harm reduction, representation, and identity-focused education for LGBTQ+ led families, children, and educators. Simultaneously, such practices can increase understanding, acceptance, and allyship among both non-LGBTQ+ adults and children.
3.1 Rainbow families
LGBTQ+ led families (often referred to as Rainbow families) are presently raising over five million children in the U.S. and elsewhere in homes that include all of the same diverse configurations of relationships and parenting journeys of heterosexual adults [7]. Since the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S., millions of LGBTQ+ couples have married there, as well as in many of the other countries where equal marriage rights exist. However, even in the U.S. that right is under threat by groups who wish to overturn it. Presently, equal marriage exists in all 50 U.S. states and some E.U. states [8]; this overall picture is likely to shift in the coming decade as efforts to expand and eliminate it are simultaneously put forward. Parenting rights for Rainbow families also vary from state to state both nationally and internationally, with certain countries (Italy, for example) creating new legislative barriers for LGBTQ+ people who wish to become parents [9].
Objections to LGBTQ+ people parenting that focus on home environment or child outcomes have been repeatedly refuted. Research has highlighted both the assets and vulnerabilities of Rainbow families, with the stress associated with discrimination and prejudice serving as a key damaging influence and the resilience of such families as a key strength. Rainbow families and their children continue to be commonly counted among the recipients of ECE. Serving and supporting them within the context of their unique family structures and needs therefore falls firmly within the role of EC educators in implementing equitable and developmentally appropriate educational practices in accordance with the ethical standards of the field [10].
3.2 Gender diverse children and adults
Children and adults with diverse gender identities (trans individuals in particular) are among the most ignored, misunderstood, and vulnerable populations within education systems and elsewhere. Despite the assets, unique strengths, and resilience of gender diverse people, they have been subject to discriminatory legislation and attempts to criminalize their identity that have proved to be increasingly politically successful in recent years, despite their public unpopularity and obvious harm [11]. Trans people have been used as a scapegoat to pass restrictive policies around gender identity in the U.S. and elsewhere that worsen discrimination and worsen the policing of gender norms.
Still, close to two million adults identify as trans in the U.S., with the E.U. potentially containing an equivalent population [12]. Many of these adults are parents; all of them were at one time young children who likely lacked LGBTQ+ inclusive ECE, a critical context for establishing more inclusive perspectives and teaching on gender, as the effects of gender norms begin to affect families even before their children are born. Public awareness and media attention around gender diversity have increased dramatically in recent years. This visibility has worked to the benefit of trans and gender non-binary individuals through greater representation in media, a rise in prominent figures and role models, and an increase in some forms of visible support. However, this visibility has been met with a startling rise in discriminatory action and dehumanizing legislation aimed at erasing or criminalizing trans identities across the lifespan, with children as a particularly vulnerable target of policy that strictly enforces binary notions of gender and heightens scrutiny of children’s bodies and gendered behavior. Over 300,000 children between the ages of 13 and 17 identify as trans in the U.S. alone, [12, 13]; the number of younger trans children is not known, but the vulnerability of this population to erasure and oppression is well-documented in outcomes research on trans children in school [14]. Their need for representation, healthy learning environments, and identity-centered supports is critical. When such supports are offered at all, they frequently arrive much too late.
3.3 LGBTQ+ educators and adult allies
There are at least two million early childhood educators in the U.S. and over 1.2 million in the E.U [15]. Because the systems, settings, and credentialing of EC educators varies so much from place to place (including within countries), these figures are likely to be underestimates [16]. The number of EC educators who are out as LGBTQ+ is small in both the U.S. and the E.U., and there are no known statistics on the population of trans and gender-nonconforming people working in schools, let alone in ECE. Nevertheless, LGBTQ+ individuals do serve as EC educators and they are counted among preservice teachers as well. It is still the case that employment protections for LGBTQ+ people vary significantly by location despite overall improvement of employment conditions. Both preservice and practicing educators who are members of the LGBTQ+ community continue to express concern over the responsiveness of preparation programs to their needs, the degree to which they are exposed to both welcoming and inclusive practices as they transition into the field, and the issues they will face as LGBTQ+ EC educators (including repeated exposure to injustice toward children and families, an absence of community or individualized supports, and lack of understanding and professional development on LGBTQ+ issues) in addition to active bias, bigotry, or opposition from other professionals or community members.
