Persona dolls and anti-bias curriculum practice with young children : a case study of early childhood development teachers
type: CreativeWork
description: Anti-discrimination, one of the central principles of South Africa's Constitution and Bill of Rights, is central to the Early Childhood Development curriculum. The anti-bias, or anti-discrimination, approach challenges prejudice and oppression of all kinds and aims to develop self-esteem, respect for diversity, awareness of human rights, and a sense of fairness in all children. This study examines the use of the Persona Doll Approach as a component of anti-bias practice in order to learn more about the approach, and about how it is used to engage with the realities of bias in the ECD phase of education in the South African context of poverty, and past and present discrimination. The study was conducted under the auspices of Persona Doll Training, South Africa (2003 - ). Four hundred and twenty Early Childhood Development, foundation phase and preschool teachers from different socio economic, rural and urban contexts in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, participated in the study. All of the teachers received Persona Doll Approach training, which they then applied in their classrooms. The study adopted a qualitative approach that included teacher questionnaires, observations, interviews and trainer reports, to gain an understanding of how the teachers used the Approach and what anti-bias understandings were reflected in their practice. Vignettes based on observations were constructed to illustrate the application of the Approach. They provide a vivid picture of the classroom situation and atmosphere. Four Anti-bias Goals: Identity and self-esteem, empathy, unlearning negative attitudes, and problem-posing/ activist approach provided the conceptual framework for the study. The findings indicate that the PDA training and subsequent classroom implementation led, to a greater or lesser extent, to improved self-esteem, empathy and the ability to challenge and unlearn discrimination among both the teachers and the children. Thus, the Anti-bias Goals were achieved, …
abstract: Anti-discrimination, one of the central principles of South Africa's Constitution and Bill of Rights, is central to the Early Childhood Development curriculum. The anti-bias, or anti-discrimination, approach challenges prejudice and oppression of all kinds and aims to develop self-esteem, respect for diversity, awareness of human rights, and a sense of fairness in all children. This study examines the use of the Persona Doll Approach as a component of anti-bias practice in order to learn more about the approach, and about how it is used to engage with the realities of bias in the ECD phase of education in the South African context of poverty, and past and present discrimination. The study was conducted under the auspices of Persona Doll Training, South Africa (2003 - ). Four hundred and twenty Early Childhood Development, foundation phase and preschool teachers from different socio economic, rural and urban contexts in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, participated in the study. All of the teachers received Persona Doll Approach training, which they then applied in their classrooms. The study adopted a qualitative approach that included teacher questionnaires, observations, interviews and trainer reports, to gain an understanding of how the teachers used the Approach and what anti-bias understandings were reflected in their practice. Vignettes based on observations were constructed to illustrate the application of the Approach. They provide a vivid picture of the classroom situation and atmosphere. Four Anti-bias Goals: Identity and self-esteem, empathy, unlearning negative attitudes, and problem-posing/ activist approach provided the conceptual framework for the study. The findings indicate that the PDA training and subsequent classroom implementation led, to a greater or lesser extent, to improved self-esteem, empathy and the ability to challenge and unlearn discrimination among both the teachers and the children. Thus, the Anti-bias Goals were achieved, …
author: Smith, Carol
language: eng
date published: 2009
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:33Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: School of Education

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9016