Social studies in early childhood education and care: A scoping review focusing on diversity

The study investigates the ways in which kindergarten teachers can work with social studies in kindergarten with a specific focus on cultural diversity and subsequent educational challenges. The research question is: How does previous research show that kindergarten teachers can use social studies to address diversity with and among children?

The results show that previous research has focused on four topics: cultural diversity, anti-discrimination, community and society, and human rights. In addition, the results show that there is a danger that kindergarten teachers risk conveying biased information and stereotypical views, as well as talking about cultures in discriminatory ways. The researcher emphasises that teaching diversity requires critical thinking, anti-discriminatory perspectives and sensitivity towards the attitudes and values conveyed. This, in turn, requires an awareness of one’s own attitudes and values. A lack of such skills can potentially create a discriminatory and exclusionary learning environment.

The study provides an overview of previous research on the topic. The researcher searched various databases to find relevant scientific articles. In order to be included in the study, the articles had to be about teaching in kindergarten, be peer-reviewed, published between 2000 and 2020, be about social studies and topics related to diversity. A total of 26 international studies were included in the analysis.

Rosenberg, A. R. (2020). “Social studies in early childhood education and care: A scoping review focusing on diversity”. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 21(4):312-324.