3.4 Non-LGBTQ+ adults and children
Anti-bias approaches to ECE (which broadly focus on creating environments where children develop a positive sense of self and respect for others, while also identifying and addressing bias and unfairness) are not solely for Rainbow families or gender-diverse children. Furthermore, LGBTQ+ people cannot do all of the work to achieve equity and ensure their acceptance by others. Straight, cisgender allies of all ages and in all sectors are necessary to produce meaningful long-term transformational change. All EC educators must possess an understanding of the need for inclusive education practices, as well as what practices to employ and advocate for. This applies to children as well; how will non-LGBTQ+ children learn to understand and empathize with their peers if they are never exposed to inclusive environments, materials, and communities? Where will they learn what it means to be empathetic and supportive allies? Without consideration of the needs of all children, inclusive ECE remains a challenging goal to achieve—let alone the goal of social justice. Anti-bullying efforts serve as one illustration of this point; in order to support positive behavior and the development of healthy relationships among diverse children, as well as build the educator competencies needed to both prevent and intervene when bullying occurs, the entire EC community plays a role.
3.5 What needs to change
A reframing of EC education as an essential context for asset-based, LGBTQ+ inclusive practices is long overdue. We have sufficient evidence from longitudinal school-based research and developmental psychology to recognize and begin to address the lack of alignment between children’s needs and ECE practice. Like race, cultural diversity, and other diversity and justice-related topics, LGBTQ+ identities are frequently considered the domain of elementary and secondary education and too sensitive, complex, or upsetting for the youngest children to understand. However, concern is often rooted in a misunderstanding of the understandings, questions, and developmental needs of young children. A need exists for more comprehensive frameworks for planning and implementing LGBTQ+ inclusive ECE as part of a constellation of other diversity and justice-related learning topics, as well as a reflection of the obvious reality of a diverse world.
4. Framework for LGBTQ+ inclusive practices
The framework below is designed to organize and describe LGBTQ+ inclusive practices to address key components of ECE programming and curriculum. Its intention is to draw together and build upon recommended and existing practices in order to propose structures and practical steps in comprehensive reflection, collaboration, and redesign/enhancement of existing programs. Practices included here have been recommended and/or evaluated in EC education literature as well as in the policies and publications of early childhood professional organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The framework is also intended to interrupt/prevent harms that are routinely aimed at LGBTQ+ families, educators, and children through: (a) identity-blind practices that ignore or erase the lived experiences of various orientations or identities; (b) bias and discrimination, and; (c) upholding systems of practice that perpetuate myths, misunderstanding, and injustice. In the sections to follow, the dimensions of this framework are presented and described (Table 1).
| Framework dimensions | Components |
|---|---|
| Build knowledge |
|
| Explore and address biases |
|
| Set up an inclusive environment |
|
| Incorporate LGBTQ+ literature |
|
| Expand child-centered communication and instructional practices |
|
| Practice allyship and advocacy |
|
| Plan ahead to address concerns and take action against harm |
|
| Build mission-oriented collaborative partnerships |
|
Table 1.
4.1 Build knowledge
One of the first steps in making and ECE program more inclusive is to assess and build educators’ knowledge of LGBTQ+ people, issues, policies, and professional responsibilities. It is important to note that a strong knowledge base in LGBTQ+ history, terminology, or issues is not a prerequisite for inclusive practice. Lack of knowledge and experience is often cited as a reason why teachers avoid these types of inclusive practices [17], but knowledge and experience can be gained along the way, and a culture of shared commitment to learning and growth (discussed later in the framework) is more important than setting standards for prerequisite knowledge. That said, sources of basic foundational knowledge do exist, and assessing (whether formally or informally) staff knowledge, experience, and needs is critical to developing an implementation plan that is locally meaningful and sustainable. Foundational knowledge can also provide a common frame of reference for discussions among faculty with diverse viewpoints or in settings where anti-LGBTQ+ bias has been normalized socially and/or politically.
4.1.1 Professional standards and policies
Education policy relating to equity, nondiscrimination, and supporting diversity have emerged over the past decades and are now increasingly evident in the position statements of professional organizations and teacher education standards in the U.S. and E.U. In the U.S., while challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion policy have recently worsened, state and local education policies still frequently emphasize that sexual orientation, gender diversity, and a variety of family structures are all appropriate and necessary aims of policies and practices that aim for educational equity.
