Leslie Reese

Effects of Literacy Materials from School on Latino Children's Home Experiences and Early Reading Achievement

Yearlong case studies of 10 Hispanic kindergartners were conducted. Findings indicated that (1) the school had a large impact on childrens home literacy experiences, (2) photocopied storybooks and work sheets sent home by childrens teachers stimulated literacy experiences that were unique to each in some ways but similar in others, (3) although children in classrooms using photocopied storybooks had higher literacy test scores, the use of booklets in the home was not related to literacy achievement, whereas work sheet use at home was strongly and positively related to achievement. The studys implications for home-school literacy connections to support childrens academic achievement are discussed.

Behavior Sampling and Ethnography: Complementary Methods for Understanding Home-School Connections among Latino Immigrant Families

Both ethnography and experience-sampling methods (ESMs) are effective for assessing childrens home activities. The authors combined them to examine home activities that were school-like, complementary to school, or unrelated to school. The activities were then related to childrens school achievement in a sample of low-income Latino immigrant families and their tento eleven-year-old children at risk for low school achievement. Children reported a wide variety of types of activities in their evening routines. Children with higher school achievement were engaged in chores; homework; monitored outside activities; family social activities and hobbies; and self-directed, goal-oriented activities. Children with lower levels of school achievement tended to be engaged in more television, video games, peer and solitary play, and resting. ESMs are a valuable and effective complement to ethnographic and school achievement data in the study of home activities and home-school relationships.

Storytelling in Mexican Homes: Connections Between Oral and Literacy Practices

The study focuses on storytelling among Mexican families, documenting the frequency of storytelling in the homes of working- and middle-class Mexican families, the range of topics of the stories, characteristics and genres of stories, and intergenerational continuity of storytelling practices. Also examined are potential associations between storytelling practices and childrens performance on language and early reading tasks. This qualitative study draws from interview data with 30 families, supplemented with survey and outcome data from the larger mixed-method project of which it forms a part. Storytelling continues to be a widespread but not frequent activity, including genres of family anecdotes, horror stories, folktales, and historical recounts. Storytelling as a cultural resource is discussed.

Interlocutor differential effects on the expressive language skills of Spanish-speaking English learners

Abstract Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between language use with different interlocutors, maternal education level and the expressive language skills of US English learners (ELs) in Spanish and English. Method: Two hundred and twenty-four Spanish-speaking ELs in kindergarten provided narrative language samples in Spanish and English. Parents completed a questionnaire of maternal education level and language use with parents, older siblings and peers. Result: Multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated that language used with different interlocutors and maternal education level had unique effects on participants’ expressive language skills. ELs’ expressive language skills in English were predicted by interactions with older siblings, peers and maternal education level; Spanish expressive language skills were predicted by interactions with older siblings. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that the determination of language experience of school-age bilingual children should examine differential language use with multiple interlocutors, particularly interactions with older siblings and peers.

How Important Is Teaching Phonemic Awareness to Children Learning to Read in Spanish

This comparative study examines relationships between phonemic awareness and Spanish reading skill acquisition among three groups of Spanish-speaking first and second graders: children in Mexico receiving reading instruction in Spanish and children in the United States receiving reading instruction in either Spanish or English. Children were tested on Spanish oral language and reading skills in fall and spring of Grades 1 and 2. Children in Mexico were the lowest in phonemic awareness among the three groups and very low in their entering first-grade reading skills. However, they ended second grade matching or surpassing the reading skills of the U.S. students while remaining lower in phonemic awareness. Findings cast doubt on whether phonemic awareness instruction is helpful for children learning to read in Spanish.

