A new report from CLASP describes the ways in which the data collection, analysis, and dissemination practices underlying early childhood research and policymaking are shaped by systemic racism and white supremacy. As a result, these practices reinforce inequity via siloed and inadequate data processes and related decision making. The report highlights ways that racist structures not specific to early childhood in fact interact with early childhood care and education availability, affordability, and quality in ways that are both diverse and unique for communities of color. The report suggests embedding community engagement frameworks at each point in the decision making process is central to addressing these challenges, and points to specific strategies that decisionmakers can utilize in doing so. Some of these strategies include reconfiguring power structures to position impacted communities in leadership roles and moving beyond simple disaggregation of outcomes to collecting and analyzing data in ways more resonant with impacted communities. #education #covid-19 #racialequity
