Children in Context
Demographic data about young children and their families are continually collected, analyzed, and reported by many different groups, agencies, and individuals for a variety of purposes, including:
- Federal, state, and international funding for programs that support families and children
- The development of goals, standards, and accountability measures for programs, schools, and services
- Continual development and improvement of teacher education programs to best prepare teachers and caregivers to work in the “real world”
Statistical profiles that describe groups by income, ethnicity, religion, family structure, and so on provide early childhood professionals with a clear picture of the characteristics of children and their families. The imaginary class presented in the opening vignette closely parallels the demographic statistics of the nation as a whole. While it is unlikely that a class you teach will mirror this breakdown exactly, it is important for you as a teacher to represent the rich diversity of both the children and families in your class and the country as a whole in respectful ways.
Demographics
Data from the U.S. census, which is taken every ten years, provide comprehensive information about ethnicity, economic status, and other individual and family characteristics of the U.S. population. Table 3.2 offers a snapshot of the statistics that describe children under the age of 18 in America today.
In 2011, the overall percentage of children living with two married parents was 65 percent, a figure that decreased from 85 percent in 1970 but that has been relatively stable since the late 1990s.
| Table 3.2: American Children under the Age of 18 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of Children Under Age 18 (total number 74.1 million) | Ethnicity: Percent of First- and Second- Generation Immigrant Children (total number 17.3 million) | Percent of Children Living in Poverty (total percent of population 22%) | Percent of Children Living with Two Married Parents | ||||||
| White | 56 | 17.5 | 13 | 71 | |||||
| Black | 15 | 8.6 | 38 | 33 | |||||
| Hispanic | 22 | 51.0 | 32 | 60 | |||||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 4 | 22.6 | 14 | 85 | |||||
| American or Alaskan Native American | Less than 1 | Less than 1 | 35 | No data | |||||
| All other races | 4 | No data | No data | No data | |||||
| Note: The next U.S. Census will occur in 2020. Visit the following website for more information: https://www.census.gov/2020census. | |||||||||
| Source: U.S. 2010 Census Data. | |||||||||
What do these statistics have to do with your role as a curriculum decision maker? Critics have claimed that many curriculum materials, learning standards, and assessment materials (especially standardized tests) are representative of ethnocentrism (Hull, Goldhaber & Capone, 2002; Manning & Baruth, 2000). This means they are written and designed from a white American mainstream cultural perspective that doesn’t represent the population or actual lives of many people. Curriculum developers and government recognize the need to represent all children accurately. The latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) identified three priorities:
- Rigorous and fair accountability
- Meeting diverse learner needs
- Greater equity to provide equal opportunities for student success (U.S. Department of Education, 2010)
The ESEA emphasizes the need to improve education to be more inclusive of children with disabilities, second language learners, migrant and homeless children, native and rural populations, and those who are neglected or delinquent.