The research reported on here elaborated on the effects that images displayed on the walls have in schools as a variable in evaluating the educational quality. Mixed methods were used to analyse the images displayed on the walls of 27 classrooms to determine their provenance and authorship. The results show quantitative, qualitative and…

The family--school relationship develops largely during face-to-face interactions between parents and teachers. Research shows that reciprocal and informal communication reinforces collaboration, especially between schools and families from minority groups. Yet, teacher practices regularly express a reluctance to implement reciprocal…

Understanding different cultural beliefs and practices has become increasingly important for early childhood educators in the contemporary United States. This paper investigates how preschool teachers and administrators navigate different cultural discourses in classrooms that frequently go unidentified or ignored, and how they support children…

This paper uses data from research projects that deliberately set out to tell positive stories about educators who were working with the children and families of migratory agricultural workers in the US. The aim underpinning these projects was to move beyond the deficit discourses and stories of blame that so often circulate, particularly in…

Since 2017, immigration enforcement in the US has increased, and as a consequence, many more young children are vulnerable to being separated from their parents and are living with daily fear and stress of parental deportation. This article documents stories from interviews with early care service providers and immigrant parents in six states…

Background/Context: Many scholars in the fields of teacher education, multicultural education, and bilingual education have argued that children of recent immigrants are best served in classrooms that have teachers who understand the cultural background and the home language of their students. Culturally knowledgeable and responsive teachers are…

Soon the author will have a new child in her classroom. Jingsong, four years old, arrived here in the United States from China only two weeks ago. Jingsong's father does not speak fluent English, Jingsong does not speak any English, and his mother lives in China. The author will be this child's first teacher in his new country, and she does not…

Experts throughout the United States tell us that teachers must support the home language development of all young children. Karen Nemeth emphasizes the important role early childhood educators play in ensuring that young dual language learners retain skills in their home language while building new English language skills. She invites educators…

Early childhood teachers in Victoria, Australia face increasing cultural and "racial" diversity among the children and families with whom they work. A small-scale exploratory study found that many teachers were uncertain about how best to respond to such diversity and a mismatch between social expectations that teachers would encourage…