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FULL REFERENCE: Harper-Hooper, W. (2025). Advocating anti-bias practices in early childhood education.  NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, pp. 43-55.

ABSTRACT:
This article examines the integration of anti-bias education, multicultural pedagogy, and Social Learning Theory within early childhood education, with a focus on fostering inclusive, equitable, and socially just learning environments. Grounded in the view that bias is socially constructed and learned, anti-bias education offers a critical framework for supporting children’s identity development, empathy, and engagement with diversity from the early years. Informed by Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, the paper explores how young children internalise inclusive values through observation, modelling, and guided interaction. Play-based learning is identified as a developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive approach for embedding these values within everyday practice. Through intentional role-play, storytelling, and collaborative exploration, children are supported to examine difference, challenge stereotypes, and develop inclusive ways of thinking and relating. The paper outlines practical strategies, including inclusive curriculum design, culturally sustaining resources, family and community engagement, and educator reflection, that contribute to equitable learning experiences. It also presents assessment approaches that capture children’s understanding of diversity and inclusion through observation, artefacts, and caregiver input. In the Aotearoa New Zealand context and globally, where increasing diversity and persistent inequities shape the early childhood education landscape, this article underscores the educator’s role as a reflective, relational, and intentional agent of change. It concludes by advocating for ongoing professional learning and collaboration to advance transformative early childhood education practices rooted in equity, belonging, and social justice.

KEY WORDS: Anti-bias education, pedagogy, play-based learning, multicultural education, social learning theory.

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INTRODUCTION

Anti-bias education is a dynamic, intentional pedagogical approach aimed at addressing the systemic roots of prejudice, discrimination, and social inequity. Rather than promoting passive notions of tolerance, it encourages critical reflection, sustained dialogue, and transformative action, all directed toward dismantling structural bias and advancing social justice. At the heart of anti-bias education is the understanding that biases are socially constructed and learned, thus, they can be consciously unlearned through deliberate and reflective educational practices.

Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2020) emphasise the critical role of early childhood education in shaping young children’s developing attitudes toward identity, diversity, and inclusion. When early childhood education environments actively affirm children’s diverse backgrounds and challenge stereotypes, they support the development of positive self-identities and foster empathy and respect for others (Murray & Nakkula, 2021). Embedding anti-bias principles into curriculum design and daily practice enables educators to create inclusive spaces where all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, ability, or socioeconomic status, feel a sense of belonging, affirmation, and agency.