Child Care Experiences Among Dual Language Learners in the United States

Abstract

Although quality center-based child care is helpful in promoting school readiness for dual language learners (DLLs), little is known about the nonparental child care that young DLL children experience. DLL status is often confounded with immigrant status, ethnicity, and poverty. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort, we examined child care experiences with repeated cross-sectional analyses at 9, 24, and 52 months for DLL and non-DLL children. After accounting for demographic and contextual factors, we found few differences in the quality and type of child care experienced by DLL children and children who hear only English in the home. Child care experiences were more related to country of origin, ethnicity, or immigrant status than DLL status. Nonparental caregivers were more likely to speak the child’s home language in home-based care than center care. Findings illustrate the importance of distinguishing among DLL status, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, country of origin, and immigrant status when considering the child care experiences of DLLs.

Peer Effects on Early Language Development in Dual Language Learners

“…In comparison to their monolingual peers, DLLs disproportionally come from economically disadvantaged or immigrant families increasing their likelihood to face disparities in access to highquality ECE programs (Espinosa et al, 2017). Comparable inequalities in early education experiences have been reported for several developed countries including the United States (Bassok & Galdo, 2016;Espinosa et al, 2017), Japan (Kachi, Kato, & Kawachi, 2020), as well as several European countries (e.g., Kuger, Kluczniok, Kaplan, & Rossbach, 2016;Slot, Bleses, Justice, Markussen-Brown, & Højen, 2018;Slot, Leseman, Verhagen, & Mulder, 2015;. Given that the benefits of ECE participation for language outcomes may only be effective at comparatively highquality levels (Zaslow et al, 2016), disparities in access to higher quality preschools limit their potential impact for DLLs.…”

The Case for Measuring and Reporting Bilingualism in Developmental Research

“…This is because they are related to the ways in which language is used, and in turn, language learning and outcomes. Unlike monolingual families, bilingual families differ in which languages are spoken by whom, when (Castro, 2014), and specifically to the child (Espinosa et al, 2017), and undergo language changes as different individuals join or leave the household (Verdon, McLeod, & Winsler, 2014). The socio-economic status (SES) of the family is also important because, in some communities, bilinguals are heterogeneous in SES, while in others, bilinguals may differ systematically from monolinguals (Morton & Harper, 2009).…”

The Necessity of Taking Culture and Context into Account When Studying the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Brain Development

“…Monolingual and bilingual children experience different language environments, which, in turn, may result in changes in the development of cortical networks underlying language and cognitive development. Unlike monolingual families, bilingual families differ in which languages are spoken by whom, and specifically when each language is spoken to the child [177]. For example, in a study of Spanish-English bilingual mothers, the effect of maternal education on child language abilities was only observed in the language in which the mother received her highest level of education [97].…”