ENED1700 — Equity in Child. Nat. Studies
This course examines children's relationship with nature and the field of childhood nature studies through a race, power, and justice lens. Learners examine the historical roots that have shaped how families from different cultural backgrounds engage with nature and the environment, and how this plays out today in the nature preschool movement. The course offers a critical perspective of how children's play and learning materials, as well as food practices in early learning and child care programs, can present injustices and reinforce institutional racism. Topics such as gender, language, cultural identity, and intersectionality are included. Strategies for advancing equity in early childhood access to nature and nature-based programs are highlighted, and early childhood pedagogies that promote inclusivity and anti-bias approaches are shared to empower learners to apply these tools in various settings with young children.