Dina C. Castro

Advancing Early Literacy Learning for All Children: Implications of the NELP Report for Dual-Language Learners

The authors examine the implications and limitations of the National Early Literacy Panel report on the early care of young children who are dual-language learners (DLLs). They examine the relevance of the report for DLLs, particularly the practice in this and other national synthesis reports of extrapolating implications for the education of young DLLs based on a broader population of children. The article addresses the existing gaps in knowledge about literacy practices—knowledge that is central to the development of sound and appropriate educational policies and practices that support DLLs’ full development as language and literacy learners.

Growing Healthy Kids: A Community Garden–Based Obesity Prevention Program

BACKGROUND Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the past 3 decades, particularly among children aged 2-5 years. In this group, Latino children are among those with the highest prevalence of obesity. PURPOSE This paper describes a pilot study to evaluate a community intervention, known as the Growing Healthy Kids Program (GHK), to prevent childhood obesity among low-income families in a Southern state. METHODS The intervention included a weekly gardening session, a 7-week cooking and nutrition workshop, and social events for parents and children. Matched pre- and post-program height and weight data were collected for 95 children aged 2-15 years. Childrens BMI was determined. Also, families reported on the availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables at the beginning and the end of the familys participation in the GHK program. Data were collected in 2008-2010 and analyzed in 2011. RESULTS About 60% of participants who enrolled in the program were Latino families (n=60 families/120 children). By the end of their participation in the program, 17% (n=6, p<0.004) of obese or overweight children had improved their BMI classification and 100% of the children with a BMI classification of normal had maintained that BMI classification. According to parental reports, there was an increase of 146% (p<0.001) in the availability of fruits and vegetables and an increase in the consumption of fruits (28%; p<0.001) and vegetables (33%; p<0.001) among children of families participating in the GHK program. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this pilot study are consistent with previous studies reporting an increase in availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables among families participating in community gardens. Although there are limitations because this is a pilot study, this strategy seems to be promising for addressing childhood obesity, particularly among low-income Latino immigrant families.

Explaining the Birth Weight Paradox: Latina Immigrants' Perceptions of Resilience and Risk

In the US, prenatal care is positively associated with improved birth outcomes. However, among Mexican-born Latinos, rates of low birth weight are lower than those of US-born counterparts despite the fact that recently arrived Latino immigrants are less likely to have received adequate prenatal care. The “birth weight paradox,” identified through analysis of the HHANES, appears to hold constant across variations in age, marital status or educational attainment. The authors explore Latina immigrants perceptions of resilience factors related to these better birth outcomes through focused group interviews, photonarratives, and documentation of local kin networks. The womens responses are grouped into five resilience factors and one risk complex that have the potential to further explain the HHANES findings. Womens responses, the stories of their photographs, and kin networks are presented. Knowledge of these protective and risk factors can be useful to health professionals and Latino advocacy groups in the design of community-based interventions that protect health status and promote the practice of protective health behaviors within immigrant families and communities.

A culturally and linguistically responsive vocabulary approach for young Latino dual language learners

PURPOSE This study examined the role of the language of vocabulary instruction in promoting English vocabulary in preschool Latino dual language learners (DLLs). The authors compared the effectiveness of delivering a single evidence-informed vocabulary approach using English as the language of vocabulary instruction (English culturally responsive [ECR]) versus using a bilingual modality that strategically combined Spanish and English (culturally and linguistically responsive [CLR]). METHOD Forty-two DLL Spanish-speaking preschoolers were randomly assigned to the ECR group (n=22) or CLR group (n=20). Thirty English words were presented during small-group shared readings in their preschools 3 times a week for 5 weeks. Multilevel models were used to examine group differences in postinstruction scores on 2 Spanish and 2 English vocabulary assessments at instruction end and follow-up. RESULTS Children receiving instruction in the CLR bilingual modality had significantly higher posttest scores (than those receiving the ECR English-only instruction) on Spanish and English vocabulary assessments at instruction end and on the Spanish vocabulary assessment at follow-up, even after controlling for preinstruction scores. CONCLUSIONS The results provide additional evidence of the benefits of strategically combining the first and second language to promote English and Spanish vocabulary development in this population. Future directions for research and clinical applications are discussed.

