Early childhood teachers in Victoria, Australia face increasing cultural and `racial' diversity among the children and families with whom they work. A small-scale exploratory study found that many teachers were uncertain about how best to respond to such diversity and a mismatch between social expectations that teachers would encourage children to respect cultural diversity and teachers' practice. These findings suggest strongly that the `one-off' isolated session that is the dominant form of professional training in the Australian early childhood field has been ineffective in promoting respect for diversity amongst teachers.
Arber, R. (2005) `Speaking of race and ethnic identities: exploring multicultural curricula'. Journal of Curriculum Studies37(6): 633—52.
2.
Barnett, C. (2001) `Genres of research in multicultural education '. Review of Educational Research71(2): 171—217.
3.
Brown, E. (2004) `What precipitates change in cultural diversity awareness during a multicultural course: the message or the method?'. Journal of Teacher Education55(4): 325—40.
4.
Brown, A., Cervero, R. and Johnson-Bailey, J. (2000) `Making the invisible visible: race, gender, and teaching in adult education'. Adult Education Quaterly50(4): 273—88.
5.
Cass, B. (2005) `Cultural Diversity and Challenges in the Provision of Health and Welfare Services. Towards Social Justice: Employment and Community Services in Culturally-Diverse Australia'. In Global Cultural Diversity Conference Proceedings, Sydney . Available at http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/confer/03/speech11a.htm (accessed 3 June 2006).
6.
Cruz, M. (2003) Preservice teachers' perceptions of ethnic diversity . Honors dissertation, the University of Melbourne (unpublished).
7.
Dau, E. and Creaser, B., eds (2001) Anti-Bias Curriculum: An Australian Perspective . Sydney: Addison Wesley Longman .
8.
Davis, K. (2005) `Troubling practices: exploring white dichotomies in early childhood practices'. International Journal of Equity and Innovation in EarlyChildhood3(1): 18—30.
9.
Dee, J. and Henkin, A. (2002) `Assessing dispositions toward cultural diversity among preservice teachers'. Urban Education37(1): 22—40.
10.
Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) (2001). South Australia Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework. Government of South Australia, Department of Education and Children's Services. Available at http://www.sacsa.sa.edu.au/index
11.
DIMIA (Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs) (1997) Responding to Diversity: Progress in Implementing the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society . In Annual Report, Access and Equity, Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Publishing Service.
12.
DIMIA (Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs) (2006) Fact Sheet 7, National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Canberra. Revised 11 July 2006. CSM. Commonwealth of Australia.
13.
Derman-Sparks, L. and Ramsey, P.G. (2006) What If All the Kids Are White? Engaging White Children and their Families in Anti-bias/Multicultural Education. New York: Teachers College Press.
14.
Diaz Jones, C., Arthur, L. and Beecher, C. (2000) `Multiple literacies in early childhood'. Paper presented at the Australian Education Research Association conference, Sydney University, 4—7 December.
15.
Elliot, A. (1999) `Celebrating diversity: promoting intercultural competence'. Every Child5(4): 8.
16.
Fassler, R. (2003) Room for Talk: Teaching and Learning in a Multilingual Kindergarten. New York: Teachers College Press.
17.
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2004) Diversity in Early Care and Education: Honoring Differences (4th edn). Boston : McGraw-Hill.
18.
Hage, G. (1998) White Nation: Fantasies of White Supremacy in a Multicultural Society. Amandale, NSW: Pluto Press.
19.
Howard, J. (2005) `A sense of balance: The Australian achievement in 2006'. Address to the National Press Club Great Hall, Parliament House. 25 January. Available at http://www.pm.gov.au/News/Speeches/speech1754.html
20.
Hyun, E. (1998). Making Sense of Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practice (DCAP) in Early Childhood Education. New York: Peter Lang.
21.
Inglis, C. (2004) `Australia's continuing transformation'. Migrant Information Source. Migrant Policy Institute.
22.
Jakubowicz, A. (2005) `The mongrel breed: the politics of inclusion in contemporary Australian Policy'. Paper presented to the Social Justice and Public Policy Seminar three, `Social justice and multiculturalism: tensions and possibilities', 24 November, York CVS, York.
23.
Lynch, E. W. and Hanson, M. J., eds (2005) Developing Cross-cultural Competence: A Guide for Working with Children and their Families. (3rd edn). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
24.
MacNaughton, G. (2006) Respect for Diversity: An International Overview . Bernard van Leer Foundation: The Hague.
25.
MacNaughton, G. and Davis, K. (2001) `Beyond “othering”: rethinking approaches to teaching young Anglo-Australian children about Indigenous Australians'. Contemporary Issues in EarlyChildhood2(1): 83—93.
26.
MacNaughton, G., Hughes, P. and Smith, K. (2006) Listening to Children: New Insights, Challenges and Possibilities. Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood: Melbourne, Australia.
27.
Ncac (2003) FDCQA Quality Practices Guide (2nd edn). Canberra: National Child Care Accreditation Council.
28.
Ncac (2004) OSHCQA Quality Practices Guide (1st edn). Canberra: National Child Care Accreditation Council.
29.
Ncac (2005) Quality Improvement and Accreditation System Handbook (3rd edn). Canberra: National Child Care Accreditation Council .
30.
New South Wales Department of Community Services, Office of Child Care (2002) Curriculum framework for children's services: The practice of relationships. Essential provisions for children's services. New South Wales Department of Community Services, Office of Childcare.
31.
Prasad, R. (1997) Best Practice for Multicultural Child Care and Supplementary Services. Adelaide: Multicultural Communities Council of SA.
32.
Prasad, R. and Ebbeck, M. (2000) `Policies and practices that create multicultural contexts in child care'. AustralianJournal of Early Childhood25(4): 9—15.
33.
Ramsey, P.G. (2004) Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World: Multicultural Education for Young Children (3rd edn). New York: Teachers College Press.
34.
Ray, A., Bowman, B. and Robbins, J. (2005) `Educating early childhood teachers about diversity: the contributions of state teacher certification policies, professional accreditation and higher education — preliminary findings'. Presentation at the NAEYC National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development, Miami Beach, FL.
35.
Sanagavarapu, P. (2004) `Socio-cultural matrix of raising a child with food allergies: experiences of a migrant mother'. AustralianJournal of Early Childhood29 (1): 45—9.
36.
Sims, M. and Hutchins, T. (2001) Transition to child care for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. AustralianJournal of Early Childhood26 (3): 7—11.
37.
Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Clarke, P. (2000) Supporting Identity, Diversity and Language in the Early Years. Buckingham: Open University Press.
38.
York, S. (2003) Roots and Wings (rev. edn). St. Paul, MN: Redleaf.
