Author: Rachel Burger          Major: Human Development and Family Science 

Rachel reading an English/Russian version of The Rainbow Fish in the library to two children.

Throughout the Spring 2021 semester, I worked alongside my mentor and a few educators to create a children’s library in an early childhood development center that focused on cultural competence. My name is Rachel Burger, I majored in both Spanish and Human Development and Family Science, I received my Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in Summer 2020, and I received my Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Sciences in Spring 2021. I am grateful to have had Donia Timby of the School of Human Environmental Sciences as my academic advisor and honors mentor. My future plan is to become a Certified Child Life Specialist and work in a children’s hospital.

My research consisted of a creative project that entailed transforming a previous space at a child development center into a children’s library space. The purpose of this library was to focus on cultural competence as well as be linguistically inclusive so that the children at the center could get an early start on being exposed to and learning about other cultures, traditions, family structures, religions, and languages. I hope that other students are able to take my research and creative project of a culturally competent children’s library and expand upon it. There is a lot to be explored when it comes to the topic of cultural competence, especially how it relates to children.  It was in the Multicultural Families course taught by Dr. Jacquelyn Mosley, I was introduced to the topic of cultural competence and became very passionate about the subject, and I have always been very interested in other cultures and languages. It was then suggested by my meteor Ms. Timby that I combine some of my interests to transform a space into a culturally competent library that features books in several languages. My research idea also came about in part to the research conducted by Sara Fanous, a fellow University of Arkansas graduate.

Throughout the entirety of my research and project completion, my mentor was extremely helpful. She guided me during the planning process, assisted me with the ordering of materials, and supported me every step of the way. I additionally created a library committee at the childhood education center that consisted of two educators. The purpose of this was to get extra help, ensure that the library reflected the needs and desires of the center, and hopefully get the educators invested in the new library. The biggest challenge of the project was the extensive amount of groundwork that had to be done. There was a large amount of furniture and materials in the previous space that had to be gone through, sorted, and removed. There were also hundreds of previously existing books that had to be reviewed, checked for damage, labeled, and sorted.

It was only after the old space was organized and nearly empty was I able to truly begin the transformation process. I ordered a total of 154 new books that emphasized cultural competence and represented a wide variety of cultures, religions, family structures, traditions, holidays, lifestyles, languages, and ability levels. There are now a total of nineteen different languages represented in the new culturally competent library. Additionally, new furniture and decor items such as rugs, baskets, chairs, plants, and active play items were also purchased to fully transform the space. Now, the library is a colorful, relaxing space that children from birth to preschool can enjoy safely. It is a place for children to come to explore new ideas, cultures, and languages. My hope is that it fosters a desire for learning about the world around them and the people around them, and in turn, will lead them to be more respectful of people’s differences.

I am excited to share that I have been accepted into the University of Arkansas HESC Master’s program for Fall 2021. I look forward to continuing my education at the U of A. Additionally, I have also accepted a Fall 2021 child life internship at UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center in Worcester, MA. I will be participating in this while also enrolled in the graduate program. After completing this internship and obtaining my Master’s degree, I hope to become a Certified Child Life Specialist. I hope that I am able to continue research regarding cultural competence in graduate school.