Radical Truths About Reggio-Inspired Approach: Transforming the Status Quo for Emergent Multilinguals

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Two
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Early Childhood Conversations and Practices (Table 12)

Abstract

This research paper proposes a new transformative frame for Reggio-inspired early childhood teacher education in the United States, based on data from a 5-state study group conducted by 11 researchers. The data include 76 surveys collected from early childhood teachers and leaders at the study trip in Italy, observation notes written by the researchers, and phone interviews with selected participants after the trip. The findings disrupt the convenient truths of “English-centric, and deficit-based descriptions of bilingualism” (Soto-Boykin, Larson, Olszewski, Velury, & Feldberg, 2021). The researcher proposes a new transformative frame for the rights of emergent multilingual children and their families, so that they could receive equitable learning opportunities in early childhood centers and preschools.

Author

• Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, Webster University
  Presenting Author