LGBTQ+ inclusive practices in early childhood education in the U.S. have been shaped by guidelines and advocacy from professional organizations such as NAEYC. Its position statements emphasize the importance of equity and inclusion, encouraging early childhood programs to reflect and support diverse family structures, including those with LGBT parents. Their “Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education” position statement (10) highlights the need to create environments that affirm all aspects of a child’s identity, including gender expression and family makeup. Many U.S. states and ECE programs incorporate these principles by promoting anti-bias curricula, inclusive storybooks and curriculum, and classroom activities and conversations that reflect a range of identities and experiences. In other words, when successfully developed and thoughtfully implemented, LGBTQ+ inclusive practices are examples of developmentally appropriate practices and are an important part of the ECE professional knowledge base.
Further resources are available to support this professional knowledge base. One such resource is
children who will later identify as LGBTQ+ build self-awareness and confidence
children in LGBT-led families develop and have opportunities to demonstrate family pride
children learn and are encouraged to notice, discuss, and celebrate the similarities and differences among children and their families
all children learn how to develop and maintain caring relationships
children begin to understand, describe, and act against unfairness, prejudice, and discrimination and their consequences.
By learning about, reflecting on, and discussing ECE policy and best practices with relevance to LGBTQ+ people, educators can begin to identify ways to align their own practices with these shared universal aims.
4.1.2 Child development
Literature on a variety of related aspects of child development may also be used to support and explore LGBTQ+ inclusive practices. During EC, children begin to form a sense of self through their interactions with family, peers, and the world around them. During the early years, children explore various aspects of their identity, including gender, race, culture, and their own personal interests. As they grow, they start to understand how they relate to others and how they fit into different social contexts. Identity development is shaped by both internal factors, such as temperament and emotional experiences, and external influences, like family values, societal norms, and cultural expectations [18]. All of these factors are at play in the development of each and every child, including those who will identify as LGBTQ+. In the EC classroom, supported play, stimulation of language, and problem-solving approaches to complex social interactions are all practices that can encourage children to begin to express their unique qualities, whether through preferences, behaviors, or self-concept. Child development literature reinforces the crucial role ECE professionals play in providing a supportive environment that encourages self-expression, celebrates diversity, and nurtures positive self-esteem [10].
One example of this may be seen through children’s development and early understandings of gender. This early exploration of identity is foundational, as it influences how children perceive themselves and interact with the world throughout their lives. Babies enter a world that is already deeply gendered. They immediately begin to work to understand the messages they are receiving about gender. Life experiences, including the people that infants interact with, will have a significant impact on their development and enrich their gender categories as they mature [19]. Even during toddlerhood, adults frequently provide feedback that is informed by unconscious gender biases. For example, adults may comment on a girl’s appearance or social behaviors versus a boy’s size and strength. By the age of two, children recognize basic gender categories and when they do not seem to fit them; their gendered sense of self is already being established. From this point forward, they seek understanding and validation and also continue to learn from how adults treat others who do not fit gender stereotypes [20]. By the age of three, when many feel it is still “too early” to address topics such as gender with children, they have in reality already begun to tell us who they know themselves to be. Gender diversity compels ECE professionals to recognize and respect the full spectrum of gender identities, expressions, and experiences beyond the traditional male-female binary. In ECE, this means fostering an environment where children are free to explore and express their gender identity in ways that feel authentic to them, without fear of judgment or restriction. Exploring contemporary understandings of child development can therefore help ECE professionals to identify what sort of foundation they are presently laying for an inclusive society where children grow up with a broader understanding of human complexity and equality.
4.1.3 Rainbow families
Building supportive professional knowledge about Rainbow families requires an understanding that they exist in every configuration, from married spouses and separated or divorced parents to blended families, single-parent families and families led by extended family members [21]. Rainbow families live at every socioeconomic level and are more racially and ethnically diverse than the general population. They are more likely to live in rural, politically conservative regions of the U.S. that are less accepting and supportive of LGBTQ+ people.
Understanding Rainbow families requires ECE professionals to recognize that they often experience multiple forms of discrimination—including racism, sexism and anti-LGBTQ+ hate. As a testament to the resilience of such families, the children they raise enjoy parent/child relationships that are as loving and supportive as the parent/child relationships of their peers [22]. They have the same developmental, academic and social-emotional outcomes as children raised in other types of families. They are no more likely to be LGBTQ+ than other children, but they may feel freer to express their identities. They also have the same mental health outcomes as children raised by straight parents in cases where they are not faced with significant prejudice or bullying. As attitudes and laws have changed around the globe, the number of children growing up in Rainbow families has increased dramatically as a result of the more favorable sociopolitical climate for LGBTQ+ families, as well as expanded access to adoption and assisted reproduction. As LGBTQ+ millennials become parents, the number of Rainbow families in ECE programs will rise dramatically, requiring not only an understanding of their features, including assets and needs. Exploring LGBTQ+ families serves to help EC educators to recognize the realities of Rainbow families as critical issues of EC development rather than exclusively adult social issues.
