This book explores why the development of racial literacy is essential in early childhood teacher education programs and offers strategies and activities for pre-service educators to confidently engage with the topic of race in their classrooms.

Drawing on qualitative interview data from early childhood teacher educators across diverse regions in the United States, the book examines how racial literacy can be effectively integrated into teacher preparation courses in a variety of disciplines. Using critical race theory and racial literacy as guiding frameworks, it highlights how programs develop and train racial literacy through activities that interrogate power inequities, invoke critical thinking, help identify stereotypes, develop positive attitudes and are inclusive of books about and by people of colour. Developing Racial Literacy in Early Childhood Teacher Education challenges exclusionary norms by holding teacher education programs accountable for preparing a new generation of anti-racist, equity-focused educators committed to inclusive and transformative change.