Mexican parents’ and teachers’ literacy perspectives and practices: construction of cultural capital

This article examines the relationships among the literacy practices engaged in by first-grade children and parents at home and the ways in which these practices are communicated, shaped, and fostered by teachers and administrators in two different sociocultural environments in urban Mexico. The differences observed between the home literacy experiences of children in a working-class and a middle-class community included transgenerational communication of assumptions regarding literacy and schooling, as well as attitudes associated with the parents’ own school experiences. Class-based expectations on the part of teachers not only shaped interactions with parents, but were also reflected in the way the national curriculum was delivered, with a greater emphasis on rote skills and traditional reading instruction in the working-class community. The authors argue that the school plays a role in the co-production of cultural capital in the home through its shaping of some of the literacy practices that children and families undertake.

Variability in Community Characteristics and Spanish-Speaking Children's Home Language and Literacy Opportunities

Abstract Drawing on data from 14 communities in California and Texas, this paper examines the variability in language and literacy resources across communities with large numbers of Latino families. Spanish-speaking children live in communities that vary considerably with respect to language use, ethnic composition and education levels. Childrens community experiences vary with respect to exposure to English and Spanish and in terms of access to print materials in one or both languages. Immigrant Spanish-speaking families residing in these communities also demonstrate variation with respect to home literacy practices. However, community-level characteristics only modestly predict a few aspects of childrens language and literacy experiences. While this suggests that community characteristics can influence childrens language and literacy opportunities (relative to Spanish-speaking children in other communities), the weak associations also show that educators should not presume to know childrens home language and literacy experiences based on observable community characteristics. Overall, school-related literacy was the most common and frequent type of literacy activity in the home across communities. Schools provided literacy materials and activities to families in communities where they were lacking, thereby helping compensate for an overall scarcity of literacy opportunities for children in the low-income communities in which they resided.

Emotionally Supportive Classroom Contexts for Young Latino Children in Rural California

Some have described the academic underperformance of Latino children, on the one hand, and their relatively strong socioemotional competencies on the other, as a “Latino Paradox.” We unpack the affective climate of early elementary classrooms to explore how this paradox is addressed in a rural school district where children from low-income Latino families predominate. Using quantitative and qualitative data from a reliable observation instrument, we describe the quality of “emotional support” rendered through classroom interactions, analyze relationships between emotional support and a series of teacher characteristics, and assess how highly supportive teachers interact differently than less supportive teachers in ways that are responsive to children’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds. We provide evidence—Spanish use associated with greater emotional support—for attending to both universal and cultural dimensions of classroom interactions to address the Latino paradox.

Social Competence and Oral Language Development for Young Children of Latino Immigrants

Research Findings: In this study we analyze how parent and teacher ratings of young Latino children’s social competencies in rural California are associated with children’s oral language development. We find (a) that there is considerable incongruence between parent and teacher ratings of child social competence, (b) that both parent and teacher ratings account for meaningful variation in children’s oral language development, and (c) that incongruence between parent and teacher ratings is associated with oral language above and beyond the effects of parent and teacher ratings alone. Practice or Policy: Young Latino children’s social competencies contribute to their oral language development. These competencies represent an important, though to date underutilized, asset for building stronger academic/language functioning. Part of the paradoxical development of Latino children (i.e., strong social though weak academic/language competence) could be attributable to cultural differences that underlie teacher and parent perceptions of social competence. Teachers of young Latino children should (a) be aware of the cultural nature of social competence and (b) explore culturally responsive ways of interacting in classrooms to build stronger oral language functioning.

Reading Trajectories of Immigrant Latino Students in Transitional Bilingual Programs.

Abstract Using data from a random sample of Latino students in California, tracked throughout their elementary and middle school years, this paper examines ways in which outcomes vary for students of similar language and socioeconomic background who are initially instructed in their native language in transitional bilingual programs. As the students made the transition to instruction in English, which took place for most students in the sample between Grades 2 and 4, all students experienced an abrupt decline in performance on standardized reading test scores in English. However, performance trajectories after transition took markedly different paths, with higher achievers returning to pre-transition rates of performance as lower achievers continued an achievement decline that began for many while still being instructed in Spanish. The paper also examines school factors potentially associated with variations in performance (school-wide reform and strong kindergarten program) for subsets of the sample.