4.1.4 LGBTQ+ people, including educators
Another key area of foundational knowledge is that about LGBTQ+ people—in particular, EC educators. Exploring data and other information on the experiences, history, and present issues facing LGBTQ+ people may serve to help ECE professionals to place their developing knowledge about children and families into a broader context, as well as identify issues facing their LGBTQ+ colleagues and preservice professionals they supervise or support.
LGBTQ+ educators potentially possess unique strengths that make them well-suited to work with children from B-5 and their families, as well as making them more empathetic and effective teachers and school leaders. LGBTQ+ EC educators are committed to inclusion and equity and often have extensive experience with marginalization and are highly sensitive to the importance of representation and inclusion [23].
They know what it takes to create an inclusive community. Because they may share identities or experiences with these families, LGBTQ+ educators have first-hand knowledge of what Rainbow families need to feel welcomed, seen and celebrated. They may be highly tuned into the complexities of intersectionality, offering insights into the ways that race, gender, social class, religion, and sexual orientation intersect—and how this intersectionality can affect how families experience the world and engage with ECE programs. This nuanced understanding of intersectionality can also help guide ECE professionals who strive to support the children, families and colleagues in diverse EC communities. They can provide invaluable insights into collaborative work to identify injustice, create more welcoming EC communities, and implement anti-bias practices.
By identifying knowledge gaps and providing information and data about LGBTQ+ families and educators, as well as utilizing ECE policy and position statements to support LGBTQ+ inclusive practices as key examples of developmentally appropriate practice, program administrators can more effectively create a context for other learning and inclusive practices in their programs.
4.2 Explore and address biases
Translating anti-bias knowledge into practice requires an awareness of personal and professional biases. If the goal is to transform ECE professionals into advocates for social justice, they must first acknowledge, articulate, and have opportunities to challenge and change pre-existing beliefs about children, families, and LGBTQ+ people [18]. Only then may they meaningfully contribute to systems that challenge heteronormative, exclusionary, and biased practice. Common biases observable in ECE programs include assumptions of universal heterosexuality, failing to acknowledge other groups, and possessing pathologized views on diverse groups. These may be unconscious biases or rooted in concerns of fears that children may grow up to become LGBTQ+ adults, but these types of biased views all are problematic for children’s healthy development. Examples of how biased beliefs translating into problematic practices include:
Assuming sex and gender are synonymous and maintaining binary thinking about both
Failing to give children opportunities to name their own gender or to explore a variety of toys, play, and roles that contribute to their emerging sense of self
Assuming that children are too young to question or reject a gender while simultaneously expecting these same children to understand and comply with the gender categories and gender-based labels imposed on them by adults. Frequently, when children reject gender stereotypes or declare that they are the “opposite” gender, adults then reverse this argument and believe or claim children cannot possibly know this at such a young age.
Holding different mindsets or rules about exploring Rainbow families and those with two cisgender, heterosexual parents.
Policing gender or play behavior and creating gendered groupings, and punishing children who do not conform.
The harm of bias often operates through the faulty premise that gender diversity and LGBTQ+ identities are inherently sexual topics. From with young children must be protected [24]. Teaching about LGBTQ+ people and gender diversity does not involve teaching about sexual behavior, but this myth is still perpetuated in order to make the case that these topics are inappropriate for children to learn about. Inclusive activities and books may then be deemed inappropriate for young children and excluded from ECE classrooms and programs. This reinforces the cycle of silencing and erasure of LGBTQ+ identities and allows those same myths and stereotypes to persist.
Addressing biases in ECE programs can involve practicing self-awareness—exercising critical questioning to reflect on and challenge our assumptions as we continue to build our knowledge. Educators can break this problematic cycle by reflecting on and collaboratively challenging biases and practicing self-awareness. This must be coupled with raising ECE professionals’ “in-the-moment” awareness of when biases become teaching behaviors or exclusionary/punitive practices. This requires a community of professional learners engaged in continuous reflection on how biases about LGBTQ+ people and gender seep into their work. That community can then work together to challenge stereotypes and promote iterative learning.
