Researchers Examine Dual Language Early Ed Learners

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Researchers from the Center for Early Care and Early Education Research – Dual Language Learners at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, recently reviewed many studies to drawn conclusions about English language learners. The center’s research is funded in part by the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Researchers examined children ages zero to five who are learning two languages.

They found that dual language learners are not hurt by being exposed to two languages as they develop. However, their ability in each of the languages will vary based on when they were exposed to each and how often they are able to use the language.

Additionally, the dual language learners are behind other children in phonological skills as infants, but progress during preschool, and then catch up to other children.

Researchers also noted that while the bilingual childrens’ vocabulary in each separate language was smaller than that of children who spoke only one language, when the vocabularies of both languages are combined they become equal. Evidence also suggested that the dual language children began preschool with fewer literacy skills in English than the monolingual children.

Further research has shown that children who learn literacy at home in their first language are more successful in acquiring a second language. They also concluded that successful children are taught by teachers proficient in the child’s first language.

“Problems with DLLs’ development arise when they are not provided sufficient language learning opportunities and support for both languages,” the study says. “When [early childhood education] classrooms place emphasis solely on English development, DLLs’ development in their first language can decline and their abilities in English continue to fall behind those of their English speaking grade level peers.”

Researchers also concluded that bilingual children have many strengths as well, including an ability to focus more while working on nonverbal tasks such as math problems. They also found that bilingual children gain problem solving and memory skills because they must face the challenge of navigating between two languages.

- “Dual Language Learners: Research Informing Policy” Report, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

- Center for Early Care and Education Research – Dual Language Learners

California Migrant Pre-K Program Makes Inroads

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The Central California Migrant Head Start programs can serve as a model of how to effectively welcome Latino families, reports EdSource Today. Children are taught in Spanish and English.

Latino families are less likely to enroll their children in preschool programs than other ethnic groups, but some programs are making inroads. In 2011, the program became one of ten early childhood programs from across the country to be named a Head Start Center of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“We know from 20 years of research that a lot of Latino parents prefer to use home-based care, and that preschools appear to be excessively formal and sometimes not inviting institutions,” University of California, Berkeley education professor Bruce Fuller told the media outlet.

The story describes how 3- and 4-year old children listened to the story of the three little pigs in Spanish–but discussed the story in both English and Spanish. Classroom tools are labeled in both English and Spanish as well.

The program also recruits parents at venues as diverse as churches, flea markets and on farm job sites.

Berta Sanchez said her three-year-old daughter is doing well in the program.

“My daughter knows her ABCs, she knows the song about the ‘little star’ and she can write her name,” Sanchez told EdSource Today.

Other programs making inroads with Latino families and improving early learning opportunities include Abriendo Puertas, HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), and Avance.

Are school districts in your community involved in any similar efforts?

- “A winning Head Start: Program for children from migrant families gets national recognition,” Santa Cruz Sentinel.

- “NCLR Spotlights Four Pre-K Programs Successful With Latino Children,” Latino Ed Beat.

Program Educates Spanish-Speaking Childcare Providers

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Many Latino children who are not yet of school age do not attend preschool–they spend their days in the care of family members, friends or neighbors.

With that in mind, the United Way of Weld County, Colorado, began offering the Providers Advancing School Outcomes, or PASO, program.

PASO targets Spanish-speaking childcare providers who care for children ages zero to 5 in their homes. The program works with providers who have little or no training in early childhood education. The goal is to provide them enough training so they can better prepare children for school and future academic success.

PASO is modeled after the Child Development Associate program, and includes 130 hours of training over a 15-month period. The training deals with topics including cognitive, language, social and motor skills.

The women also receive home visits from mentors known as “tias” (aunts) twice a month, to check on their progress with the children, each of which lasts about 90 minutes.

One example is Mexican immigrant Cecilia Carro, who watches her grandson Charlie and four other children.

“Since I’ve arrived here, I’ve always taken care of kids,” she told KUNC radio. “They grow up; younger ones come to take their place.”

Despite her years of caring for children, before she took part in the PASO program, she didn’t think about reading or teaching activities. Now, things have changed. She tries to focus on writing, reading and making crafts.

