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Published on January 18, 2021

New Video on Helping Children Develop a Sense of Empathy and Sense of Justice

Preschool teacher hugging a young child

Early childhood is the ideal time to teach young children the complexities and importance of social justice and anti-racism. The late Vivian Paley understood how critical the early years are for nurturing children’s kindness and respect for one another. Her “doing stories” pedagogy was where she asked children to dictate and then act out the stories they were originally doing in play. These stories showed that as children worked together, they would center (or re-center) their stories on equity and fairness.  Paley also found that children would consistently and pervasively act from a deep sense of empathy and justice in these stories.

In the CECE’s latest video "Helping Children Develop Empathy and a Sense of Justice", Paley’s legacy is honored through sharing her expertise on children’s self-awareness and awareness of others.