An Expert’s Insight: Jill McFarren Aviles on Diversity and Inclusion in the Early Years

Building inclusive communities that embrace diversity is a complex and ongoing process that must take into consideration everyone, particularly children. Helping children from an early age understand their sense of self and identity is important in building empathy and understanding of others. In this Expert’s Insight video, the ideas established by Dr. Reza in her video are applied even earlier into childhood, exploring how diversity and inclusion can be addressed among the youngest children.

Jill McFarren Aviles joins us to discuss how young children begin learning about their place in the world and the similarities and differences in others. In the interview linked below, McFarren Aviles (brief professional bio posted below the video) provides insight into how caregivers and teachers can help children build their sense of self and embrace the diversity of others, while creating more inclusive learning environments for every child.

Some of the questions McFarren Aviles addresses in the interview include:

• At what age do children start forming ideas about themselves and the world around them?
• What is a caregiver’s role in helping infants and toddlers understand the importance of inclusion and diversity?
• What does an ideal early learning program that embraces inclusion and diversity look like?

Moments of reflection in the video allow viewers to imagine how the ideas McFarren Aviles shares can impact their own learning environment. We encourage viewers to pause the video when the questions appear and consider each of them.

This is the second Expert’s Insight video released by CE International. Each video is designed to highlight diverse professional perspectives, such as that of McFarren Aviles, to increase awareness of unique approaches to important topics.

Professional Bio of Jill McFarren Aviles:

Jill McFarren Aviles, CE International Senior Consultant, is the Founder/Director of McFarren Aviles & Associates, LLC, whose mission is to foster leaders in early childhood development. She has over 39 years of experience working in the United States, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, providing customized training, technical assistance, and coaching to early care and education staff, parents, government, and non-governmental organizations. Her expertise includes developing and evaluating bilingual/multicultural early care and education programs, as well as curricula for trainers and educators.

To learn more about Jill McFarren Aviles and her work, please visit her website at https://mcfarrenaviles.com/