VESID
LSN Bilingual Home Page
Key Issues Index
Work Paper #8
Key Issues in Bilingual Special Education Work
Paper #7
Considerations in Preschool Referrals
Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Children with Disabilities
New York State Education Department
Fall 2002
In February 1997, the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) released the New York State Guidelines for Services to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Preschool Students with Disabilities Ages 3-5. This document, available from your Special Education and Training Center (SETRC) office or ordered on-line at VESIDSPE@mail.nysed.gov, provides a detailed look at the major issues in preschool bilingual special education including the identification procedures and placement options.
This Work Paper will provide a synopsis of the prereferral considerations given in the Guidelines. Readers are encouraged to refer to the entire document for more detail in this and other areas. This Work Paper is only meant as a condensed version of a much longer story!
Identifying the Cause for a Referral
The increasing numbers of preschool children from homes where a language other-than-English is spoken has caused a concern among parents, advocates and school officials about the increasing number of referrals of language minority students to special education. In many instances the referral and subsequent services are inappropriate because they do not take into account the child’s language or culture.
The referrals are prompted in many cases by concerned parents or care providers who believe that the child is not learning as anticipated. However, many persons fail to understand that not all learning or developmental difficulties are based on disabilities but may be the result of the school district’s inattention to language or cultural diversity. Difficulties may also arise because the child may have been exposed to chronic poverty or intense trauma.
When the actual cause of learning and developmental difficulties is not identified, neither assessment nor intervention will produce desired results.
Two Principles
Literature in early childhood education, early childhood special education and bilingual education yields two principles for providers dealing with culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities. Providers must:
The Importance of Culture and Language
Learning and development always occur with a particular sociocultural context (Price-Williams & Gallimore, 1980). Culture involves more than "behaviors" or "strategies"; culture and languages are inseparable from identity and social connectedness.
For preschool students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, the areas of language(s), cognition and social/emotional development should be considered prior to determining if referral to special education is appropriate.
School personnel must realize that the preschool child comes to the school environment with a background of language and culture given to him/her as a heritage by his/her parents and community. Educators must understand this background in order to understand the child.
Language Usage
Language impacts on learning. Educators should determine the communication style(s) within the family and the community, the child’s relative proficiency in both English and his/her home language and how well the child understands (receptive language) or expresses (expressive language) each of the languages.
We often treat all languages as if they were identical. It is important to also determine how different the child’s primary language is from English. In the case of foster children adopted from another country, do the foster or adoptive parents use a language other than the child’s primary language?
Cognitive Functioning
There are two concerns when evaluating preschool students that should not be overlooked. The first concern is: what are the child’s preferred learning strategies? The second concern is: What is the degree of difference between the child’s knowledge and the knowledge that is necessary for success in the school, community, family and/or environment and what a typically developing child would display at this age?
Social/Emotional Development and Acculturation
The culturally and linguistically diverse child is new to the ‘mainstream’ culture. It is important to gauge the contact that the child has had with his/her ‘new’ culture. Some questions that should be asked include:
A ‘Work’ in Progress
Young children are still largely in the process of making sense of their environment, learning its rules and expectations, and acquiring its language(s). They are also in the process of developing a sense of self, of who they are within that environment.
Care in determining an appropriate preschool or daycare setting is essential. The introduction of an environment such as daycare that is significantly different from the home environment can disrupt social/emotional development and acculturation, especially when disabilities place learning and development at risk, and when language and cultural differences impact upon the families’ abilities to support their children’s transition into the new environment.
Implications for the School District
In the accompanying research article, Nissani (1993) describes the complexity of structuring an early childhood program for language minority students. However, she paraphrases Bowman (1989) that "…it is possible to develop a conceptual framework that a culturally sensitive teacher might follow."
A call for evaluation for special education should not be the district’s first response to the needs of a rapidly growing population of preschool children from homes in which a language other than English is spoken. Instead, the district should strive to "…develop a conceptual framework that a culturally sensitive teacher might follow" in general education. A framework that is blind to the linguistic, cognitive and social/emotional differences that these new children bring to the school setting will poorly serve the needs of the children and the school district.
School personnel may wish to contact their local Special Education Training and Resource Centers (SETRCs), Bilingual Technical Assistance Centers (BETACs) or Early Childhood Direction Center (ECDC) for additional information on this topic.
Resources
New York State Education Department (1997). Guidelines for Services for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Preschool Students with Disabilities Ages 3-5
Nissani, Helen. Early Childhood Programs for Language Minority Students (1993). ERIC Digest ED355836.
ERIC Identifier:
ED355836Early Childhood Programs for Language Minority Students. ERIC Digest.
THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC
Parents are the primary teachers of young children. Bowman (1989) points out that "children are taught to act, believe and feel in ways that are consistent with the mores of their communities" (p.119). To promote the healthy self-esteem of each and every young child, early childhood education programs must be thoughtfully designed to serve both parents and children--all the more so for those who speak a language other than English at home.
Kagan (1989) suggests that we should design programs that serve the whole child's development--social/emotional, physical, and cognitive--within the context of the family and community. These programs must employ developmentally appropriate practices that respect individual differences and choices and that recognize the individual child's development. They must also incorporate the family and home culture and make the parents an integral part of the program. To achieve these goals, programs must develop staff who are thoroughly familiar with early childhood development, skilled at interacting with parents and the community, and sensitive to the cultural and linguistic needs of children from diverse backgrounds.
This Digest will discuss the following components of effective early childhood programs for language minority children: developmentally and culturally appropriate practices, parent involvement, and staff training and development.
DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES
"The cognitive/developmental approach." Current research in early childhood education clearly points to the benefits of a cognitive/developmental approach, which assumes that young children "learn naturally and casually as they live their lives, and that play...is valuable learning" (Greenberg, 1990, p. 72). This learning goes on developmentally as the child matures. Intellectual learning is fostered but not given priority over physical, social, and emotional learning. Self-discipline is encouraged as is self-esteem. In a cognitive/developmental approach, children are encouraged to become involved in purposeful and creative activities with other children, to make major choices among hands-on learning activities, to initiate and accomplish self-motivated tasks within a rich environment, and to construct knowledge at their own individual pace by discovering and engaging in open-ended activities that reflect all areas of their development while dialoguing with supportive adults. Developmental programs are designed to meet all the needs of young children and provide programming that is personally meaningful to each and every child within the context of the child's culture, primary language, and family.
The developmental approach to planning programs for young children is especially appropriate for language minority children. There are no preconceived notions as to the correct method of interaction with materials. Experiences in art, music, small and gross motor activities, along with language arts, are provided in environments that accept each child's individual development and encourage each child to interact purposefully with and extract meaning from these experiences. Each child is valued as an individual learner. All children are regarded as capable of learning, and each child's learning style, cultural point of reference, and language are valued. Well designed developmental early childhood programs enhance the self-esteem of the young language minority child.
"Serving the whole child within the context of the family and community." To ensure the success of all young language minority children in developmental settings, educators need to create learning environments that are culturally and linguistically relevant. The Head Start Multicultural Task Force (1989) notes that "multicultural programming incorporates approaches that validate and build upon the culture and strengths of the child and family" (p. 1). This approach requires that educators examine their own expectations and biases as well as incorporate materials and activities that have special relevance to the children. According to Ramsey (1982), "the goal is not to teach children about [different] cultures but rather to help children become accustomed to the idea that there may be many life styles, languages, and points of view" (p. 200). The family is the group of greatest importance to young children (Derman-Sparks et al., 1989). Multicultural educational experiences validate each child's family and thus promote healthy self-concepts.
Differences in culture between home and school are not the only issue in the case of children from homes where English is not spoken. Ideally, educators should speak the home language of the children in order to assist more effectively in their development. As Bowman (1989) points out, "Learning a primary language is a developmental milestone for young children and is, therefore, a 'developmentally appropriate' educational objective."
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES
Cultural diversity makes it difficult to assess each child's developmental status in each area of development. Recent research (e.g., Edwards & Gandini, 1989) has shown that developmental milestones and expectations vary from culture to culture. In order to design appropriate programs for language minority children, educators need to understand not only the values of a specific culture but the goals for socialization, beliefs about the nature of the child, and various child-rearing techniques.
Bowman (1989) asks whether it is possible to design a developmentally appropriate curriculum for a program that includes children from diverse cultures who do not speak the same language. Given that children do not all develop in the same way, Bowman concludes that the same curriculum cannot be used for all children. However, it is possible to develop a conceptual framework that a culturally sensitive teacher might follow. Bowman (1990) suggests the following points that teachers should consider.
"Developmentally equivalent patterns of behavior should be recognized." All children learn similar things: for example, language, systems of categorization, and interpersonal communication styles. Although these accomplishments may appear quite different, they can also be seen as developmentally equivalent.
"All equivalent developmental milestones should be given the same value." For example, how well a young child speaks her own language may be more important than how well she speaks English.
"Interactive styles familiar to the child should be used, including using the child's home language." Many educators see preschool programs as an opportunity to promote rapid acquisition of English. This is at variance with the whole idea of developmentally appropriate practices. Children at the age of 3 and 4 are still in the process of developing their first language. Wong-Fillmore (in press) suggests that young children who rapidly learn their second language may do so at the cost of losing interest and ability in their first or home language. The first language is the primary mode of communication between young children and their parents. Children are socialized to take part in their home and community through the home language.
