Beyond Invisibility: Early Childhood Teachers' Inclusion of Rainbow Families

Despite increasing understanding of the importance of including children and families from diverse backgrounds and family structures within early childhood education (ECE) programmes, little attention has been paid to how children and parents from Rainbow Families are included. This article draws on findings from two studies in Aotearoa New Zealand: the first was a national mixed-methods study focused on ECE teachers' perceptions and practices regarding work with children and families from diverse backgrounds, including those from Rainbow Families. The second study was a small qualitative research project that investigated four lesbian ECE teachers' experiences, and active disruption of heteronormative dominance within their ECE settings. Data from across the two projects reveal that there are risks for both parents from Rainbow Families and lesbian and gay teachers in being open about their family structures or sexual orientation and that there is silence, and thus a resulting invisibility, about Rainbow Families within ECE programmes. These findings have implications for ECE teachers' practice, particularly as teachers and teacher educators in many locations work to address issues of exclusion and bias and to create environments where children and their parents are welcomed and have a sense of belonging and inclusion.