All children deserve quality early care and education (ECE) experiences that value them and lay a foundation for positive life trajectories. Unfortunately, many minoritized children in ECE experience inequities including a greater likelihood of exclusion and far fewer opportunities to see their identities affirmed or centered. These early experiences impact children's development, and the dispositions, knowledge, and skills (DKSs) of ECE teachers are key drivers of these experiences. Accordingly, our study sought to understand ECE teachers’ current DKSs related to diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice (DIEJ) through a critical culturally relevant pedagogy framework. To do so, we analyzed data from four focus groups with 15 center-based infant, toddler, and preschool teachers using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Key DKSs, including teachers’ attitudes about children and teaching, their perspectives about DIEJ, and their understanding of positionality and context as well as their perception of DIEJ as an age-appropriate topic, occurred across groups. Minoritized teachers and teachers working with diverse groups of children tended to demonstrate a deeper and more critical engagement with DIEJ than White teachers working primarily with White children. Furthermore, we also found evidence that this engagement may be influenced by teachers’ DKSs. Policy and practice implications are discussed with respect to ensuring that all children have the experiences they deserve to thrive.

中文翻译：

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幼儿教师与多样性、包容性、公平和正义相关的性格、知识和技能

所有儿童都应获得优质的早期保育和教育 (ECE) 体验，这些体验重视他们并为积极的人生轨迹奠定基础。不幸的是，儿童早教中的许多少数群体儿童都经历着不平等，包括被排斥的可能性更大，而他们的身份得到肯定或集中的机会却少得多。这些早期经历会影响儿童的发展，而幼儿教育教师的性格、知识和技能 (DKS) 是这些经历的关键驱动因素。因此，我们的研究试图通过一个关键的文化相关的教学框架来了解幼儿教育教师当前与多样性、包容性、公平和正义 (DIEJ) 相关的 DKS。为此，我们使用反射主题分析（Braun & Clarke，2022）分析了四个焦点小组的数据，其中包括 15 名中心婴儿、幼儿和学前班教师。关键的 DKS，包括教师对儿童和教学的态度、他们对 DIEJ 的看法、他们对立场和背景的理解以及他们对 DIEJ 作为适合年龄的话题的看法，发生在不同的群体中。与主要与白人儿童一起工作的白人教师相比，少数民族教师和与不同群体的儿童一起工作的教师往往表现出对 DIEJ 更深入、更批判性的参与。此外，我们还发现证据表明这种参与可能受到教师 DKS 的影响。讨论了确保所有儿童拥有成长所需的经历的政策和实践影响。