IntroductionIn this paper, I am going to discuss ethical and multicultural dilemmas, which care likely to be encountered in my field of specialization, which is early childhood education. Indeed, there are several issues pertinent to this field, which is encountered. However, I tend to perceive that challenges relating to language development are the most important. For fulfill the purpose of this study, a scenario, which reflects a personal experience, will be documented. The case will then be analyzed based on my area of specialization. Thirdly, the steps for resolving the identified issues will be set out. The possible biases in the plan and how to resolve them will be explained.
Case study
In a certain Early Childhood Education school in Bronx, New York, half of the learner population is international. The majority of these learners hail from non-English language speaking families. Indeed, these children are more likely to misunderstand a teacher or even be misunderstood due to their inadequacy in the English language. While this is the case, the school curriculum is designed in such a manner that it underpins the use of English language. The school has often been accused of overlooking the language needs of some children, while favoring those of the native English learners. As a result of this imbalance, the performance of the children from international families has been inferior to that of the native English speaking learners.
Analysis
In the above case, the pertinent ethical and multicultural dilemma relates to language development. It is apparent that the school is using the national language as the medium of instruction. According to my area of specialization, multiculturalism along with the appreciation of the fundamental part that language in scholarship plays makes it binding for the recognition of language diversity, as well as, the acknowledgment of the differences in communication and literacy styles in early childhood services. According to Abdullah (2009), it is of central importance to provide children with the opportunity to learn the majority language and at the same time maintain their first language. What this implies is that bilingualism should be supported even at the early childhood level.
It has been revealed across research that the application of bilinguals in early childhood education provides immense language development benefits to the learners when compared to a case where only the national language is used. Abdullah (2009) reported that with bilingual skills, it follows that there is a high chance that a child will have a higher cognitive ability. In the light of this context, it is without a doubt that, by failing to recognize the essence of bilingual language use, it follows that school identified in the above case is denying not only the children from the international families but also those from the native-English households the chance to experience optimized cognitive development (Bergroth & Palviainen, 2016). As a childhood education center, it would be expected that the school implements a design that helps the children to develop optimally. Failing to account for bilingualism makes one question the continued existence of the school.
Proposed resolution
The very first step is to assist the school administration to understand, acknowledge and embrace the role that bilingualism plays in early childhood level. To do this, it would require organizing workshops and seminars for educating and training the administrators on the issue. The next step would entail the modification of the school’s curriculum. At present, the curriculum recognizes English as the language for providing instruction. Through the assistance of an expert, the administrators should be provided with a direction for incorporating bilingualism into the curriculum (Bergroth & Palviainen, 2016). Where it is not possible to make this addition, the administrators should be encouraged to establish an entirely new curriculum.
The next step should be to hire bilingual early childhood educators to suit the new change. The ultimate step is to conduct a periodical evaluation of the new curriculum. The appropriate measurement standards should be used in measuring the effectiveness of the program. A good example of a measurement would be the degree of cognitive development among the early childhood education learners following the implementation of the new curriculum when compared to the previous one (Bergroth & Palviainen, 2016).
Examination of personal bias
A likely bias in the proposed solution is overconfidence. As such, there is a potential that I am overestimating the reliability of the resolution instead of acknowledging, in an objective manner, the accurate outcomes. This bias might take a toll on the solution that I proposed. Where the expected results are not achieved or fall short, my credibility as an effective policy maker might be subdued.
To avoid such an event, it is important that I draw upon examples and research findings. As such, to implement the resolution, I would be required to consult research on the most accurate ways of doing it (Allen & Cowdery, 2014). I would also be necessitated to draw from previous, similar successful programs (Allen & Cowdery, 2014). In this way, I will be placed in a better position to understand the likely results. Working by these findings, I will be allowed to eliminate the overconfidence bias.
Conclusion
In the present paper, an early childhood ethical and multicultural dilemma was discussed. It was revealed that a certain school in Bronx, New York, despite children with English language challenges making up the largest part of the population, is insisting on the use of English as the sole language to facilitate language and other forms of childhood development. Based on my area of specialization, bilingualism is important as it enhances cognitive development. To solve this issue, it is important to change or modify the school’s curriculum such that it reflects bilingualism. In my proposed solution, there is a likely overconfidence bias. However, if I work with the findings of previous research and drawing from past successful projects, which are of similar nature, this bias will be eliminated.
- Abdullah, A. C. (2009). Multicultural education in early childhood: Issues and challenges. Journal of Educational Cooperation in Education, 12(1), 159-175.
- Allen, E., & Cowdery, G. (2014). The exceptional child: Inclusion in early childhood education. London, UK: Nelson Education.
- Bergroth, M., & Palviainen, Å. (2016). The early childhood education and care partnership for bilingualism in minority language schooling: collaboration between bilingual families and pedagogical practitioners. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 12(7), 1-19.
