Moving Towards the Light

Navigating Global Challenges Through Early Childhood Education and Care Values

Abstract

In 1963, African American author and activist James Baldwin warned about the dangerous times we were living through, in reference to the ongoing racial injustice in the United States (U.S.). His words are just as poignant today as we navigate concurrent global challenges, some of which include climate change, racial injustice, and housing unaffordability. While education is incapable of solving all of these complex issues that require a systematic approach through governmental intervention and policies to sustain solutions, values inherent in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) can guide us as we face global challenges collectively, moving towards a more just and humane world for all. This paper is based on a narrative inquiry study that took place in the U.S. with six Black families enrolled in ECEC programs throughout the Bronx and Brooklyn, two boroughs in New York City, in 2024. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were conducted to learn about the experiences young Black children and families were having in a variety of ECEC programs. Data was examined through the lenses of Critical Childhood Studies, Intersectionality, and Anti-Blackness, with the counter-storytelling tenet of Critical Race Theory serving as the overarching umbrella. Findings demonstrated that Black children and families resisted anti-Blackness and relentlessly pursued care, strong collaborations with educators, and basic needs that allowed for thriving childhoods. In this paper, I reexamine three findings through the lenses of ECEC values to demonstrate how they can provide guidance to navigate global challenges that will exacerbate in the future.