Week 2 – Assignment: Investigate Identity Development

Instructions
When  children come to an early childhood classroom, they bring with them  their developing selves as influenced by their family culture, language,  ethnicity, family composition, and other characteristics. Of course, to  understand the uniqueness of each child it is important to learn about  the child from the family, from the child, and from your observations.   Early childhood professionals and families are important people in the  lives of young children. Both affect the child’s personal and social  identity development. There have been myths about children’s identity  development.  To debunk any of the myths that surround children’s  awareness of differences, reading, understanding, and acting upon the  research is an essential part of your role.
Complete  the reading for this assignment with a focus on examining,  understanding, and reflecting on the development of both personal and  social identity. In a narrative paper, well organized by headings, you  will respond thoughtfully and completely to the following prompts:

Discuss  what you have learned from the research about the development of  personal and social identity, awareness of differences, and development  of prejudice.
Determine  if the information that you have learned agrees or disagrees with the  myths surrounding children’s awareness of human differences?
Identify,  and then discuss any stereotypes and negative images that you learned  from your home, your community, your membership in groups, and the  media. How have those observations influenced how you self-identity and  how you address human differences?
Indicate  what goals you might set in your classroom to support each child’s  identity development as a preschool teacher. Indicate how these goals  are supported by research.
Discuss the value for you of completing this assignment.

Length: 3- pages
References:  Minimum of three scholarly resources including your text, and other  scholarly resources (professional organization websites, government  websites, etc.)
Your  assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and  concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights  relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly  writing and current APA standards.