Living Well Together

This accessible, philosophically framed early childhood education text shows how to create and implement a civic-minded, anti-bias curriculum.

This accessible early childhood education text offers an in-depth look at the creation and implementation of a series of civic-minded, anti-bias curriculum maps in contrasting classroom settings: one residing in a state with a “divisive concepts” law and another residing in a state without one. Grounded in philosophically informed conceptualizations of flourishing and personal autonomy, Joy Dangora Erickson argues that anti-bias education is a crucial component of a larger civic education and that schools have a moral obligation to provide it. However, social biases can impede citizens’ abilities to make and execute well-informed decisions supportive of their own and others’ well-being. Given that the current sociopolitical landscape in the United States actively discourages many educators’ efforts to cultivate anti-bias learning spaces, being able to navigate these outside pressures and do right by children at this time is imperative. This book supports preservice and in-service early childhood educators by thoughtfully considering the curriculum maps designed by the research team and how they were employed in classrooms in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Author Biography

Joy Dangora Erickson is an Associate Professor of Education at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. She is the author of Reading Motivation: A Guide to Understanding and Supporting Children’s Willingness to Read.