Resource Library
High-Quality Culturally-Relevant UPK Practices Across Communities
Description
This qualitative study will investigate practices and policies in UPK classrooms that are supportive of and responsive to the needs of children and families from low-income, immigrant, and racially/culturally/linguistically diverse backgrounds. The purpose of the study is to shed light on teaching practices, classroom environments, family involvement practices, and organizational structures and policies that are responsive to and sustaining for children and families from these backgrounds. The study will identify high-quality practices in programs that serve high percentages of high-need, immigrant and culturally/linguistically diverse children across districts in differently resourced communities - one low-income, one middle-income, and one affluent. Within each of these districts, three classrooms will be studied - representing both public school and community-based UPKs - which will enable the exploration of some of the variation between public school and NYCEEC UPK contexts as well as between programs in differently resourced communities. Please see the resources section below for the final report.
Design
Participants:
- Educators
- Families
- Children
- Administrators
- Community Members
Sampling Strategy:
1 UPK program in a DOE and 2 NYCEEC sites (9 sites altogether) will be selected from each of the 3 districts (after ascertaining that they have certified teachers, meet health and safety requirements, and display effective pedagogical practices) based on review of data ECERS-R or CLASS data, and recommendations from administrators, teachers, teacher educators, and families (specifically focusing on cultural and linguistic relevance). We will start with a pilot, observing each classroom in the recommended sites (in 2016-2017) according to a protocol to be developed by the research team, focusing on developmentally appropriate, quality environments as well as cultural and linguistic responsiveness of the program and its classrooms.
Data Collection:
- Each classroom within the identified 9 sites will be observed a minimum of two times. Upon pilot observations (if and as needed), we will modify the instrument so that it captures the nuances of quality teaching practices for diverse learners. Following adjustment of instruments, each classroom in the recommended sites will be observed again.
- One classroom from each of the three selected sites in each of 3 districts studied (n=9) will be selected for an in-depth investigation.
Researchers
Beverly Falk, Ed.D., Professor/Director, Graduate Programs in Early Childhood Education; Affiliate Faculty, CUNY Graduate Center; School of Education
Mariana Souto-Manning, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum & Teaching; Director, Quality Universally Inclusive Early Responsive Education (QUIERE)
Contributing Institutions
City College of New York
Teachers College, Columbia University
Resources
Beverly Falk & Mariana Souto-Manning
This poster was given at the New York City Early Childhood Research Network Research symposium on December 6, 2019. The poster previews key findings from the study of Quality UPK Teaching in Diverse Settings.
Beverly Falk & Mariana Souto-Manning
This presentation was given at the New York City Early Childhood Research Network Research symposium on December 6, 2019. The presentation previews key findings from the study of Quality UPK Teaching in Diverse Settings.
Beverly Falk & Mariana Souto-Manning
This paper reports the findings from research by the City College of New York and Teachers College, Columbia University. It brings together the study of child development, the science of early learning, culturally responsive/relevant pedagogy, and multilingual development. The researchers conducted a study of nine prekindergarten classrooms over a year. These classrooms represented three different socioeconomic communities in New York City. Their findings illustrate how putting the seven articulated principles into practice promotes high-quality early learning.