Developing Cultural Competence in ECEC : A Brochure for Educators
Musliji, Edona; Abdul Salam, Fuseinatu; Perera Behm, Thiranga Dilini; (2024)
Musliji, Edona
Abdul Salam, Fuseinatu
Perera Behm, Thiranga Dilini
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024120934119
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024120934119
Tiivistelmä
Cultural competency is important because it may foster an inclusive classroom where kids from different origins feel accepted, respected, and encouraged. The primary objective of this thesis was to provide ECEC educators with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to develop cultural competence in their practice.
The number of children from diverse backgrounds, such as those with different languages, religions, nationalities, and cultural traditions, is increasing especially in Finland which has over the years seen an increase in bilingual Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres. This thesis which was conducted as a development-based thesis in a portfolio format in bulb, was aimed to create a brochure for educators to help in developing their cultural competences in dealing with children from different cultural backgrounds in ECEC settings to ensure that all children, regardless of their cultural backgrounds, receive equitable access to top-notch education. The thesis was implemented in collaboration with one of Pilke Playschool centres in Helsinki. The target audience was to provide a brochure that will help the educators in Pilke daycare in developing their cultural competence when educating the culturally diverse children in the ECE centre.
The thesis output is a training brochure detailing the knowledge and information needed in developing cultural competence in ECEC settings. The brochure also gives examples of scenarios that educators can encounter and how to deal with such situations. The thesis also recognised some limitations about the brochure, the brochure provides a broad framework for developing cultural competence, it may not fully capture the unique cultural dynamics of every community or classroom and so educators make adjustment depending on their own situations in other to ensure that every child is recognised and accepted. The brochure that was created was planned to be implemented by the educators in the daycare centre from January 2025 and it will be in the facility for about 6 months after which it will be distributed to other daycare centres. We believe that this brochure can help many educators especially educators that are involved with children from diverse backgrounds. By increasing their skills in how to deal with every child under their care and create an environment that fosters participation and growth
Keywords: early childhood education, cultural competence, inclusivity, multiculturalism
The number of children from diverse backgrounds, such as those with different languages, religions, nationalities, and cultural traditions, is increasing especially in Finland which has over the years seen an increase in bilingual Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres. This thesis which was conducted as a development-based thesis in a portfolio format in bulb, was aimed to create a brochure for educators to help in developing their cultural competences in dealing with children from different cultural backgrounds in ECEC settings to ensure that all children, regardless of their cultural backgrounds, receive equitable access to top-notch education. The thesis was implemented in collaboration with one of Pilke Playschool centres in Helsinki. The target audience was to provide a brochure that will help the educators in Pilke daycare in developing their cultural competence when educating the culturally diverse children in the ECE centre.
The thesis output is a training brochure detailing the knowledge and information needed in developing cultural competence in ECEC settings. The brochure also gives examples of scenarios that educators can encounter and how to deal with such situations. The thesis also recognised some limitations about the brochure, the brochure provides a broad framework for developing cultural competence, it may not fully capture the unique cultural dynamics of every community or classroom and so educators make adjustment depending on their own situations in other to ensure that every child is recognised and accepted. The brochure that was created was planned to be implemented by the educators in the daycare centre from January 2025 and it will be in the facility for about 6 months after which it will be distributed to other daycare centres. We believe that this brochure can help many educators especially educators that are involved with children from diverse backgrounds. By increasing their skills in how to deal with every child under their care and create an environment that fosters participation and growth
Keywords: early childhood education, cultural competence, inclusivity, multiculturalism