The sustainability of content enriched shared book reading vocabulary practices and preschool emergent bilinguals

ABSTRACT

This study was part of a larger three-year investigation of the effectiveness of a small-group, content-focused (science, social studies) preschool shared book reading vocabulary intervention implemented with Spanish-speaking emergent bilinguals enrolled in a one-way dual-language bilingual program. A subset of bilingual preschool teachers (N = 23), representing treatment teachers from each of the three intervention years, was observed to understand the sustainability of the curricular approach and materials one, two, and three years post-intervention when instructional guidance was no longer provided by the research team. Findings from post-intervention observations and teacher self-reports suggest that teachers continued to implement the intervention approach and materials on some level but the explicit rich vocabulary instruction during the book reading experience was observed less the further teachers were out of the intervention. Implications for research are discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

We received funding from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES ), CFDA: 84.305A 13.

Notes on contributors

Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola

Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola, EdD is a Professor in the English Language Learning program in the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education, in the College of Education at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. A recipient of a Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award (Primary Grade Multilingualism in India thru a Historical Ethnographic Lens), her scholarship attends to the language and literacy development of multilingual students and the intersection of educator beliefs with language education policies. Central to her scholarship is developing school-based interventions, evaluating their impact on the language and conceptual knowledge development of PK-3 multilingual learners and investigating how to improve the quality of language development practices that are embedded in content area instruction (e.g., science, social studies, mathematics, English language arts). She has been the co-principal investigator on two Institute of Education Sciences (IES) grants titled Words of Oral Reading and Language Development (WORLD) and was the co-principal investigator for Project E3: Enhancing, Engaging, and Empowering Teachers for the Next Generation of English Learners funded by The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), National Professional Development Program (NPD). She was also the Senior Researcher (Nevada) for the multi-site Project International Consortium for Multilingual Excellence in Education (ICMEE), also a NPD Grant.

Jorge E. Gonzalez

Jorge E. Gonzalez, PhD is a Professor and Program Director of the School Psychology Program in the Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences (PHLS) Department in the College of Education at the University of Houston. His scholarship focuses on the causes and correlates of early oral language and literacy challenges in young children, especially vocabulary among English learners with an emphasis on adult-child interactive shared book reading (SBR). He also explores Latinx children's home literacy environments (HLE) at the intersection of cultural values and responsive mother-child talk, the effects of teacher-child conversations around shared reading, and longitudinal effects of shared reading interventions. He has previously been the lead investigator on an Early Reading First (ERF) project titled Accelerating Children's Early Literacy and Language (ACELL), an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Goal 2 development grant titled Words of Oral Reading and Language Development (WORLD) and a follow up IES Goal 3 efficacy grant of the same name as well as a Goal 2 development grant titled Families4College and a Migrant Education Even Start (MEES) grant.

Laura Saenz

Laura M. Sáenz, PhD is the Associate Vice President for Curriculum and Institutional Assessment in the Division of Academic Affairs at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). She has worked at UTRGV and one of its legacy institutions (UTPA) for more than 20 years in teaching, research, and administration positions. In these positions, she has developed expertise in many aspects of higher education such as program development, specialized accreditation, program review, undergraduate curriculum and advisement, student learning outcome assessment, P-16 partnerships, college readiness initiatives, community engagement, institutional policy development, articulation agreements, and resource management. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Vanderbilt University, a Master's in Education from Texas State University and a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with teacher certification in K-8 general education and K-12 special education. Her teaching and research have focused on effective literacy practices for at-risk populations including students with disabilities and English learners. She has extensive experience conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials in public school settings. She was a Co-Investigator on an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) supported grant, Project Words of Oral Reading and Language Development (WORLD).

Heather S. Davis

Heather Davis, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned her Doctorate in Educational Psychology (emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism) at Texas A&M University. She has experience in clinical leadership positions specializing in providing evidence-based clinical services to autistic children, adolescents, and adults. Her work centers on training pre-service Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and improving access to clinical services for adults severely impacted by autism. Dr. Davis served as the Program-Coordinator for the IES grant, Project Words of Oral Reading and Language Development (WORLD).