ABSTRACT
Children come from a range of home and family backgrounds. Schools sometimes present an assumption that families are nuclear, through the stories and images they display, through teacher language and through the images that are present in and absent from classrooms. This chapter explores how an inclusive approach to family life can be developed so that children from diverse and varied backgrounds feel that their lives and experiences are valued and appreciated. As educators it is important to consider that whatever our own experience may be,
and whatever our views on the ways in which families should be constructed or function, the children in our care did not choose the circumstances of their birth and have probably not been able to choose their own family or with whom they live. However, by the ways in which teachers relate to parents and carers, the ways in which they develop their classroom environments and the attitudes they exhibit they can send out very significant messages about the importance of family life and the values they place on different kinds of families. This includes attitudes to same sex parents/carers, those from different social classes and ethnic backgrounds or those with disabilities. This chapter considers this powerful position and explores opportunities to ensure that all children are welcomed and respected and that diversity is valued. Importantly, it considers how classrooms and schools can reflect the diversity of society in order to promote understanding and respect.
