Brian Andrew Collins

Given the growing linguistic diversity in U.S. schools, there is a need to better understand how early dual language abilities contribute to later academic achievement. This study investigates English and Spanish oral language proficiencies at kindergarten as predictors of academic performance in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades among second-generation Latino children of immigrants (N = 228). Children’s early English and Spanish abilities were directly assessed using the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery–Revised, and achievement outcomes were obtained from state standardized exams (MCAS) administered in English for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. A series of multiple regression models controlling for poverty, gender, and maternal education documented that English proficiency at kindergarten predicted ELA and Math performance across all four grade levels. Importantly, early Spanish proficiency uniquely contributed to later achievement above and beyond English, predicting ELA across all four grade levels and Math outcomes in third, fourth, and fifth grades. Overall, models explained moderate proportions of variance in academic performance (R² = 0.20–0.35). Both English and Spanish proficiencies at school entry meaningfully predict long-term academic outcomes, drawing attention to the educational value of supporting the development of children’s dual language abilities. These findings support evidence-based practices and policies that leverage emergent bilingual children’s full linguistic repertoire to promote equitable academic success.

Providing support for children’s home languages is a critical component of high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). We examine the types and availability of Pre-K programs for emergent bilingual children and their families under New York City’s (NYC) Universal Pre-K program. Currently, in the hyper-diverse linguistic landscape of NYC where the majority of children come from homes where a language other than English (LOTE) is spoken, bilingual Pre-Ks only represent 6% of all programs. This study describes Pre-K program types available in NYC that offer Dual Language (DL) or Enhanced Language Support (ELS) to the large populations of emergent bilinguals. We analyze the number of programs within each borough and compare these with census tract data on the percentage of children who speak a LOTE at home. Our findings show that the number of Pre-K bilingual programs offered is grossly inadequate and, in most cases, is not significantly correlated to the percentage of LOTE children in the corresponding Pre-K neighborhoods. Only within the borough of Manhattan are bilingual DL programs significantly associated with neighborhoods with high percentages of LOTE children. In the other boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, the higher percentages of LOTE children are served by ELS. Lastly, we compare the ratings of quality across Pre-K programs in each of the NYC boroughs. We present data demonstrating the inequity of access to high-quality programs that meet the community needs and discuss policy implications and recommendations.

Young Latino children of immigrants typically speak primarily Spanish at home and are exposed to varying amounts of English. As a result, they often enter school with a wide range of proficiencies in each language. The current study investigated family background, language use at home and early childhood settings as predictors of Spanish and English language proficiencies among Latino dual language children (N = 228). Findings demonstrated divergent sets of predictors were associated with either Spanish or English proficiencies at kindergarten and second grade. Sociocultural variables (parent origin, gender, home language use, home literacy practices, and language use in early childhood settings) predicted children's Spanish proficiency, while socioeconomic variables (poverty, and maternal and paternal education) predicted children's English proficiency, with little to no overlap in these predictions. These results suggest that different supports are required for proficiency in Spanish and in English, highlighting the importance of sociocultural and socioeconomic factors.

There is an expectation of bilingual proficiency as a requirement for admission into most bilingual teacher preparation programs, as well as licensing criteria and job requirements for bilingual teaching positions. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge the dynamic nature of bilingualism and that prospective teachers differ in the level of support they have received for developing their linguistic repertoire across institutions, communities, and home. Many bilingual teachers come to the profession with diverse experiences which influence their linguistic ideologies and repertoires. In this study, we interviewed teacher candidates at the end of their Spanish-English bilingual teacher preparation program to investigate their linguistic backgrounds and experiences. We analyzed their perspectives of their linguistic repertoires and dynamic language usage and how this impacts their pedagogy and the students they will ultimately teach. We discovered how linguistically and culturally sustaining pedagogies that integrate translanguaging and raciolinguistic frameworks can shape a graduate program with a long history of preparing bilingual teachers in an urban, linguistically diverse setting. Participants expressed their desire for more opportunities to practice and learn in Spanish. Furthermore, there was a transformation of how participants perceived their own language practices as legitimate and relevant to how they can structure their students’ learning.

It is established that the nanomorphology plays an important role in performance of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells. From intense research in polymer-fullerene systems, some trends are becoming apparent. For example, small ~10 nm domains, high crystallinity, and low miscibility are typically measured in high-performance systems. However, the generality of these concepts for small-molecule (SM) BHJs is unclear. We present a comprehensive study of performance, charge generation and extraction dynamics, and nanomorphology in SM-fullerene BHJ devices to probe these critical structure-property relationships in this class of materials. In the systems investigated, small domains remain important for performance. However, devices composed of highly mixed domains with modest crystallinity outperform those consisting of pure/highly crystalline domains. Such a result points to an alternative ideal morphology for SM-based devices that involves a predominant mixed phase. This stems from SM aggregation in highly mixed domains that both maximize interface for charge generation and establish continuous pathways for efficient charge extraction. Such a morphological paradigm should be considered in future SM systems in pursuit of high-efficiency large-scale solar power production.

The authors identified trajectories of teacher–child relationship conflict and closeness from Grades 1 to 6, and associations between these trajectories and externalizing and internalizing behaviors at 11 years old among low-income, urban boys (N = 262). There were three main findings. Nagin cluster analyses indicated five trajectories for conflict with all children evidencing increases in conflict, and four trajectories for closeness with all children demonstrating decreases in closeness. Trajectories with higher levels of conflict and lower levels of closeness were associated with higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at 11 years old. Moreover, conflictual teacher–child relationships exacerbated the effects of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in early childhood; children with conflictual teacher–child relationships had higher levels of behavior problems in middle childhood relative to children with low conflictual teacher–child relationships. Implications of targeting teacher–child relationships as interventions to help prevent behavior problems are discussed.