4.3 Set up an inclusive environment
Among the most shared strategies for addressing LGBTQ+ inclusion in ECE involve practices that are framed as welcoming to diverse families. These strategies typically involve reviewing communication strategies and center or school policies to ensure that they do not exclude LGBTQ+ families; they can also involve addressing the inclusiveness of the physical environment. When applied to children, these types of strategies include evaluating classroom environments and materials to ensure that children’s experiences, family structures, and other important facets of their life are represented in the learning environment.
4.3.1 Center policies and communication
Welcoming strategies include addressing Inclusive language, incorporating inclusive signs and symbols, and ensuring that school or center events address the needs of all families [25]. In all cases, it is critical to keep in mind that changes in policy and language only go so far in creating truly welcoming ECE environments. Families’ feelings as they enter a school or center or engage with staff around policy are deeply rooted in relationships and their actual treatment by those staff members [25]. Investing in developing trusting relationships must always be a part of creating a welcoming environment, and individually responsive policies may be more effective than rigid global changes (Table 2) [2, 26].
| Generalized policies | Responsive policies |
|---|---|
|
|
The same goes for children—materials offering a wider range of representation are important; however, educators must be prepared and willing to support children in their exploration of these materials and they must utilize them meaningfully to address key aspects of learning and development to maximize not only their developmental potential, but their transformative potential as well.
Finally, involving families in determining whether practices are achieving their intended aim of representation and creating a welcoming atmosphere may serve to better anchor such practices are achieving their intended aim rather than encouraging assumptions about their impact on LGBTQ+ families [27].
4.3.2 Physical environment of center/school and classrooms
EC educators can affirm children’s identities and family experiences by positively representing those experiences in the classroom. This practice aligns with professional standards emphasizing the importance of acknowledging and accepting diverse family structures [28]. Representation should be carefully considered so that it thoughtfully, positively, and richly reflects diverse life experiences. Examples may include practices such as those described in Table 3 below.
| Area | Practices |
|---|---|
| Arrivals |
|
| Classroom displays |
|
| Dolls and figures |
|
| Figures and manipulatives |
|
| Dress-up and pretend play |
|
| Writing center |
|
| Art center |
|
Table 3.
Strategies for creating welcoming ECE environments for children [26].
To some EC educators, the sheer number of potential environmental modifications and additions may seem overwhelming or, perhaps cost prohibitive; however, the framework above is not designed to be prescriptive. Rather, changes in center or classroom environments may be undertaken gradually and should be done intentionally and in communication with all relevant stakeholders. Over time and through practices such as these, ECE professionals can build and enhance environments where children feel comfortable expressing themselves, exploring their identities, and representing their ideas through their interactions while feeling safe, supported, and increasingly aware of the spectrum of human differences and relationships.
4.4 Incorporate LGBTQ+ children’s literature
Experiences and outcomes of incorporating LGBTQ+ children’s literature in B-8 classrooms highlight the possibilities for both immediate and long-term positive change. Immediate effects on LGBTQ+ students may include an increased sense of safety and belonging, improved performance in school, and greater feeling of peer acceptance [28, 29, 30, 31]. When LGBTQ+ histories are included in classroom instruction and curriculum, students are better informed about accurate information and important contributions of individuals who have been marginalized in schools for decades [32, 33]. This also helps to affirm the identities of children with emergent LGBTQ+ identities, furthering feelings of self-acceptance and belonging. It also holds the potential to plant seeds of knowledge that serve to connect students to broader social movements.
The benefits of inclusive literature are not exclusive to LGBTQ+ children but in fact can positively impact all children, as well as educators. In addition to assessing which early literacy skills children’s books teach or reinforce, other key considerations in selecting LGBTQ+ inclusive children’s literature in ECE include:
All of the considerations in Table 4 must be examined in relation to each book’s relatability and attractiveness to young children. A worthwhile approach to building a classroom library is to aim for diverse and responsive overall representation through high-quality books that reflect children’s experiences and enable them to observe and learn about aspects of the world they might otherwise not. For children who later identify as LGBTQ+, such books may be their first experience seeing another child with whom they relate, or perhaps the only time they learn vocabulary to describe their own ideas and feelings, making them critically important to children’s sense of identity and the degree to which they feel seen and affirmed in their everyday lives.
| Considerations | Examples |
|---|---|
| Recognition received via relevant awards |
|
| Genre |
|
| Groups represented |
|
| Portrayal of diversity | Considerations here include:
|
| Early childhood themes | Themes can be as diverse as the texts themselves, but may include ideas such as:
|
Representation is, of course, one of many considerations in building an inclusive library. Resources such as Early Pride Matters [26] have been developed to help EC educators learn about the instructional potential of a variety of LGBTQ+ inclusive picture books with young children and to identify a host of standards-aligned ways to use them in the EC classroom. A sampling of such texts is provided in the Appendix.
