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Welcome and Introduction

Welcome Child, Family and Community students and instructors. We hope this text is a guide and resource in building awareness, knowledge and skills as a current or future educators. We also want to thank the previous authors for their contribution and allowing us a starting point to enhance the original text. The chapters are organized with learning objectives, embedded terms and definitions, critical reflection and practical application of the content and topics. While we possibly couldn’t cover every topic, we invite you to share your experiences and knowledge with your peers to enhance the content shared in this text. You will notice a common theory utilized throughout this text. Uri Bronfenbrenner’s (1917-2005) Ecological Systems Theory explains how a child is influenced by their interactions and surroundings. We hope you are able to examine the interrelationships between childrens experiences and the roles families and communities play a part in their overall growth and development. We recommend you start with Chapter One as it is the foundational chapter and then proceed to the following chapters.

Meet the Authors

We want you to know that remixing a text was not easy and we had several bumps along the way. We lost some of our early contributors to prior commitments and life in general. We were also navigating like you in this COVID-19 Pandemic as well as a cultural awakening after the death of George Floyd in 2020. While we navigate this new normal we tried to create a text where all were included and represented. We hope this revision or remix is not the last and we look forward to what this text can be for all educators.

Liz Romero

Clovis Community College

I have the privilege of teaching and learning alongside my Early Childhood Education students at Clovis Community College. I am passionate about advancing equity through the lens of racial and cultural diversity in my field and seek to create spaces that foster reflection, growth, and belonging for all my students. As a life-long learner and newer social justice advocate, I seek to inspire my students in their own journey to becoming reflective, collaborative leaders in the field of education.

Picture of Dr. Harper Michelle Harper, Ed.D.

Associate Professor

Mt San Jacinto College

Professor in the Teacher Education and Developmental Studies Department, with interest in diversity and equity, and special populations such as children who experience trauma. Michelle is a consultant conducting assessments to determine eligibility for statewide early start programs and supports with several organizations that support children.

Picture of Tyrone Ledford Tyrone Ledford, Child Development Professor

Cerro Coso Community College

Tyrone graduated from Pacific Oaks College with his Master’s in Human Development, Social Change is dedicated to creating an equitable higher educational system where minority students and professionals are valued, and positively represented. Tyrone has a passion for engaging children and families in equitable practices, and creating bridges between macrosystem influences and microsystem influences. Tyrone has done intensive organizational work such as starting a 501c3 organization called Holistic Divine Innovations and building sustainable infrastructure such as community gardens and herbal gardens to help create economic impact for children and families living in poverty.

Picture of Dr. DeJohnette Michelle DeJohnette, Ph.D.,

Assistant Professor (Anti-Racism & Equity)

Department of Early Childhood Studies

California Polytechnic University, Pomona

Her research and teaching center the need to prepare critically conscious early childhood educators using anti-racist and anti-bias frameworks. Her research interests are critical theory, culturally responsible pedagogy, anti-bias and anti-racist education, and issues of equity in early childhood education, with a focus on preschool.

Photo of Dr. Porter Nicole D. Porter, Ed.D.

Skyline College

Passion and commitment to serving children and families has been the driving force in her educational and professional journey. Dr. Porter has over 20-years’ experience in developing and facilitating programs for young children, college students and families. Her dedication to her work has been supported and encouraged by her husband of over 25 years as well as her emerging adult children. Dr. Porter is a servant leader and strives to see her colleagues and students become “Producers of Education.” Her recent study of early childhood teacher educators on race, ethnicity and culture has led her to further working in developing, “Critically Reflective Cultural Educators.”

College of the Canyons

Cindy has spent over half of her life dedicated to her passion creating an educational system that honors and supports children in their lifelong journey of learning. Her role as faculty in the Early Childhood Education department on her campus provides her with a balanced joy in working with adult and children learners. She has a deep passion in creating equitable spaces for all learners that was fueled at a very young age. She is grateful for all of the opportunities her work has afforded her over the past 44 years.