Capitalizing on Early Childhood Education: Low-Income Immigrant Mothers’ Use of Early Childhood Education to Build Human,Social, and Navigational Capital

Research Findings: Research indicates that early childhood education (ECE) serves various functions for societies and in turn families, including economic, educational, and social functions (Fukkink, 2008 Fukkink , R. ( 2008 ). A contextual analysis of social function, general stimulation, and child participation in educational facilities for young children in The Netherlands . Retrieved from the University of Amsterdam digital academic repository: http://dare.uva.nl/record/297883  [Google Scholar]; Vandenbroeck, 2006 Vandenbroeck , M. ( 2006 ). Globalisation and privatisation: The impact on childcare policy and practice (Working Paper No. 38) . Retrieved from the Bernard van Leer Foundation website: http://issuu.com/bernardvanleerfoundation/docs/globalisation_and_privatisation_the_impact_on_chil  [Google Scholar]). Using qualitative methods, we explored an aspect of the social function of ECE for low-income immigrant families. Specifically, in-depth interviews with 40 low-income immigrant mothers (19 Africans, 21 Latinas) were conducted to understand how low-income Latina and African immigrant mothers use their children's ECE programs to build human, social, and navigational capital. Latin American and African mothers both developed capital through interactions with their children's ECE programs. However, Latina mothers tended to rely on ECE more for building all 3 types of capital. Practice or Policy: The findings from this study highlight the significant role that ECE providers play in the lives of families, and particularly immigrant families, that goes beyond basic economic and educational supports. These findings point to the importance of training ECE educators and staff in fostering connections among and between families in their programs; educating parents, as many parents rely on their ECE programs for parenting advice and support; and working with local community agencies and resources to benefit children and families.     

Low-income African and Latina immigrant mothers’ selection of early childhood care and education (ECCE): Considering the complexity of cultural and structural influences

Grounded in ecocultural theory and utilizing in-depth interview data, this paper explores the experiences of 40 low-income immigrant mothers as they selected and secured early childhood care and education (ECCE) for their young children. Cultural and structural aspects of low-income immigrant families’ lives and their influence in shaping these families’ ECCE decision-making processes were examined. Latina and African mothers’ experiences were considered, as these mothers’ country of origin (COO) experiences were varied as well as their documentation statuses upon arrival in the US, with 15 of the Latinas being undocumented. Mothers discussed reasons for seeking ECCE, with maternal employment being most important. Some mothers looked to ECCE to recreate social experiences for their children similar to those in their COOs. Many mothers indicated looking for ECCE programs in which their children could learn English and interact with children from diverse backgrounds. Mothers tended to utilize social and organizational connections to secure ECCE and documentation of residence shaped the number and severity of obstacles mothers faced in securing ECCE. The findings from this study inform researchers, policymakers, and practitioners as to how both culture and structure shape ECCE decision making among low-income African and Latina/o immigrant families.     

English as a symbol of internationalization in higher education: a case study of Vietnam

Vietnam universities have experienced remarkable changes brought about by their internationalization policies. The switch to English as a medium of instruction (EMI) for some academic programs was one of these critical changes. Literature has reported numerous issues related to EMI, including inadequate language proficiency of teaching staff. This paper looks at a qualitative research study on how a government university from Vietnam employs different strategies to enhance teachers’ English proficiency. The study reveals that the introduction of new supporting systems, assessment bodies, recruitment criteria and institutional strategies on training, monitoring and motivation have created cultural change within the teacher community. This cultural change, which includes elements such as self-directed learning, peer learning, professionalism, and ‘open-to-change’ attitudes, has been perceived by both leaders and teachers to be conducive to teachers’ language learning. The findings presented in this paper seek to contribute to the formulation or adjustment of policies related to educational reforms, such as curriculum reform, teacher recruitment and teacher professional development in non-English-speaking countries.     

Developing cultural humility through experiential learning: How home visits transform early childhood preservice educators’ attitudes for engaging families

Research calls for teacher education to prepare early childhood educators for the needs of diverse and marginalized young children and their families in the U.S. With an increasing cultural divide between teachers and students, some early childhood educators may demonstrate limited understanding for how diverse cultural, linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds inform the daily functions of families of young children. In this article, we examine how the use of experiential learning vis-à-vis conducting a home visit with a family from a diverse and marginalized background can shape early childhood preservice teachers’ (PST) development of cultural humility, an important component of cultural competence. During this experiential learning, PSTs engaged in critically reflective practices to uncover and challenge their implicit biases. While discovering the strengths and challenges among their home visit families, PSTs also learned what they had in common with the families. PSTs noted how the home visit process informed their work as future early childhood educators.     

Promoting Desirable Outcomes Among Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Children in Social Emotional Learning Programs: a Multilevel Heuristic Model

The primary goal of this article is to situate the findings from evidence-based studies of social emotional learning (SEL) interventions into a broader social context by reframing the discussion to consider how aspects of sociocultural competence impact the development and delivery of programs. The limitations of current SEL intervention efforts are discussed and a multilevel heuristic model that identifies and defines the theoretical constructs that we believe are culturally bound and associated with the content, implementation, and evaluation components of SEL intervention programs is presented. We point out constraints associated with this effort and offer specific strategies and activities by which school personnel involved in these activities can be encouraged to embrace socioculturally based SEL practices in their classrooms and offer guidance for future research.