Opening young minds and hearts: Employing technology-infused critical pedagogy in hybrid border spaces

Abstract

The large influx of immigrant children in the American classroom is deepening the ethnic texture and the linguistic and cultural diversity of classrooms. Given that 70 % of the world’s cultures have a more collaborative, interdependent orientation than is found in the dominant culture in some regions, early childhood educators worldwide need to create learning spaces that support acculturation in all rather than assimilation in those who identify with non-dominant groups. In this chapter, the author provides the reader with a minoritized perspective which is often absent from the mainstream discourse in teacher education. She describe ways in which educators and caregivers of young children can create technology-infused hybrid border spaces where effective cross-cultural interaction and transformative learning can take place.