Programs such as this one are especially important given the recent emphasis on the importance of early education. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, between 2008 and 2010 about 63 percent of Hispanic three- and four-year olds were not in pre-K programs.

I found PASO an interesting twist on programs that work with Hispanic immigrant mothers to teach them how to become their child’s first teacher (such as AVANCE and HIPPY). The instruction models are very similar. But this program takes into account the fact that many immigrant mothers work. The mothers then turn to informal childcare providers who provide care for free or at a low cost, because they can’t afford professional daycare services.

“We have to meet families where they are, that’s the key,” Jeannine Truswell, president of the United Way of Weld County, told KUNC. “As agencies and organizations, we can’t expect to be sitting here and have people come to us.”

- “United Way, child care providers to increase Latino students’ success rates.” Greeley Tribune.

- FFN PASO Program.

Latino Preschoolers Show Social Strengths

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Latino children may tend to begin preschool with a smaller vocabulary than white children, but some researchers say that doesn’t necessarily mean they lack social and emotional skills.

Part of that could possibly be traced back to the often warm and nurturing home environments that they come from. NPR reporter Claudio Sanchez recently reported on a University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA study that examined 4,700 Latino children when they were between the ages of two and five years old.

“We found that Latino kids bring to school strong emotional skills and strong social skills, which means they know how to share with their peers,” said Claudia Galindo, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, about the report‘s findings. “They know how to follow instructions. They know how to listen. And one other thing that we found is that these kids are being raised in very supportive and warm family environments.”

Bruce Fuller, one of the authors and an education professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said that it’s a mistake to view Latino children as slow or deficient. Education policy-makers mistakenly believe that the issue is “we need to fix the parenting skills,” he told NPR

In a commentary piece in The Next America written by study authors Fuller, Galindo and Alma Guerrero, the three described the childrens’ strengths. They observed that Mexican-American kindergartners “display robust cooperative skills, respect adults, and eagerly participate in classroom tasks, whether their behavior is judged by parents or teachers.”

Despite the parents’ nurturing skills, the children lagged. The researchers noted that Mexican mothers did not read as often to their children, which held back the children’s language and cognitive skills.

- “Study: Mexican American Children Don’t Lag in Social Skills,” Latino Ed Beat.

- “Opinion: Mexican-American Kids Have Better Social Skills, Misunderstood by Institution,” National Journal, The Next America.

- “Mexican American toddlers lag in pre-literacy skills, but not in their social skills, new study shows,” UC Berkeley News Center.

Study: Mexican American Children Don’t Lag in Social Skills

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Mexican-American children may significantly lag behind white children in their early language and cognitive skills–but that doesn’t mean that they are struggling with social skills, according to findings by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, published this week in the Maternal Child Health Journal.

In fact, they find that there are no distinguishable differences in social skills between the two groups, despite economic disparities. They urge that educators and others to “not assume social-emotional delays, even when language or cognitive skills lag somewhat behind.”

According to a press release from UC Berkeley, the researchers included pediatricians, psychologists and a sociologist. The findings are from a sample of 4,700 children tracked for three years between the ages of two and five.

In previous findings, researchers have discovered that concluded that Mexican American children are read to less by their parents than white children and lag in their language skills as early as age two. They also found that despite the developmental gaps, Hispanic mothers have nurturing and warm interactions with their children.

- “The Social Organization of Early Education: Serving Latino Children and Families.” UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education.

- “Study finds Mexican mothers nurturing, but less likely to emphasize education.” Latino Ed Beat.

- “Hispanic Immigrants’ Children Fall Behind Peers Early, Study Finds.” The New York Times.

“Abriendo Puertas” Program to Expand in Chicago

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The “Abriendo Puertas” program aims to empower Hispanic parents to be their children’s first teacher. The initiative, which stands for “Opening Doors” in English, targets parents in Spanish who have children ages zero to five years old.

The Latino Policy Forum recently announced an effort to expand the program’s reach in the Chicago area. The Forum, which has offered the program since 2010, plans on training 1,000 parents in the region by the end of its third year. About 540 parents have been trained since its inception.

Nationally, the program has sites in 31 states serving more than 22,000 families. Parents learn in ten sessions about topics including nutrition, parents as advocates and communication.

