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Anti Bias Awards seek educators who embed inclusion

Freya Lucas

Jun 26, 2019

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Applications for the 2019 Anti Bias Awards, created in partnership with MultiVerse, Social Justice In Early Childhood, and Early Childhood Australia have been extended, but must close on 1 July 2019.

The award, which is funded through the Anti-Bias Fund alongside contributions from public donations, author royalty donations from the Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood (3rd Ed) book, and donations from MultiVerse, recognises those working in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector for their pedagogical leadership in making anti-bias practices central to the everyday rather than an ‘add on’ to practice.

The Koori Curriculum and Yarn Strong Sista have also generously contributed to the inaugural award.

The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood (3rd Ed), edited by Dr Red Ruby Scarlet, has been integral to both quality and equality in early childhood.

Since its initial publication in 1995, this book has informed practice across the country – in all types of children’s services, in professional development workshops and programs, and in tertiary training and education courses.

Anti-bias approaches have been the cornerstone of numerous teacher-research and practice-based studies undertaken in Australia. These studies are unique because they are teacher-research undertaken by early childhood teachers for early childhood educators and teachers.

While parts of the profession have sustained the use of anti-bias approaches in their practice, the speed at which the field is growing, and the ever-changing policy landscape, has caused anti-bias approaches to be less familiar to many professionals and less explicit in everyday practice.

This award has been designed to encourage educators and teachers from across the field of early childhood to reignite and re engage with anti-bias approaches, as well as to recognise educators for their pedagogical leadership, as outlined above.

There are 2 categories for the Award:

Anti-Bias Award for an individual

Anti-Bias Award for group/organisation/collective.

Each award category will receive:

An invitation to present at the annual Social Justice in Early Childhood Conference;

$750 worth of cash prizes to be spent on furthering anti-bias projects and resources ($250.00 from the MultiVerse Anti-Bias Fund; $250.00 from The Koori Curriculum to support further anti-bias resourcing and projects; and a $250 voucher from Yarn Strong Sista);

One Year subscription to ECA’s The Learning Hub (value of $390); and

A mentor (a leader in the field) to assist with the production of an advocacy/activist action.

The outcome of this time spent with a leader in the field of ECEC will be an advocacy/activist action: an article for publication in an appropriate national publication (ECA), as well as the Anti-Bias Stories blog.

To be eligible for consideration, applicants must meet the criteria below:

Individual Award Applicants must have:

Early childhood qualifications or credentials;

A minimum of five years’ experience face-to-face with children birth to five years;

An ECEC Professional as referee. The referee will be willing to support their application and to be contacted confidentially by phone and/or email by a member of the selection committee.

Collaborative Award Applicants can be:

pairs/groups of educators (who meet the criteria for the Individual Award) or;

approved ECEC services.

Applicants must have:

An ECEC Professional as referee. The referee will be willing to support their application and to be contacted confidentially by phone and/or email by a member of the selection committee.

One of the winners in 2018 spoke about the significance of the award, sharing the following:

When I got the call about being the recipient, I was overjoyed. I was grateful that the work I had been doing was noticed as significant in the grander scheme of things.

By coincidence or something larger at play, the same day also saw me receive notification of citizenship within Australia. I think this moment is when it really hit me. In the space of twelve hours I had received confirmation that I belonged. I belonged to the profession I had chosen that I was so passionate about and I belonged in the country I choose to call my home.

Isn’t this what we are all looking for, isn’t this what we teach and aspire for children, that sense of belonging, that affirmation that we are on the right path and to keep on going?

The due date for applications is 5:00pm, Monday 1 July 2019, and applications should be emailed to foundation@sjiec.org

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