Embracing Inclusion by Creating Culturally Responsive Environments
Delivered by: Florence Ajala (Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education, Mary Immaculate College) and Alicja McCloskey (Lecturer & ECCE Placement Coordinator, Mary Immaculate College).
This workshop will focus on promoting cultural awareness and inclusion within early years settings, exploring strategies for supporting diversity and creating respectful, welcoming environments where every child and family feels represented and valued.
Dr Florence Ajala (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. She is the host of the YouTube channel Early Years Matters TV, where she shares weekly content on early childhood education. Her research and teaching interests include early childhood education, inclusion in early childhood settings, and the engagement of African immigrant parents in early childhood care and education.
Alicja McCloskey is a lecturer in Early Childhood Care and Education at Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Limerick, and an experienced early years teacher. Her interests include cultural and linguistic diversity in the early years, the voice and agency of the young child, power dynamics between the child and adult in both research and practice, as well as creativity.
More about Alicja can be found at: https://www.mic.ul.ie/staff/165-alicja-mccloskey