Recognizing Different Kinds of “Head Starts”

Abstract

The authors consider how the National Early Literacy Panel's decision to focus on identifying precursors to "conventional" literacy skills shaped the questions asked, conclusions drawn, and take-home message of the panel's 2008 report. They suggest that this approach may keep the field of literacy research from seeing and valuing other kinds of "head starts"-including ones that are better aligned with the broad, flexible, transcultural literacy skills that will be demanded in the future. The authors call on the field to learn from the experiences of children from nondominant groups to build a more comprehensive model of literacy development.

Lessons for teachers: A wordless picturebook in the hands of one Mexican immigrant family

“…In other words, decoding and sense making are contextualized within the social. This sense making may be richer and more complex as a result of the transcultural expertise (Orellana & Duarte, 2010) present in multicultural, multilingual families. When families read together, the sense making is inherently social.…”

“…By studying the home literacy of culturally and linguistically marginalized communities and applying what they learn to classroom practice for native speakers of languages other than English, teachers have the opportunity to further align classrooms to living rooms in ways that support teaching and learning. In considering effective teaching for students from traditionally marginalized groups, teachers can learn a great deal from what families do at home (e.g., Orellana & Duarte, 2010). One promising medium is wordless picturebooks, which do not rely on a particular language for their telling and may be particularly accessible for multilingual families.…”

Elementary principals’ social construction of parents of color and working class parents: Disrupting or reproducing conflicting and deficit orientations of education policy?

“…Mr. Arthur conveyed this statement as fact rather than personal opinion, citing unspecified "research" and "evidence." (However, though research has been mixed, much has refuted the claim that families of color or working class families provide a language-poor environment (Orellana & D'warte, 2010).) In characterizing working class (and, by implication, Latinx) parents as engaging in "negative talk" with their children, Mr. Arthur constructed them through a deficit lens.…”

Language Brokering Experience Affects Feelings Toward Bilingualism, Language Knowledge, Use, and Practices: A Qualitative Approach

“…Language brokers utilize two language systems when comprehending, speaking, reading, and writing, which makes them bilingual (see Grosjean, 1997, for a definition of bilingualism). However, unlike other bilinguals, language brokers employ linguistic and cognitive skills beyond their grade level, due in part to amassed brokering experience in childhood and adolescence (Buriel, Perez, De Ment, Chavez, & Moran, 1998; Orellana & D’warte, 2010; Valdés, 2003). Informally, brokers acquire pragmatic skills by virtue of translating informally, which further develops their metalinguistic skills beyond that of their contemporaries who do not engage in brokering (Buriel et al, 1998).…”

“…Language brokers report feelings of increased confidence in their translation abilities and an overall greater sense of responsibility for their families (Dorner et al, 2008; Martinez, McClure, & Eddy, 2009). These positive emotional feelings have also been related to higher academic achievement in relation to higher standardized test scores and school grades (Buriel et al, 1998; Dorner, Orellana, & Li-Grining, 2007; Orellana & D’warte, 2010). These findings would then suggest that prior language brokering experiences lead to encouraging outcomes.…”