This article focuses on self-identified Spanish-speaking early childhood educators' experiences with and views of bilingualism as they learned about translanguaging--a dynamic, liberatory, and culturally and linguistically sustaining theory and practice of language. Artifacts and conversations with teachers showed that, counter to many of their…

Research Findings: Shared book reading is important for children's early literacy development. Although there is an increasing number of dual language learners, few studies have examined families' shared book reading practices in their two languages. The current study examined Hispanic parents' beliefs and practices during shared reading in…

Only 15% of children with hearing loss who could receive a cochlear implant receive one leaving American Sign Language (ASL) as their access to communication. Spanish-speaking families face even greater challenges including learning different languages/cultures and lack of trained Hispanic professionals. This study identifies how Hispanic mothers…

The population of Spanish-speaking preschoolers in the United States continues to increase and there is a significant need to develop psychometrically sound early language and literacy screening measures to accurately capture children's ability in Spanish. In this paper, we describe the innovative design and calibration process of the new…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the way in which items on the Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey Revised (WMLS-R) Spanish and English versions function for bilingual children from different ethnic subgroups who speak different dialects of Spanish. Using data from a sample of 324 bilingual Hispanic families and their children living on the…

In recent years, there has been a growing interest among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in early bilingual development and the unique role of the educational setting's language policy in this development. In this article, we describe how one dual language preschool teacher, in partnership with two co-teachers, navigated the tensions…

This article analyzes the role that individual differences in children's cognitive, Spanish competence, and socio-emotional and behavioral skills play in predicting the concurrent and longitudinal acquisition of English among a large sample of ethnically diverse, low-income, Hispanic preschool children. Participants assessed at age 4 for language,…

The Mayo Clinic Disparities Program and the University of North Florida Brooks College of Health partnered with representatives of the Hispanic community of Northeast Florida to develop an educational program aimed at raising awareness of the importance of diet in breast cancer prevention and availability of free breast cancer screening. An…

Objective: This article presents the results of testing draft folic acid educational materials with key gatekeepers, leading to the development of a Spanish-language print advertisement, poster, and radio public service announcement (PSA) aimed at promoting folic acid consumption among 18- to 25-year-old young Latina adults, as well as a…

Many Cuban Americans embrace a distinctive anti-Castro ideology. Although this ideology supports the embargo against Cuba--purportedly to bring about the Castro regime's compliance or collapse--the real objectives may be more symbolic than practical. Ultimately, the institutional completeness provided by the enclave in South Florida insulates and…

The objective of the study was to identify and evaluate factors that are associated with differences in substance abuse between non-acculturated and acculturated Hispanic youth. We employed t-test and logistic regression to analyze self-reported survey data from 8,200 self-described Hispanic students. The outcome variable was past 30-day use of…

Results of a sociolinguistic analysis of bilingualism indicated a statistically significant difference in the amounts of English and Spanish used in two contexts: formal and familial settings. The data suggest that Spanish-English bilingualism is at a crossroads: youths are bilingual by grade 12 but appear to be shifting toward English as their…

Hispanic first graders who spoke only Spanish at home (OSH) and those who spoke English and Spanish at home (ESH) performed near the mean on a Spanish adaptation of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-R). The ESH children scored higher than OSH children on the PPVT-R. (BC)

Purpose: Dementia caregiving is a rapidly growing public health problem. Logistical problems prevent many caregivers from utilizing available interventions. This article provides a demonstration of the usefulness of technology for conducting telephone-based support groups in ethnically diverse dementia caregivers. Design and Methods: Participants…

The purpose of this working paper is to review current literature on literacy programs for parents of English language learners (ELLs). The paper includes a summary of five literacy programs for ELL parents throughout the United States of America. Four of these were system-wide interventions affecting more than one school or classroom. Each…