4.5 Expand child-centered communication and instructional practices
In order to communicate with children about diverse identities and families and determine appropriate instructional activities, ECE professionals must first acknowledge that young children are both curious about these matters and that they are already constantly learning about them. Frequently, educators express concern that young children may not be “ready” to learn about LGBTQ+ people or issues in ECE; however, this concern is not supported by research on children [18, 34]. Rather, adults often misinterpret children’s curiosities and questions and view them through the prism of their adult experiences, failing to understand what children are actually asking.
4.5.1 Expand child-centered communication and instructional practices
When children ask questions such as “how can two men live together,” young children are often simply reacting to the fact that they have never seen such a living arrangement themselves. So, rather than a request for an explanation of intimate relationships, this is often simply a literal question about how these things happen. The answer, more or less, is that two men live together the same way any two people live together. They make the decision and move in! The same goes for questions related to childbirth; when young children ask how two women can have a baby, this is usually not a question about the details of reproduction. Rather, children are making sense of a family structure they have perhaps never encountered. The answer to their question is that two women have a baby in one of the many ways that any other couple does. Another sample conversation is shared below, in which the teacher challenges children’s emerging understanding of gender categories and varied use of gendered language:
Unless accusations of educators’ addressing inappropriate topics is a deliberate form of attack or oppression, it is through these types of misunderstandings of children’s curiosity and intent that adults often mistake learning about LGBTQ+ diversity as a doorway to introducing topics that make adults uncomfortable. Children are curious and capable—ECE professionals simply need to listen to children’s questions and respond in ways that make sense given young children’s emerging understandings about the world. In this way, addressing LGBTQ+ as a form of diversity in ECE programs is no different from any other form of developmentally appropriate practice. In fact, adults often routinely violate these accepted norms in ECE already; for example, by applying adult labels and intentions to children’s actions and relationships. Characterizing children’s friendships as romantic (“is she your girlfriend/boyfriend?”) when children of presumed opposite genders play together) is a common way that adults impose inaccurate and inappropriate adult intentions onto children.
Similarly, ECE professionals must trust children’s choices, interests, and self-descriptions; for example, allowing them to state, explore, and change their identities (which may as likely be a king one day and a dinosaur the next as it is to be a king one day and a queen the next). Encouraging and joining them as they explore non-stereotypical toys, clothing, and play can also be affirming. ECE professionals should avoid assumptions of gender in play, literature, and learning activities within and outside of the classroom.
4.5.2 Employ inclusive instructional practices
To establish the overall focus of LGBTQ+ inclusive teaching in ECE, we may return to the goals of anti-bias curriculum [18], which states that children will:
demonstrate self-awareness and confidence in their identities
have opportunities to demonstrate family pride
learn to notice, discuss, and celebrate the similarities and differences among others
learn how to develop and maintain caring relationships
begin to understand, describe, and act against unfairness, prejudice, and discrimination and their consequences.
In order to translate these ideas into practices for the youngest children, we must consider the developmentally appropriate building blocks of these larger aims. Practices that accomplish these goals are not frequently used in ECE. Practicing and preservice teachers must engage in the other dimensions of this framework in order to better understand and implement both supportive and preventative teaching strategies.
Self-awareness and confidence in children’s identities can arise from celebrating children’s photos, products, and interests in the classroom. Exploring diverse and intersectional identities through stories and pretend play are also powerful vehicles for learning. Children can also learn about how to ask one another about their pronouns.
Family pride can be enhanced in the classroom by featuring children’s diverse families in classroom displays and images. Children can create families of many different types using human figures and dolls in the classroom. Children’s literature can help to highlight the many forms of families and how family members support one another.
Similarities and differences among people may be explored through art, literature, or simply through open conversation during group activities. Young children learn early on about the categorization of both things and people, and introducing concepts such as both and neither can contribute to their understanding that categories can be wrong, or at least subjective (e.g., shapes are not the same types of categories as gender).
Developing caring friendships involves a complex set of knowledge and skills that children develop in EC and beyond. These include awareness of and labels for emotions, learning ways to recognize, express, and control these emotions, and showing kindness toward and eventually sharing empathy with other children who are experiencing the full range of human enotions as well. Along with this is the learning of a variety of social skills and ways to solve common social problems and conflicts that arise throughout the typical day.
