Addressing multilingual learners' literacy development requires understanding cross-language relationships between their first and second languages. The current study investigated how Spanish language and literacy skills relate to English language and literacy skills in 106 Spanish-speaking multilingual learners in kindergarten through second grade. Using an achievement test in both Spanish and English, multilevel models revealed three key findings. First, there was partial support for the interdependence continuum: Spanish decoding significantly predicted English decoding (b = 0.73, p < .001), but Spanish reading comprehension and oral language did not predict their English counterparts. Second, Spanish decoding and oral language showed no significant cross-domain relationships with English reading comprehension. Third, English oral language did not moderate Spanish-to-English relationships, but English oral language was a consistent and significant predictor of English reading comprehension, while Spanish skills did not uniquely predict English reading comprehension beyond English oral language. Findings suggest the importance of L1 word-level skills instruction to support multilingual learners' English literacy development in early elementary grades.
This study sought to respond to calls for increased attention to syntactic instruction, including instruction that is responsive to students' literacy needs and linguistic resources. Through a mixed-methods study, we sought to explore whether a syntactic intervention that focused on building students' metalanguage and metatalk was effective in supporting syntactic knowledge. In this study, 49 sixth graders in an urban middle school in the western US were assigned to one of two conditions: a treatment condition receiving syntactic instruction (n = 25) or an alternate condition (n = 24). Although these results are exploratory, quantitative data analysis suggested that students in the treatment condition showed a deeper understanding of targeted syntactic constructions (i.e., appositive phrases) within connected text than students in the alternate condition (p = .04). In addition, qualitative analysis of interview data suggested that students in the treatment condition leveraged metalanguage and metatalk taught in the intervention to evaluate the function and purpose of syntactic features. While more research is needed, these results suggest the potential value of syntactic instruction in supporting students' syntactic knowledge, including the value of leveraging metalanguage and metatalk specifically.
Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation can provide teachers with collective opportunities to learn about data-based decision making (DBDM) and increase their self-efficacy around this process. This study explores teacher awareness of RTI for reading implementation and its relation to self-efficacy for DBDM. Survey data comprised 1,000 teachers in 63 elementary schools across 12 states. Administrators of these 63 schools were interviewed using a standard interview protocol. Using a multiple indicator multiple cause model, we found awareness of RTI to be related to self-efficacy in DBDM. Teachers providing Tier 2 support and teachers in schools where paraeducators provided tiered instruction had higher awareness. Administrators' description of RTI was not related to teacher awareness. These results suggest higher teacher involvement in RTI policies and procedures might provide vicarious and mastery experiences around DBDM that lead to increased self-efficacy in DBDM.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid rising social and economic challenges, many Pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) children, particularly those identified as at-risk for early literacy difficulties and related educational challenges, are entering school with underdeveloped social-emotional competencies, limited language exposure, and reduced access to nurturing learning environments. This mixed-method study examines how emotionally responsive teaching through positive storybook reading initiatives is associated with changes in the social-ecological resilience of Pre-K children (n = 278) at risk for early literacy difficulties and related educational challenges. It also explores how pre-service teachers (n = 12) implement this literacy-based intervention to support these children's emotional well-being and foundational reading skills. Findings indicated statistically significant increases in emotional regulation, peer relationships, and sense of belonging following the intervention, with variations linked to school context and implementation. Reflections from pre-service teachers suggested that integrating social-emotional learning with literacy instruction was associated with the development of empathy, perseverance, and problem-solving skills. Overall, the findings support the view that resilience may be conceptualized as a teachable capacity that can be nurtured through developmentally appropriate storytelling, highlighting a scalable approach for supporting the well-being and academic success of vulnerable young learners.
