The early developmental competencies and school readiness of low-income, immigrant children: Influences of generation, race/ethnicity, and national origins

Feyter, Jessica De; Winsler, Adam

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.07.004

Cited by 172 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Native-born parents are more likely to have English-language reading materials available, watch English-language television, and speak English in the home than are immigrant parents (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). Immigrant families within this Miami population are also more likely to be married than are native-born Hispanics (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009), which likely explains why children who became emergent bilinguals by kindergarten were less likely than Spanish-dominant individuals to come from a two-parent family.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-emotional skills, behavior problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty.

Winsler¹,

Kim²,

Richard³

2014

Developmental Psychology

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124

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This article analyzes the role that individual differences in children's cognitive, Spanish competence, and socio-emotional and behavioral skills play in predicting the concurrent and longitudinal acquisition of English among a large sample of ethnically diverse, low-income, Hispanic preschool children. Participants assessed at age 4 for language, cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral skills were followed through kindergarten. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that Spanish-speaking preschoolers with greater initiative, self-control, and attachment and fewer behavior problems at age 4 were more successful in obtaining English proficiency by the end of kindergarten compared to those initially weaker in these skills, even after controlling for cognitive/language skills and demographic variables. Also, greater facility in Spanish at age 4 predicted the attainment of English proficiency. Social and behavioral skills and proficiency in Spanish are valuable resources for low-income English language learners during their transition to school.Keywords: English language learner (ELL), dual language learner, Latino/Hispanic, social skills, English acquisitionThe number of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States has been increasing progressively in recent years. ELL enrollment in schools more than doubled between 1997 and 2008 (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2010). Hispanic children, who speak Spanish as their first language (L1), make up the largest proportion of ELL students in today's schools (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Given that (a) Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States; (b) disproportionately high numbers of Hispanic children live in poverty (Chau, Thampi, & Wight, 2010); and (c) Hispanic children, as a group, struggle with relatively poor educational achievement, Garcia and Jensen (2009) argued that young Hispanic children constitute an urgent demographic imperative requiring considerable research and policy attention.One of the key questions has to do with the conditions under which, and the speed with which, young Hispanic children acquire English. Depending on the pattern and timing of exposure to and support for both English and Spanish in the early years, there are many possible language outcomes for such children-some become fully bilingual fairly early on in childhood, learning English and maintaining Spanish in the process; some remain predominantly Spanish speakers with only limited English proficiency; and some become fully competent in English at the expense of Spanish. The current article examines child-level predictors of progress toward proficiency in English during pre-K and kindergarten among Spanish-speaking children in poverty. ELL children who become fully proficient in English, and who do so earlier in their educational career, do better later in school than those who continue to struggle with English proficiency (Halle, Hair, Wandner, McNamara, & Chien, 2012). Of course, English proficiency is only one of th...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-emotional skills, behavior problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty.

Winsler¹,

Kim²,

Richard³

2014

Developmental Psychology

Self Cite

124

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show abstract

“…Alcuni autori sottolineano anche che esiste una grande variabilità nelle abilità dei bambini, per cui le performance dei piccoli sono multidimensionali, episodiche e culturalmente e contestualmente influenzate (Kagan, Moore, & Bredekamp, 1995;De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). …”

Section: Critiche Alle Misure DI «Readiness» E Al Loro Utilizzounclassified

La «school readiness» e la sua misura: uno strumento di rilevazione per la scuola dell’infanzia

Coggi

Ricchiardi

2014

ECPS

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“…. in closing the achievement gap" [5]. Not surprisingly, a large part of this increased focus will mean engaging parents in their children's education to ensure future success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The idea of the "immigrant advantage"-that despite possessing characteristics that typically correlate with academic failure, immigrants' resilience and drive can provide a path to success-suggests that this group is particularly well suited for cognitive and verbal intervention programs at the early childhood stage [5]. Several studies have been performed in this area; however, very few offer insight into parent-implementedas opposed to teacher-implemented-interventions among Latinos.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lahaie found, for example, that children of immigrants with both parents speaking a language other than English in the home were 81 percent more likely to fail to demonstrate English proficiency by the time they entered school [3], and additional evidence has even shown a positive relationship between limited English language proficiency and externalizing symptomssuch as aggression, delinquency, and hyperactivity-as early as the third grade [4]. De Feyter also demonstrated the 2 ISRN Education disparity in cognitive and linguistic ability between children in immigrant and nonimmigrant families and suggested that these differences might be related to the greater familiarity of native-born parents with early education programs and resources [5]. Additional research supports this claim.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing Latino Parents’ Verbal Interactions with Their Preschool-Aged Children

et al. 2012

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The rapidly growing Hispanic American population is experiencing an academic achievement gap that seems to be rooted in disparities in early childhood education and literacy development. Children of non-English-speaking immigrant parents are at greatest risk of poor school performance, but there is potential to capitalize on immigrants' drive by encouraging them to engage with their children in dialog while reading native-language storybooks. This paper reports on a community-based randomized controlled trial (N = 79) delivered to mostly Mexican immigrant parents of preschool-age children. Intervention group parents attended three monthly 60-minute sessions based on the Dialogic Reading Model-C.A.R. (Comment and Wait, Ask Questions and Wait, and Respond by Adding More), which teaches parents to have a conversation about pictures in books, with the goal of enhancing verbal exchanges with the child in the parent's native language. After the 3-month intervention, parents in the bilingual early language development intervention reported placing greater value on children's active verbal participation in reading compared to control group parents who participated in a healthy lifestyle intervention. These results suggest that Hispanics' educational outcomes may be improved by educating parents on the value of playful conversations with young children while reading books in one's native language.

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The early developmental competencies and school readiness of low-income, immigrant children: Influences of generation, race/ethnicity, and national origins

Cited by 172 publications

References 38 publications

Socio-emotional skills, behavior problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty.

Socio-emotional skills, behavior problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty.

La «school readiness» e la sua misura: uno strumento di rilevazione per la scuola dell’infanzia

Increasing Latino Parents’ Verbal Interactions with Their Preschool-Aged Children

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