Race Racism Equity Diversity

Our Framework of Guiding Principles and Values

Approved: April, 2025

• Commit to and engage in open dialogue among colleagues,families, and the students we mentor about the historical and systemic impacts of race and racism –
• to gain insight into how we contribute to social bias and change, and
• to promote awareness and understanding among families, communities and all those in the educational ecosystem.
• Strive to be models of active participation in our field by speaking out against bias and seeking equity.
• Ensure accountability to equity and inclusion in all the structures, systems, policies, and activities of the World Forum Foundation. All institutions and organizations, including the WFF organization and community, are impacted by the dynamics of race, racism and bias.
• Foreground the stories and lived experiences of marginalized, racialized and Indigenous communities around the world to inform our practices and policies in early childhood education.
• Understand and honor the intersectionality of racialized identities and other forms of marginalization, ensuring that all voices are heard and represented in our programs and policies.
• Focus on the historical and systemic impact of race and racism (as social constructs) on the lives of children, families, educators, organizations, communities, societies, cultures across the globe.
• View Race and Racism as social and historical constructs intended to systematically uphold White Supremacy through social institutions. Racialized identities intersect with other social identities and forms of marginalization, including economic class, gender, language, religion, Indigenous identity, immigration status, and ethnicity.
• Recognize the role of colonialism, tribalism, apartheid, caste systems, and White Supremacy in the history of race and racism, oppression and violence. This includes the experiences of Indigenous Peoples, refugees, immigrants, and those facing poverty. Seek to understand the economics of racism and other factors which lead to the subjugation of one group over another.
• Recognize that young children actively construct understandings of their own and others’ social identities, including the role of bias, oppression, and liberation, and they can be supported in this process by families, educators, and communities to embrace diversity.
• Examine policy and practice through a culturally sustaining and asset-based lens when working with children and families in early care environments.
• Examine the role of research in issues of race and racism, with the understanding that no research is objective, especially that which is used in the social science arena.
• Examine policy and practice through a culturally sustaining and asset-based lens when working with children and families in early care environments.