"Family values that promote learning should be reinforced." Program goals should be explained to parents so they can cooperate and foster a positive attitude toward achievement in school.
"Differences between home and school cultural patterns must be dealt with directly." Teachers, as well as parents, have to become aware of possible discrepancies between home and school cultures. Language minority children may often find themselves trying to respond to conflicting home and school cultural expectations. Young Hispanic children may be expected to be quiet around adults at home but to "speak up" to the teacher in the classroom.
"It should be recognized that the same content may have different meaning to different groups of children." Bears are often portrayed as benign creatures in stories for children, but in Navajo culture, bears are usually depicted as wicked creatures. A story about Smokey the Bear might be understood by Navajo children differently from the way non-Navajo children understand it. This can result in confusion for the Navajo children and frustration on the part of the teacher. Alternate stories might have to be considered.
THE ROLE OF PARENTS
According to leading researchers in school and family issues, the key factor in a child's academic success is the parent (Olsen, 1990). "Many kinds of development in social, psychological, emotional, moral, linguistic, and cognitive areas are critical to academic learning. The attitudes, values, and behavior of the family and its social network strongly affect such development" (Comer, 1980, p. 22). Therefore, the home and school should work together and support one another in the job of nurturing and educating young children. The family should not only be consulted as programs for young children are designed, but provisions to involve the parents in every aspect of these programs should be mandatory.
The importance of good cross-cultural communication cannot be overemphasized. The goals, aspirations, cultural mores, and values of each family must be respected by early childhood practitioners. Language assessments, developmental screenings, and other evaluations and planning sessions should not be carried out without input from the parents. Through both informal and formal contacts with parents, educators can become familiar with individual cultures, values, and practices.
STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
All early childhood educators need to be thoroughly familiar with early childhood practices and philosophy to implement effective programs. In addition, educators working with young language minority children need to be sensitive to the cultural and linguistic needs of these children.
Staff development training should include hands-on experiences with appropriate practices, concrete examples illustrating the design of various models of early childhood programs, and imaginative activities designed to assist teachers in the creation of the program, curriculum, and learning environment. Strategies to promote positive home-school-community relationships should be included in inservice training for all early childhood educators. Also, training in cross-cultural communication will help practitioners interact with language minority children and their families.
CONCLUSION
The language minority family requires services that strengthen the family so that it may nurture and support the development of healthy, competent young children. Comprehensive developmental early childhood programs can be designed to meet these family needs. Programs can and should be developed in such a manner that parents are respected and are actively involved.
REFERENCES
Bowman, B.T. (1989, October). Educating language minority children: Challenges and opportunities. "Phi Delta Kappan," 71(2), 118-221.
Comer, J.P. (1980). "School power: Implications of an intervention project." New York: The Free Press.
Derman-Sparks, L., & A.B.C. Task Force. (1989). "Anti-bias curriculum: Tools for empowering young children." Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Edwards, C.P., & Gandini, L. (1989). Teacher expectations about the timing of developmental skills: A cross-cultural study. "Young Children," 44(4), 15-19.
Greenberg, P. (1990). Ideas that work with young children. Why not academic preschool? Part 1. "Young Children," 45(4), 70-80. Head Start Multicultural Task Force. (1989). "Principles of multicultural programming." Washington, DC: Head Start Bureau, Administration for Children, Youth, and Families.
Kagan, S.L. (1989, October). Early care and education: Beyond the schoolhouse doors. "Phi Delta Kappan," 71(2), 107-112.
Olsen, L. (1990, April 4). Parents as partners: Redefining the social contract between families and schools. "Education Week," 18-25.
Ramsey, P.G. (1982). Multicultural education in early childhood. "Young Children," 37(5), 13-23.
Wong-Fillmore, L. (in press). Language and cultural issues in early education. In S.L. Kagan (Ed.), "The care and education of America's young children: Obstacles and opportunities." Chicago, IL: National Society for the Study of Education.
-----
For more information on early childhood programs for language minority children, contact Helen Nissani, Senior Associate, Northwest Regional Educational Lab, Child Family Community Program, 101 Southwest Main, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97201.
-----
This Digest is based on the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE) Occasional Paper, "Early Childhood Programs for Language Minority Students". To obtain a copy of the paper or for information on NCBE, contact NCBE, 1118 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, 202-467-0867.
-----
This report was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. RI88062010. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or ED.
Title: Early Childhood Programs for Language Minority Students. ERIC Digest.
Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);
Descriptors: Child Development, Cultural Differences, Inservice Teacher Education, Intercultural Communication, Limited English Speaking, Multicultural Education, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, Preschool Children, Preschool Curriculum, Preschool Education
Identifiers: Culturally Relevant Curriculum, Developmentally Appropriate Programs, ERIC Digests, Language Minorities