Portrait of early science education in majority dual language learner classrooms: Where do we start?

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Author(s)Rumper, Brooke
Author(s)Frechette, Elizabeth
Author(s)Sharifnia, Elica
Author(s)Greenfield, Daryl B.
Author(s)Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick
Author(s)Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy
Date Accessioned2022-03-02T19:35:18Z
Date Available2022-03-02T19:35:18Z
Publication Date2021-01-01
DescriptionCopyright (c) 2021 Journal of Childhood, Education & Society. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. This article was originally published in Journal of Childhood, Education & Society. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638X.202123119en_US
AbstractDespite the growing interest in early science education, there is much left to be explored, particularly in majority Dual Language Learning (DLL) classrooms. The current study examined 1) early science opportunities across classroom contexts in majority Spanish-English DLL Head Start classrooms, 2) the languages (i.e., English and Spanish) that teachers used to engage DLL children in science, 3) and how teachers’ discussion of scientific and engineering practices and disciplinary core ideas related to children’s academic outcomes. In a sample of 411 children (ages 3-5) from 34 Head Start classrooms, the current study found that teachers discussed and encouraged more practices during science lessons than circle time, dramatic play, and story time. There were no differences in teachers’ discussion of core ideas across contexts. Teachers used the same amount of English and Spanish to discuss practices and core ideas. Teaching physical science was associated with children’s science outcomes. Making observations and discussing life science were associated with children’s math outcomes. Teaching math, making observations, and developing and using models were related to children’s executive functioning. Findings from this study demonstrate that science opportunities occur across preschool classroom settings. Additionally, it provides evidence that teachers may be supporting DLL children’s home language while discussing science. Finally, results indicate that teaching science supports children’s academic performance in several outcomes. These findings have implications for DLL education policy as science may be a domain where teachers can support children’s home language and their learning across multiple domains.en_US
SponsorThis research was funded by the Office of Planning Research and Evaluation, grant number GR011545, and Institute of Education Sciences grant number R305A130612.en_US
CitationRumper, Brooke, Elizabeth Frechette, Elica Sharifnia, Daryl Greenfield, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek. 2021. “Portrait of Early Science Education in Majority Dual Language Learner Classrooms: Where Do We Start?”. Journal of Childhood, Education & Society 2 (3):235-66. https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638X.202123119.en_US
ISSN2717-638X
URLhttps://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/30620
Languageen_USen_US
PublisherJournal of Childhood, Education & Societyen_US
KeywordsEarly science educationen_US
KeywordsDual language learnersen_US
KeywordsHead Starten_US
KeywordsPreschoolen_US
Keywordsquality education
TitlePortrait of early science education in majority dual language learner classrooms: Where do we start?en_US
TypeArticleen_US
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