Presentation Type
Poster
Development of School Readiness in Latino Children Attending Head Start
Abstract
The Florida English Language Learners Attending Head Start (FELLA) study was a federally funded research project with two main goals: 1.) examine the school readiness of Spanish-English bilingual children attending Head Start programs in Florida; and 2.) determine home and classroom factors which may play a role in children's development of school readiness. We assessed the school readiness of two hundred and fifty bilingual Latino Head Start students. School readiness was defined as language, literacy, early numeracy, cognition, approaches to learning, and social-emotional development. Data was collected at two time points in both English and Spanish using subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson III and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, 4th Edition. Factors from both the home and school environment that predict abilities were evaluated through parent interviews, teacher questionnaires, and classroom observations. Preliminary findings will be reported and implications for educators who work with Latino English language learners will be discussed.
Categories
Education
Research Type
Research Assistant
Mentor Information
Dr. Lisa Lopez
Development of School Readiness in Latino Children Attending Head Start
The Florida English Language Learners Attending Head Start (FELLA) study was a federally funded research project with two main goals: 1.) examine the school readiness of Spanish-English bilingual children attending Head Start programs in Florida; and 2.) determine home and classroom factors which may play a role in children's development of school readiness. We assessed the school readiness of two hundred and fifty bilingual Latino Head Start students. School readiness was defined as language, literacy, early numeracy, cognition, approaches to learning, and social-emotional development. Data was collected at two time points in both English and Spanish using subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson III and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, 4th Edition. Factors from both the home and school environment that predict abilities were evaluated through parent interviews, teacher questionnaires, and classroom observations. Preliminary findings will be reported and implications for educators who work with Latino English language learners will be discussed.
