“And you’re out!” – Insti­tu­tio­nal Racism in Early Child­hood Education

Bar­riers to Access and Par­ti­ci­pa­tion Prac­ti­ces in Ber­lin Day­care Centers

The study exami­nes insti­tu­tio­nal racism in Berlin’s early child­hood edu­ca­tion sys­tem and ana­ly­zes how insti­tu­tio­nal frame­works, cate­go­riza­tion prac­ti­ces, and ever­y­day rou­ti­nes (re)produce social ine­qua­li­ties in early child­hood edu­ca­tion. This article high­lights how bar­riers to access, struc­tu­ral bot­t­len­ecks, and insti­tu­tio­nal sel­ec­tion mecha­nisms con­tri­bute to une­qual oppor­tu­ni­ties in early child­hood edu­ca­tion for child­ren with a migrant background—particularly racia­li­zed child­ren. The explo­ra­tory ana­ly­sis illus­tra­tes that legal opti­ons available to fami­lies are often limi­ted in prac­tice. The shortage of qua­li­fied staff not only exa­cer­ba­tes access issues but also nega­tively impacts the qua­lity of edu­ca­tio­nal work. Pro­fes­sio­nals in this field find them­sel­ves caught bet­ween pro­fes­sio­nal stan­dards and struc­tu­ral resource cons­traints. The fin­dings unders­core the need for sys­te­ma­ti­cally embedded anti-racist and inter­sec­tional approa­ches in policy, admi­nis­tra­tion, and edu­ca­tio­nal prac­tice to ensure that early child­hood edu­ca­tion pro­vi­des equal oppor­tu­ni­ties for all. 

Bos­tancı, Sey­ran; Wirth, Bene­dikt (2025): “And You’re Out!” – Insti­tu­tio­nal Racism in Early Child­hood Edu­ca­tion: Bar­riers to Access and Prac­ti­ces of Par­ti­ci­pa­tion in Ber­lin Day­care Cen­ters. DeZIM Working Papers 8, Ber­lin: Ger­man Cen­ter for Inte­gra­tion and Migra­tion Rese­arch (DeZIM).

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