An Annotated Bibliography on Children’s Development of Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity

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Learn about our Social Inclusion & Respect for Diversity project.

This is an excerpt from the full bibliography.

This annotated bibliography includes research and policy books, articles, reports, and other resources on how children from birth to 10 years of age develop concepts related to social inclusion and respect for diversity (SI & RD). Three separate research traditions exist that directly or indirectly address this question: research from developmental, cognitive, and social psychology; research from multicultural education and critical cultural studies of education, schools and peer cultures; and the literature describing direct work with young children and their caregivers, following for the most part Louise Derman-Sparks’ anti-bias curriculum. There is, however, little communication and cross-fertilization across these traditions. As a consequence, the knowledge base in this area is fragmented and scattered, lacking clear messages to the community of researchers, evaluators, practitioners, teachers, early care and education providers, trainers, and policymakers in this field.

The bibliography presents reports and/or critiques of research published in the United States or abroad since 2005 – those aimed exclusively at practitioners and parents have not been included. Resources have been organized according to broad topical categories (Curricula and Educational Knowledge; Education Workforce; General; Identities and Peer Cultures; Implicit Bias; intergroup Contact; Perceived Threat and Stereotype Threat; Prejudice Development and Reduction; Racial Attitudes and Perspective Taking; Racial Segregation; School Mechanisms; Social Categorization and Social Identity; Teacher Expectations and Perspectives; and Teacher Preparation) that directly or indirectly address issues of SI & RD. Each citation is followed by a brief description, and an indication regarding the type of diversity addressed (that is, General vs. Specific – ability, age, gender, ethnic group, race, religion, sexual orientation, social class, and special needs). For a definition of the broad topical categories and a summary of key research findings, please see, Mariajosé Romero. 2010. Promoting Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity in Early Childhood: What Are the Research Findings? Report of a Meeting, November 6th, 2008. New York: National Center for Children in Poverty.

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