Imagine, if you moved to a new place and suddenly everything was new and different. Perhaps you were expected to let go of your own language, identity, beliefs, and practices about raising your children. Perhaps you were asked to do things differently and in ways that didn't make sense to you. Think about Alberta's (or your own country's) early learning and care system. What beliefs and values about child development underpin the system? How might these be different or similar to the families you work with? Or think about your own assumptions related to optimal learning and development outcomes for young children. How might those be similar and /or differ to families who are raising their children to belong in two or more cultures.
In partnership with the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative and a Knowledge Exchange Advisory comprised of representatives from government, school boards, and community organizations, Multicultural Early Childhood Assessment Learning (MECAL) created knowledge and tools to facilitate a deeper understanding of the cultural, pre-and post-migration realities of immigrant and refugee families with young children.
An informative video outlining the RAISED Between Cultures model and a reflective guidebook elaborating on the model can be access in the Resources Section of our website.