Papers by AnnMarie Alberton Gunn
Children’s names reflect their gender, culture, religion,
language, and family history. Use of st... more Children’s names reflect their gender, culture, religion,
language, and family history. Use of students’
personal names has the power to positively affirm
identity and signal belonging within the classroom
and school community. However, naming practices
also have the power to exclude, stereotype, or disadvantage
students. For many students from
diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, their
names can be a source of cultural conflict and a
watershed for issues of identity and belonging
within the school setting. Through multicultural
explorations of students’ names, educators can
affirm students’ cultures and identities, and draw
upon these as resources to support learning and
development from early childhood through the adolescent
years. The purpose of this article is to (a)
discuss the importance of a person’s name to cultural
identity, (b) describe strategies to build multicultural
communities in K-8 classrooms through
exploration of students’ names, and (c) suggest
multicultural children’s literature and curricular
activities to teach about the importance of personal
names, and develop cross-cultural understandings.
Teacher Development, 2015
ABSTRACT
Childhood Education, 2014
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Papers by AnnMarie Alberton Gunn
language, and family history. Use of students’
personal names has the power to positively affirm
identity and signal belonging within the classroom
and school community. However, naming practices
also have the power to exclude, stereotype, or disadvantage
students. For many students from
diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, their
names can be a source of cultural conflict and a
watershed for issues of identity and belonging
within the school setting. Through multicultural
explorations of students’ names, educators can
affirm students’ cultures and identities, and draw
upon these as resources to support learning and
development from early childhood through the adolescent
years. The purpose of this article is to (a)
discuss the importance of a person’s name to cultural
identity, (b) describe strategies to build multicultural
communities in K-8 classrooms through
exploration of students’ names, and (c) suggest
multicultural children’s literature and curricular
activities to teach about the importance of personal
names, and develop cross-cultural understandings.
language, and family history. Use of students’
personal names has the power to positively affirm
identity and signal belonging within the classroom
and school community. However, naming practices
also have the power to exclude, stereotype, or disadvantage
students. For many students from
diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, their
names can be a source of cultural conflict and a
watershed for issues of identity and belonging
within the school setting. Through multicultural
explorations of students’ names, educators can
affirm students’ cultures and identities, and draw
upon these as resources to support learning and
development from early childhood through the adolescent
years. The purpose of this article is to (a)
discuss the importance of a person’s name to cultural
identity, (b) describe strategies to build multicultural
communities in K-8 classrooms through
exploration of students’ names, and (c) suggest
multicultural children’s literature and curricular
activities to teach about the importance of personal
names, and develop cross-cultural understandings.