Understanding unfairness and mistreatment can arise through social problem-solving and also through exploring various examples with puppets, dolls and/or children’s literature. Children can learn and practice approaches to supporting peers who are mistreated as an early form of allyship. Young children can also learn about events such as marches and Pride as special periods of time or holidays that are designed to affirm people who have previously been harmed.
Learning activities that support these skills may serve to strengthen teacher-child and peer relationships. They may also help to establish the classroom as a safe base for developing self-awareness, promoting acceptance, and pushing back against unfair behaviors or norms. Educators can also enhance curriculum to emphasize social justice in preschool [35]. Projects can be designed to address social responsibility, engagement with the surrounding community and problem-solving through integrated exploratory projects or units focusing on such topics of importance to the surrounding community.
4.6 Practice allyship and advocacy
Engaging with schoolwide, community, and national issues of social justice represents an important way for EC educators to ensure that inclusive practices are both sustainable and responsive to contextual changes. LGBTQ+ educators must face complex and varied local policies and beliefs which may seek to regulate or limit their practice, threaten their sense of safety, and mandate silence on issues to enable oppression to thrive. Contexts with restrictive policies about inclusive education are predictive of a host of institutionalized harms, including homophobia/transphobia toward educators and families, child bullying, and poor outcomes, particularly for LGBTQ+ children [36] Teachers in these contexts have access to fewer resources and are less likely to support LGBT+ students.
ECE professionals can practice allyship and involve themselves with advocacy efforts at a number of levels. Within ECE settings, colleagues can work toward building a welcoming environment, supporting one another’s understanding of colleagues’ identities and both demonstrating respect and ensuring their safety within the workplace, including forming a protective network against identity-focused harm. More broadly, ECE settings can provide opportunities to engage in action to for broader legislative and educational systems change.
In more restrictive environments, large-scale action may feel overwhelming and exposing to individuals or small groups with good intentions and fears about repercussions or retaliation. In these instances, staying informed, learning about laws/policies/events that affect LGBTQ+ colleagues, seeking out and sharing resources, advocating for more inclusive instructional materials and continued professional development can all serve to amplify welcoming practices into more significantly impactful ones. The aim is to create a professional atmosphere where EC educators think critically about the policies and practice and act as change agents rather than leaving all of this work to LGBTQ+ people themselves.
4.7 Plan ahead to address concerns and take action against harm
Despite implementing proactive measures, ECE professionals may still encounter resistance. Before colleagues or family members oppose anti-bias education, strategies to address this should be discussed and developed. Programs create a conflict response protocol as part of their policy transformation process; this protocol must identify specific roles for teachers and administrators and be employed whenever an inflammatory issue arises. In instances of this sort of conflict, it is recommended try to model equanimity and restraint to avoid inflaming an already charged situation. Staff can ask questions to convey a genuine desire to understand community members’ concerns. By summarizing and reflecting concerns back, staff can better ensure that they understand others’ perspectives and communicate that they take these concerns seriously [37]. By getting a sense of the fears, needs and perceived negative outcomes that underlie these concerns, next steps can be chosen more thoughtfully. Sharing a concern opens an important conversation, and it is important to model confidence that this communication be beneficial for all parties.
At this point, parties can look for common ground. One way to accomplish this is to illustrate how inclusive practices align with values and ethical standards that are similar to those of the person expressing the concern. For example, inclusive practices address critical issues such as the safety and acceptance of all children and families, while teaching children important lessons about kindness, acceptance, respect, and speaking out against injustice [37]. It can be helpful to point out that these values must apply to every child and every family. Discussing the ways in which inclusive practices align with a program’s mission, values and standards, and how they reflect the everyday realities of children and families, can also build dialogue.
In the end, keeping the lines of communication open will serve to more effectively engage with and educate the ECE community. Still, encountering resistance or concerns should not shake ECE professionals’ resolve. There are many ways to be supportive, inclusive and involved. It is an unfortunate reality that LGBTQ+ rights are not always supported, and are often under attack, in educational settings.
When harm occurs, there are a variety of roles EC educators must be prepared to fill. These include supporting children who have been teased, creating a supportive classroom community, connecting LGBT+-led families with resources (or those who may provide them), and serving as a voice of change when it is needed in their programs/schools. EC teachers must also be prepared to create opportunities for open dialogue with parents, including non-judgmental listening and problem-solving in instances where parents/caregivers may have felt excluded or misunderstood [25]. Such conversations require skilled dialog within which educators seek to understand and reflect (listen actively, probe further, value parent/caregiver views, and commit to collaborative problem-solving). A reflective stance, willingness to reveal/reflect on/reduce bias, openness to feedback, and professional self-awareness are all required in order to develop skills which build and deepen relationships between educators and families.