The Forum has tracked the attitudes of participating parents. Among the findings:

About 22 percent of parents were not confident about teaching their children language before going through the program, compared with 83 percent afterwards.
About 18 percent of parents said they knew “little” to “nothing” about school expectations at first, compared with 74 percent after completing the program.
About 98.5 percent of the parents felt confident about teaching their children before they enter kindergarten, after completing the program. This included basic skills such as counting, learning colors and letters.

A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, surveyed hundreds of parent participants and found that they improved their knowledge about early learning and brain development , developing literacy and helping their children be successful at school. They also came away more confident about their parenting skills.

The Policy Forum will be offering a workshop on how to train parents from Nov. 26-28 in Chicago. The group expects 14 organizations that serve Latinos to attend, including schools districts and nonprofit groups.

Other programs focusing on Latino parents with similar parent involvement models include HIPPY and AVANCE.

- “Abriendo Puertas” Program Gives Latino Parents a Boost. Latino Ed Beat.

- “Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors Network.” National Head Start Association.

San Antonio Moves Forward With Pre-K 4 SA initiative

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

San Antonio is moving forward with plans to dramatically expand access to pre-K for low-income children, in hopes that the investment will result in raising the city’s education levels over time.

Last week, voters approved a one-eighth cent sales tax increase to fund the Pre-K 4 SA initiative.

The measure is a passion project of Mayor Julián Castro. He campaigned hard for its passage, even mentioning the importance of pre-K as a smart investment in a keynote speech he gave at the Democratic National Convention. Castro proposed the initiative after a city-commissioned task force recommended that expanding early learning would have the greatest positive impact on improving education levels in the city.

According to the mayor’s office, there are about 5,700 4-year-olds in San Antonio who are eligible for state-funded pre-K but are not enrolled in full-day programs. Some are not enrolled in any programs and others are in half-day programs. Officials estimate that the funding raised by the tax increase could provide full-day classes to more than 22,000 children over the next eight years. The city plans to open four education centers of excellence with classrooms, rooms for use by parents and teacher training space.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that the tax should generate about $31 million a year, which could serve about 3,700 children each year.

The San Antonio initiative represents a substantial commitment to improving access that Hispanic children have to pre-K classes. Hispanic children lag other groups in participation rates in preschool.

Latinos comprised about 91 percent of the roughly 55,000 students attending the San Antonio Independent School District in 2011. About 93 percent of the district’s students are classified as economically disadvantaged. The district plans on working with the city on carrying out the plan.

The Express-News reported that voters in more heavily Latino and black precincts tended to favor the measure far more than those living in areas with mostly white voters. Voters from low through middle income levels supported the measure more than those in affluent areas. The measure passed with about 54 percent of the vote.

“Folks from across the city made a great decision to invest in education today so that we can be more economically prosperous tomorrow,” Castro told the newspaper. “I am proud of the broad coalition behind the effort. It showed that in San Antonio, we’re working well together to accomplish important things for our city.”

Related Links:

- Pre-K 4 San Antonio

- “Pre-K wheels are turning in election’s wake.” San Antonio Express-News.

- “Pre-K plan stimulated important decision.” San Antonio Express-News.

- “Pre-K support was tied to income.” San Antonio Express-News.

New NCLR Web Tool Provides Detailed Data on Latino Children

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The National Council of La Raza has a new online web tool that allows users to delve into detailed data on the well-being of Latino children across the country.

The Latino Kids Data Explorer breaks down information by numerous searchable categories including education, health, juvenile justice, citizenship status and family structure/income. Data can be further broken down by age, year and state.

For example, in the education category, users can search data including the percent of eighth graders below basic proficiency in math and reading, the percentage of children whose children read to them fewer than three times a week, and participation rates in preschool.

In a separate fact sheet, Building a Brighter Future 2012, the group cites the significant barriers to educational success that Hispanic children face. NCLR cites a number of factors, including higher rates of poverty and a greater likelihood to lack health insurance. Hispanic children also have lower rates of preschool attendance and are less likely to be read to by their parents than other groups. The group considers the report a call to action–and promotes a focus on improving Hispanic children’s access to quality early education programs.

