In Focus: Cultural Competency
Mar 13, 2013 | Permalink »
Using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) with Dual Language Learners
Twenty-nine percent of Head Start children, and close to 20 percent of school-age children, speak a language other than English at home. This culturally and linguistically diverse population requires high-quality, supportive interactions with teachers and caregivers to meet their unique needs. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), developed at the Curry School Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia, is a validated classroom assessment tool that measures and provides data on the quality of teacher-child interactions. That data can then be used by teachers and programs to improve the quality of those interactions, and the learning experience. CLASS, which was initially designed to be used in pre-kindergarten through high school classrooms, measures effective teacher-child interactions by observing the emotional support, organization, and instructional support found within classrooms. Teacher-child interactions in these domains are linked to higher academic, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes.
As CLASS is considered by more states for use in quality initiatives including quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS), understanding whether and how CLASS can reliably be used in early learning classrooms serving dual language learners (DLLs) becomes increasingly important. A recent report, Dual Language Learners and the CLASS Measure, explores how CLASS and its focus on high-quality, supportive teaching can benefit DLLs. Researchers evaluated CLASS's reliability and validity when used with DLLs and found that CLASS can be used reliably in DLL classrooms. The CLASS measure does not consider cultural competency, nor does it fully capture possible cultural differences in what is considered valuable instruction or the differences in how effective interactions may be expressed between cultures. However, the study finds that by 1) using the tool with a reliable CLASS observer, 2) supplementing CLASS with other information on cultural competency, and 3) offering professional development that aligns with observations, the CLASS measure can provide an avenue for supporting high-quality teacher-child interactions for DLLs.
The more recently developed CLASS measure for infants was not included in this study. As the CLASS measures for infants and an additional measure for toddlers develop, these too may become tools for supporting the development of the youngest DLLs. With the country's population of young children growing more diverse, and states using more observational tools to measure the quality of early care and education, finding tools that address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse children is essential. The CLASS measure is beginning to show us how this can be done.
Jan 02, 2013 | Permalink »
Improving Preschool Access for Small Immigrant Communities
It is widely accepted that high quality early education programs can have a significant impact on the academic, social, and health-related outcomes of young children, particularly those considered "at-risk" such as low-income children, immigrants, and English language learners (ELLs). In our increasingly diverse country, ensuring that these populations have access to high quality child care and early education opportunities should be a top priority. To examine how children and families in immigrant communities fare in Chicago, the Urban Institute has released a series of papers exploring the Illinois Preschool For All (PFA) program and the barriers and opportunities families in smaller immigrant communities face when it comes to accessing PFA. These recent studies build on previous research that describes the obstacles immigrant families face in accessing child care and early education, and strategies states and local communities can use to build their supply of culturally competent and accessible child care and early education programs.
Published in 2010, the first paper in the Urban Institute series, Fulfilling the Promise of Preschool for All: Insights into Issues Affecting Access for Selected Immigrant Groups in Chicago, provides information on the barriers families from Nigeria and Pakistan face in understanding and accessing PFA. The more recent papers build off the first, extending the study to look at the experiences of Vietnamese, Polish, and Haitian families; examining the role community-based organizations (CBOs) can play in supporting smaller immigrant communities in accessing PFA; and providing a summary of the barriers and opportunities small immigrant communities face.
Across the studies, researchers found that smaller immigrant communities faced challenges understanding and completing forms, a shortage or absence of staff who spoke the families' languages, and confusion over the application process and requirements for accessing PFA in a community-based child care setting. In order to tackle some of these barriers, researchers highlight the role CBOs can play in supporting PFA participation among these smaller groups of immigrants. For example, CBOs can provide basic informational materials, facilitate deeper relationships between PFA programs and CBOs to build trust and cultural awareness, and provide targeted outreach to families around PFA participation. There are also more resource-intensive opportunities to provide child care and early education services and PFA programming through CBOs, including two-generation strategies like offering parenting education or ESL classes on-site. States and communities can take steps to target preschool enrollment outreach to immigrant families and ELLs, as well as expand and support a culturally and linguistically competent and diverse staff.
Providing immigrant families and children with access to high-quality early education is not an easy task. However, by implementing policies that focus on supporting young immigrant children and their families, and by building outreach efforts and partnerships within communities, we can make progress in ensuring high quality early education is accessible for all children.
Dec 19, 2012 | Permalink »
Expanding Teacher Competencies to Support Young Dual Language Learners
By Stephanie Schmit and Emily Firgens
In 2011, 29 percent of Head Start children spoke a language other than English at home. Additionally, an Urban Institute report shows that one in seven young children under the age of 6 in the United States has at least one parent who is limited English proficient (LEP), and more than one in four young children have a parent who speaks a language other than English. These statistics are just a small representation of the changing young child population and the need for states to create policies and pursue activities that support limited-English proficient families and child care providers.
In an effort to ensure that all early care and education providers are prepared to meet the needs of children, the Alliance for A Better Community in collaboration with National Council of La Raza (NCLR) published the Dual Language Learner Teacher Competencies (DLLTC) Report, which provides extensive information on the need for, development of, and implementation of teacher competencies to support young dual language learners (DLLs). The report highlights the need across the country, and in California specifically, for a better prepared and educated early childhood education (ECE) workforce to care for and teach the large population of young DLLs. In California, 36 percent of children enrolled in kindergarten were classified as English Language Learners during the 2009-2010 school year, however very few ECE providers have had training in cultural and linguistic competency.
The report recommends that at the state level work can be done to: strengthen the ECE workforce and increase the number of teachers who receive training in dual language acquisition and socio-emotional development of DLLs; include indicators in quality rating improvement systems that address linguistic and socio-emotional development of DLLs; create a streamlined and centralized data system of the ECE workforce that includes information about their knowledge and experience with DLLs; and supplement efforts to integrate DLLTC into higher education coursework. At the local level, the report recommends expanding professional development and technical assistance efforts to integrate DLLTC and providing incentives to recruit bilingual early educators and administrators.
Requiring training for the early childhood workforce to ensure that dual language learners are properly supported and understood is necessary. However, we must also ensure that the teachers have proper financial support throughout the process. To truly improve the professional development of the workforce, states will want to ensure that investments in education and training are supported by compensation initiatives so higher educated providers stay in early care and education.
Census estimates show us that the young child population is shifting, ushering in a new "majority-minority" population. This shift shows no sign of slowing down, and policymakers must adopt solutions that include a focus on racial, ethnic, and linguistic minority groups. Federal and state policies can have disproportionate impacts on poor and minority communities. In early childhood, this means implementing policies that promote culturally and linguistically responsive practices, appropriate teaching and assessment strategies for children whose home language is not English, and ensuring that all early care and education providers are prepared to meet the needs of all children.