4.8 Build mission-oriented collaborative partnerships
The final component of this framework for LGBTQ+ ECE involves considering how ECE program partnerships can further the mission of anti-bias education. This can take several forms. First, programs can identify and partner with organizations in the surrounding community (or virtually) that provide inclusive resources or professional development. Collaborating with other programs on parallel journeys can build community and the opportunity to share or collaboratively develop resources. Next, ECE professionals must consider the transition needs of children as they leave ECE. Elementary schools are often viewed as the settings where foundations of inclusivity are built and where children develop an understanding of diversity, identities and allyship. This is often an erroneous assumption. The foundations of inclusivity are built in early childhood, and elementary school should be a place where this work is continued rather than started. By sharing information about the inclusive ECE practices with elementary school colleagues, as well as considering the post-transition needs that ECE can address, educators can better ensure a lasting impact on children once they transition to kindergarten. ECE professionals can also learn more about LGBTQ+ curriculum, resources, and supports available to older children as a step toward considering initial or component steps that are developmentally appropriate for the children and families they serve.
4.8.1 Partnership with teacher education programs
Preservice EC educators have little to no preparation in LGBTQ+ inclusive practices [2]. These practices are also generally not a part of the collaborations between teacher education and ECE programs that host field-based learning, clinical experiences, or student teaching. It is frequently left to preservice educators to problem-solve responsively (rather than proactively) once they begin to understand a site’s inclusive limitations. While this is problematic for all preservice educators, it is particularly troubling for LGBTQ+ people who wish to become EC educators. They have cited many concerns about their preparation and future employment, including whether they will experience bias, homophobia, transphobia, or other harms; challenges associated with intersectionality; how and when to bring up their identity in the field and as they transition into employment; and how to seek community, role models, and the freedom to exist authentically in their professional lives [2].
Effective preparation practices require collaboration between teacher education and ECE programs.
5. Conclusions
The need for ECE that facilitates and supports diversity, equity and inclusion is increasing during this time of crisis for LGBTQ+ people around the globe. LGBTQ+ social justice lies clearly within the mission, standards, and roles of ECE. Through practices that include but also transcend welcoming and inclusion to build and sustain efforts to increase knowledge and action, this field’s historic failure to thoroughly acknowledge, identify, or address the needs of LGBTQ+ educators, families and children can be addressed. Every EC educator carries the professional responsibility to advance equity and a unique opportunity to do so. A need exists for a vision of full LGBTQ+ social justice in ECE. The dimensions of practice and resources shared here reflect attempts to increase inclusivity, improve knowledge and skills, reduce hesitancy or fear, and build community and support.
Too often, LGBTQ+ rights are viewed as adult considerations or societal phenomena that are not relevant to the ECE environment. This misconception or denial contributes to a poor educational foundation for the healthy development of young children and a limited system of family support. However, incorporating inclusive practices in ECE programs requires individual reflection, a commitment to expanding knowledge and change, examination of existing practices as well as ones holding inclusive potential, and collaborative efforts toward program-wide initiatives.
Positionality and bias
While the content of this chapter was designed to further discussion about how early childhood education might address the representation, support, and inclusion of LGBTQ+ families, children, and educators, it is inevitable that this chapter’s reliance on a limited literature base leaves certain groups underrepresented or unrepresented. The information in this chapter inevitably reflects particular contextual and cultural dimensions, as well as the privileges and biases associated with such dimensions. For example, this chapter’s author is a white, cisgender gay male living in the United States where same-sex marriage is legal (for now), residing in a state with progressive educational policies regarding the teaching of LGBTQ+ content, history, and issues. This scholarly work has been developed at a university with a social justice mission that includes gender identity and sexuality. At the same time the work here stems from a desire to understand and identify opportunities in early childhood education and teacher education. To the extent that the recommendations in this chapter reflect the existing systems within these professions, they may also reflect the inequities such systems produce and maintain. Interrogation of these phenomena and their effects on this field must continue.
Appendix: Sampling of LGBTQ+ inclusive children’s books for EC educators
See Table A1.
| Themes | Books |
|---|---|
| Families | Our World: Argentina by Aixa Pérez-Prado |
| Friendship and love | |
| Concept books about Pride | |
| Diverse expressions of gender | |
| Inspiring and teaching about action and change |
Table A1.
Early childhood picture books organized by LGBTQ+ theme.
Terminology
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