56.052 - International Perspectives on Bilingualism in Early Childhood Education and Care Programs

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

In the US and other countries ECEC programs face the challenge of providing appropriate services for children whose home language is not the national language. This includes children of recent migrants and children from ethnic communities that have retained their heritage language. The papers in this panel present findings from studies of preschool programs serving such children in a variety of national and cultural contexts. By presenting a set of papers that explore how bilingualism plays out in preschools in China, France, and Germany, and the US, this panel demonstrates the value of research on bilingual policies and practices in ECEC settings that attend to the significance of political, cultural, and social context.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Early Education and Child Development

Chair

• Bing Xiao, Austin Peay State University

Papers

• How the Word Gap Argument Justifies Educational Inequalities for Young Children of Immigrants - Jennifer Keys Adair, The University of Texas - Austin

• The Bilingual Learning and School Readiness of Uyghur Preschoolers in Xinjiang, China - Jing Zhou, East China Normal University; Zhang Li, East China Normal University; Chang Liu, University of Georgia - Athens; Lanbin Min, Xinjiang Normal University

• Perspectives on Bilingual Education of Turkish Migrant Parents in France and Germany - Fikriye Kurban, Arizona State University

• Immigrant Parents' Linguistic Pragmatism - Joseph J. Tobin, University of Georgia

Discussant

• Fabienne Doucet, New York University