Instructional Practices and Supports of Emergent Multilingual Learners in Universal Prekindergarten Classrooms in New York City

• In Event: Supporting Classroom Practices for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children through Teacher-Focused Professional Development 

Abstract

New York City (NYC) has witnessed unprecedented expansion of prekindergarten programs for young children. Due to the highly diverse student population in New York City, UPK classrooms have a high concentration of Emergent Multilingual Learners (EMLs). In 2017, EMLs made up 28% of its total prekindergarten population in New York State, with 75% of those students attending programs within the NYC Department of Education. This study aimed to explore the instructional needs of EMLs and the professional development needs of the workforce that serve EMLs.

We observed 50 UPK classrooms (49 classrooms were monolingual, and one dual language classroom) between January 2018 and June 2019. Using mixed methods—direct structured observation and survey questionnaires, we identified the instructional practices of and professional supports for meeting the needs of young EMLs in NYC Prekindergarten classrooms. The following research questions were investigated:

1. What are teaching team and program leader characteristics across our sample of UPK classrooms with EML students?
2. What emerging high-quality practices are enacted by teaching teams to facilitate EMLs’ language and literacy development and to support their social emotional development?
3. What support do NYC Universal Prekindergarten teachers and leaders receive related to teaching and supporting young EMLs?

Among the 50 participating sites in our sample, the average size of a teaching team was two, and the average class size was 17 students. The average proportion of EMLs was 40% with the majority of EMLs (57%) speaking Spanish. Classrooms varied in language diversity; over 40% of classrooms had 3 or more home languages other than English spoken by EMLs and their families.

90% of the leaders are female; 77% of the leaders are from racially diverse backgrounds. Approximately 90% of them have master’s degrees and above. 98% of teachers have bachelor’s degrees and 74% have master’s degrees. 64% of lead teachers majored in early childhood education.

Within generally warm and supportive environments, observations using the Classroom Assessment of Supports for English Language Acquisition (CASELA) revealed significant variation in the extent of teachers’ incorporation of individual EML students’ backgrounds and experiences into classroom instruction. Collectively, the sampled classrooms did not demonstrate strong evidence in any of the six CASELA domains. Whereas programs performed relatively better in the areas of gathering EMLs’ background information, having rich curriculum materials, and demonstrating support for English language learning, there was little evidence of cultural inclusion and integration, bilingual assessment, or instructional support for EMLs’ home language.

Our findings point to potential areas requiring increased support for educators. Leaders, lead teachers, and assistant teachers all reported to receive professional development in core areas related to teacher-student interactions and cultural responsiveness in supporting EMLs. However, these opportunities did not seem to be intensive or systematic. Four general themes emerged in teaching teams’ self-identified professional development needs: professional training and workshops (i.e., instructional information and support, multicultural competence); strategies and research-aligned “best practices” for serving EMLS (e.g., instructional support, social emotional support, language and literacy strategies); materials and resources; and family engagement strategies.

Authors

• Chun Zhang

• Tiedan Huang

• Caitlin Coe, Fordham University
  Presenting Author