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When a 19-year-old from Nigeria went to study at Drexel University, Philadelphia, she was confronted with an American roommate who asked why she could speak English so well. ‘She was confused when I said that Nigeria happened to have English as its official language. She asked if she could listen to what she called my “tribal music”, and was consequently very disappointed when I produced my tape of Mariah Carey. Her default position toward me, as an African, was a kind of patronising, well-meaning pity. My roommate had a single story of Africa: a single story of catastrophe.’
This account, from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, highlights what the novelist calls ‘the danger of the single story’. She observes people can form narrow, singular definitions of other cultures based on basic information.
When creating inclusive early years settings for children, families and staff of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, it is important practitioners avoid the single story approach. In line with the early years principle of the child-centred approach, educator Barbara Rogoff warns that culture should never be recognised as a ‘sole agent’ of a child’s identity, as it is just one factor of it. Culture is also always changing. A child may come from the same cultural background as their parents, but their own culture will develop through their own life experiences.
Being open to different cultures is becoming more important as diversity among early years children increases. Department for Education statistics show that the number of pupils assessed through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) whose first language was other than English rose by 30 per cent over the past six years, from 98,713 in 2012 to 128,130 in 2018.
Cascade Cultural Solutions intercultural trainer and consultant Shirley Billage advises that when new families arrive at a setting, practitioners take time to discover their cultural norms. ‘Practitioners can sometimes make the mistake of thinking they know about a particular culture from having had one or two children in the setting before from that culture,’ she says. ‘They are in danger of developing stereotypes from this. Every culture has a wide diversity within it, so what is true for one family from a particular cultural group may not be true for another.’
She advises practitioners ask sensitive questions; for example, instead of questioning what the child likes to eat, they could ask how the family would generally eat meals at home. Or, what does the family expect from the child’s experience in the setting? What value do they place on learning through play?
Ms Billage says the same is true of managing staff from different cultures, and says the key to effective teamwork is for practitioners to take time to first understand their own cultural identity, then discover colleagues’ world views, and finally see how they can complement each other.
Failing to recognise difference is, as early years consultant Mary Dickins explains in A to Z of Inclusion in Early Childhood, a form of discrimination. She says practitioners must treat people as individuals and display ‘a positive attitude towards all of the differences found in the community and in the workplace’.
An important aspect of culturally diverse settings is supporting children whose home language is not English. ‘Our languages are our identities,’ says Reading University Institute of Education associate professor Naomi Flynn. ‘If you try to iron out the home language, you’re basically saying what you bring with you from home is not recognised here.’
Ms Flynn says early years practitioners can have little knowledge of how young children acquire language, as it is only briefly mentioned in the EYFS statutory framework. ‘We know from language research it’s really important for children to have a really firm grasp of their first language in order to be able to learn the other languages well,’ says Ms Flynn.
The EYFS states providers must ‘provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning’. Ms Flynn agrees with this, but says practitioners can feel pressurised to encourage children to use English in order to meet EYFS communication and language learning goals. She urges practitioners to be brave about supporting children’s first languages. ‘That pays dividends later because children will have a blueprint about how language works.’
In order to create opportunities for children to use their home language in settings, Ms Flynn suggests pairing up children from the same linguistic backgrounds. She also advises practitioners to avoid assumptions about language ability. ‘Find out as much as possible about the languages the children use at home,’ she suggests. ‘Are they watching satellite TV or local TV, for example?’
Ms Flynn emphasises the importance for practitioners to be aware of the ‘silent period’ common in second language acquisition. A child learning a new language may stop talking for as long as six months. But they are still listening and learning. ‘Just keep talking with them and find ways to help them show you they’re understanding that are non-verbal,’ says Ms Flynn.
‘The curriculum in early years must be talk-based, practical, hands-on and visual.’ She also warns against the misconception that a child with English as an additional language (EAL) may have language delay. ‘EAL is not a special educational need – it’s a learning need,’ she states. ‘Most children just need time.’
Reflective questions:
1. Have you familiarised yourself with the cultures and practices of your families and staff?
2. Do your role-play areas, craft activities, displays and book reflect a wide range of cultures and languages?
3. Are you providing opportunities for children to develop their home language, including sign language?
case study: managing a multi-lingual workforce
Grove Community Project nursery in Birmingham cares for 60 children from many cultures. Manager Sarah Wood explains how.
‘Everything we do is inclusive. We have a welcome sign in numerous languages over the door and a diverse workforce speaking several languages.
‘If children hear their home language, it makes them feel comfortable and settled. So we match key workers with children of the same background. We don’t generally find English as a second language to be a problem, as the children don’t have much speech anyway. They also tend to have learned some English from watching television.
‘Our staff help new parents complete forms. If we can’t offer their language, and it’s a more formal matter, social services help us arrange an interpreter.
‘Every week we hold a music session and invite parents to bring songs from their culture. It’s very popular, especially among newer parents. We also ask parents to share their traditions and join in with festivals.
‘One challenge with hiring multi-lingual staff is their written English may be weak. Some people gain a childcare degree in England by using spell check for their work on a computer. We try to overcome this by offering regular training. Often the pluses of having such staff outweigh the minuses, but it’s something we have to manage.’
global education
The Reading International Solidarity Centre provides training for educators on global education, including a national initiative called the Global Teacher Award, which is funded by the British Council. Education co-ordinator Manju Patel-Nair explains the approach.
‘Global education is about helping children to understand how they are connected to a wider world. This can involve challenging stereotypes.
‘We also want to cultivate a sense of shared humanity across the globe, and one approach we use is to focus on similarities between people, not just differences. The food we eat every day can be a useful tool to consider the interconnections between people – we might do this through tracing the journey of Fair Trade bananas. We want children to understand we’re not just connected economically, but also by our shared human origins and thousands of years of global migration.
‘Global education encourages teachers to face their own biases too. We all have them, and acknowledging this can be a great starting point for getting children to start talking about their own limited perceptions.
‘We encourage teachers to integrate global perspectives into all areas of curriculum. One way is through boxes of artefacts from other cultures. For example, our maths box encourages children to discover the tessellation in Islamic tile patterns, the shape and space in a woven herb basket, or look for patterns in Ghanaian bracelets.’
the legislative framework
Equality Act 2010 – it is illegal for early years settings to discriminate against children, their carers or staff based on race or ethnicity.
Prevent Duty 2015 – this embeds British Values into practice, which includes mutual respect and tolerance of all cultures.
EYFS – includes a learning goal for children to know about similarities and differences between themselves, others, families, communities and traditions.