The group uses the power of numbers to highlight the importance of improving outcomes for Latino children. Between April 2010 and July 2011, Latinos made up 26 percent of all babies born in the United States. Hispanic children ages zero to eight years old make up a little more than 25 percent of all children in the age category. Another statistic may surprise people who assume that Latinos are disproportionately made up of immigrants–the group says that about 92.4 percent of Latinos ages zero to 17 are U.S. citizens.

“If today’s young Latino child is not adequately prepared to enter the workforce ready to compete in the global economy, then our nation is neglecting an important segment of the population crucial to our future growth and economic success,” cites the fact sheet released by the organization.

- Latino Kids Data Explorer. National Council of La Raza.

- “New Online Resource Provides Data Tables on Latino Children.” Learning the Language blog. Education Week.

“Abriendo Puertas” Program Gives Latino Parents a Boost

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, highlights a program that is helping Latino parents to work with their young children to prepare them for school.

The study looks at the “Abriendo Puertas” parent program, which is being used by Head Start, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and is expanding nationally. It already has sites in 31 states serving 22,000 families. Many Hispanic children enter school already behind academically and developmentally, and the program aims to close those gaps.

Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors is taught in Spanish or English and is composed of ten sessions that focus on topics including early learning, communication, nutrition, parents as advocates and using the library. Participants are parents with children of ages zero through 5 years old.

Principal investigator Margaret Bridges of UC Berkeley said that the program has proved effective because the interactions parents have with their children at a young age determine how prepared they will be when they enter school.

The research was based on a survey given to parents before and after completing the program, and was taken by 623 parents in 35 different programs. About 85 percent of parents surveyed were immigrants, mostly from Mexico.

A survey given to parents showed that they improved their knowledge about early learning and brain development. They also increased their knowledge about how to help their children be successful at school and how to develop literacy.

When parents were asked seven questions about how to help young children be successful in school about 12 percent of parents answered correctly before taking part in Abriendo Puertas, and 77 percent answered correctly after completing the program.

Parents also reported feeling much more confident about their parenting skills after taking part in the program.

“Parents have a real hunger for information that will enrich their parenting, and they have indicated that Abriendo Puertas has been an invaluable resource,” said Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum, in the report. “Parents, organizations and schools have expressed tremendous gratitude for having this incredible program available in Spanish.”

Other programs with similar parent involvement efforts include HIPPY and AVANCE.

- Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors Network. National Head Start Association.

Report: Less than 6 Percent of Illinois Pre-K Teachers Trained to Teach ELLs

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that very few pre-K teachers in Illinois have been trained to teach English language learners. The study also raised further concerns with its survey results, which found that few of those educators are interested in acquiring that training.

English language learners account for one-third of Hispanic schoolchildren in the state. About 20 percent of the Illinois kindergartners are ELLs–most of whom are Spanish-speaking.

The state has made a big push for expansion of bilingual education. By 2014, the state wants state-funded, school district-based, pre-k classes with 20 or more English learners to be led by a teacher certified in either bilingual instruction or English as a second language, in addition to being trained to work with pre-K students.

The UC-Berkeley researchers surveyed 354 preschool programs and 307 educators representing about 2,600 teachers. It encompassed programs serving nearly 65,000 students, 27 percent of whom are ELLs.

Their results show that the state’s goals have yet to match up with reality. Currently, in predominantly Latino communities, the ratio of English language learner students to trained bilingual teachers is 50 students per every one teacher.

Fewer than 6 percent of all pre-K teachers surveyed are currently are dually endorsed with bilingual/ESL and early childhood certifications, compared with about 9 percent of teachers in high-Latino communities. The researchers conclude that this disparity raises concerns about teacher quality.

In addition, the survey shows that about 45 percent of administrators see little need for teachers to have ESL training. In heavily Latino communities, about 42 percent of administrators saw a significant need for the training. In both cases, they were reluctant because of the costs associated and the time commitment that would be required.

“…Preschool itself isn’t a silver bullet,” Margaret Bridges, a senior researcher at UC-Berkeley’s Institute of Human Development, said in a press announcement about the study. “Quality matters. And as classrooms become more diverse, the cultural and linguistic competencies of teachers are very real factors in a child’s academic success.”

The study is part of the New Journalism on Latino Children project based at UC-Berkeley, and produced in partnership with the Illinois Early Learning Council and the Chicago-based Latino Policy Forum.

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