Oral language and reading abilities of first-grade Peruvian children: Associations with child and family factors

This study investigated the relationship between selected child and family demographic characteristics (child age, child sex, child birth order, maternal education, and parent language status), family processes (parent-to-child reading at home, and parent expectations about child’s educational attainment), and preschool experience with poor Peruvian first-grade children’s oral language and reading abilities, and examined whether those factors help to explain differences among children living in poverty. First-grade students (N = 137) of five schools in a poor neighbourhood of Lima, Peru participated in the study. Children were given picture vocabulary, verbal analogies, letter-word identification, and reading comprehension tests. Information about the children and their families was gathered through parent interviews. Children whose parents had higher expectations obtained higher scores on picture vocabulary, verbal analogies, letter-word identification and reading comprehension. Children who attended private and public preschools obtained higher scores in letter-word identification than those who did not attend preschool. These findings support previous research on the relevance of family beliefs, above and beyond sociodemographic variables, as contributors to children’s oral language and reading, and provide some evidence of the benefits of preschool among children living in poverty. Future research is recommended to identify the specific strategies used by low-income Peruvian parents with high expectations to support their children’s language and reading; and to determine the relationships between type and quality in Peruvian preschool programmes, and programme practices that may differentially affect children’s language and reading skills.

Early Intervention Services Assessment Scale (EISAS) - Conceptualization and development of a program quality self-assessment instrument

Quality practices in early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families are presently the focus of considerable attention in the field. This article details the conceptualization and development of the Early Intervention Services Assessment Scale (EISAS), a comprehensive self-assessment instrument designed for use by early intervention programs to assess the quality of services provided to infants and young children with disabilities and their families. The EISAS consists of 2 conceptually congruent components: the program self-assessment and the parent survey. The instrument is developed to reflect core values and principles of early intervention practice, it is strongly informed by the DEC Recommended Practices, and benefited from broad-based constituent input. Potential strengths and limitations of the EISAS are discussed as well as next steps in exploring the feasibility and utility of this measure as an assessment of early intervention program quality.

Young dual language learners’ emergent writing development

ABSTRACT This study examined how early writing develops in Spanish–English-speaking children of Mexican and Central American descent who are dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States. The emergent writing skills in Spanish and English of 140 preschoolers in a multisite study were assessed using name- and word-writing tasks during the children’s prekindergarten year. A subset of children were assessed in Kindergarten. Findings suggest that Spanish–English DLLs exhibit a similar progression in their conceptualization of writing to monolingual preschool-aged children, progressing from universal to language-specific writing features. Similarities in the development of the conceptualization of the writing systems specific to each of their languages were also observed. Strong cross-linguistic association between writing words in English and Spanish from fall to spring was found in the children’s earlier phases of writing conceptualization. Vocabulary skills also seem to influence their writing development after phonological analysis skills have emerged.

Child Care Experiences Among Dual Language Learners in the United States

Although quality center-based child care is helpful in promoting school readiness for dual language learners (DLLs), little is known about the nonparental child care that young DLL children experience. DLL status is often confounded with immigrant status, ethnicity, and poverty. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort, we examined child care experiences with repeated cross-sectional analyses at 9, 24, and 52 months for DLL and non-DLL children. After accounting for demographic and contextual factors, we found few differences in the quality and type of child care experienced by DLL children and children who hear only English in the home. Child care experiences were more related to country of origin, ethnicity, or immigrant status than DLL status. Nonparental caregivers were more likely to speak the child’s home language in home-based care than center care. Findings illustrate the importance of distinguishing among DLL status, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, country of origin, and immigrant status when considering the child care experiences of DLLs.