The Promise of Diversity: Educating Young Immigrant Children

1
The Promise of DiversityEducating Young
Immigrant Children

• By Linda M. Espinosa, Ph.D.
• University of Missouri-Columbia
• College of Education
• espinosal_at_missouri.edu

2
Diverse voci fanno dolce note cosi diversi
scanni in nostra vita rendon dolce
armonia(Diverse voices make sweet music as
diverse conditions in our life render sweet
harmony.)Dante, Paradiso IV124-126
3
Growing Diversity

• Demographics
• ELL1/6 of Adult Population 20 of School-age
  (25CA)
• 27 of Head Start (22 Spanish, 4 Other)
• Fall 2000, 70 of entering Ks in CA non-White,
  46 living in poverty 40 in K 1 are ELL
• Missouri 35 of ESL in Prek K 11 increase in
  2001-2
• High School graduation rates (2002)
• 54 Hispanics
• 75 African American
• 86 Anglo-European

4
Educational Achievement

• Achievement Gaps Evident at K Entry (Immigrant
  Populations Diverse when, why, where, class)
• Persist and Widen Throughout K-12
• English Language Ability Critical

5
No Child Left Behind

• Achievement Testing with Consequences
• Implications for Young English-language Learners
• Consensus on Major Educational Goals English
  Fluency High Achievement in Subject Matter

6
Research on Bilingualism, Literacy and Achievement

• Policies that Support English Language Fluency in
  Preschool
• Early Language/Literacy (Which Language?)
• Assessment Considerations for ELLs

7
The Teaching Force Early Childhood

• In 1999, 285,000 99 Female Average Age is 39
  years old
• Ethnicity 78 White 10 Black 6 Hispanic 1
  Asian, 1 American Indian/Native Alaskan
• Teaching Population not Representative of
  Diversity of Children/Families
• Teachers Who Speak a Second Language lt10

8
University of Oregon Study (2001)

• 16 states have no cultural competency requirement
  for teachers
• 15 states have generic requirements tied to
  coursework
• 7 states have specific requirements
• Assessment of cultural competence is difficult,
  costly and unreliable

9
Challenges for Higher Education

• Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Faculty
• Integration of Diversity throughout Curriculum
• Assessment of Culturally Competent

10
Example (MN) The teacher must know about the
process of second language acquisition and about
strategies that support students whose first
language is not English understand how to
recognize and deal with dehumanizing biases,
discrimination, prejudices, and institution and
personal racism use information about the
students families, cultures, and communities as
the basis for connecting instruction to students
experiences develop a learning community in
which individual differences are respected
11
We must better understand and truly respect our
differences so we can unite in the common purpose
of promoting all childrens learning potential.