This article describes the needs analysis, implementation and outcomes of a pilot program aimed at creating books with families in ways that represent their language and culture. "Creating Books in Communities" is part of "Better Beginnings," a state-wide program, developed by the State Library of Western Australia, for…

Language and learning norms constitute the biggest constraint for refugee learners attempting to access education in Uganda because they struggle to demonstrate competencies in English despite acquiring them in their local language (Arabic, French, or Swahili). Learners are assigned to lower levels, contributing to misalignment between their…

All Arabic-speaking children grow up in diglossia. They use a spoken Arabic vernacular (SpA) for everyday speech but Standard Arabic (StA) for reading/writing. The current study reports a pilot diglossia-centred intervention among Palestinian-Arabic-speaking kindergarteners (N = 290; mean age 64.52 months). The study examines the effectiveness of…

It is hypothesized that variability found in the effects of family literacy programs results from differences in implementation by parents. In this study, the implementation and effects of a Dutch program were examined in a sample of 207 kindergarteners (mean age at pre-test: 64 months). No main intervention effects on children's literacy…

This paper is the first to examine the longitudinal results of six years of implementation of Literacy Squared, a biliteracy model for Spanish/English speaking emerging bilingual students. This model includes paired literacy instruction with grade-specific time allocations for Spanish literacy and literacy-based ELD. Furthermore, cross-language…

Pedagogical reforms, specifically, the Thematic Curriculum and the Local Language Policy, have failed to improve literacy in Uganda despite a concerted effort from the Government of Uganda and its international development partners. This paper distills the major literacy programs used to scale up the reforms nationwide and summarizes what they did…

Bilingual education that incorporates a local language alongside the official language has become an increasingly common approach in sub-Saharan Africa for improving literacy rates and learning outcomes. Evidence suggests that bilingual instruction is largely associated with positive learning and literacy outcomes globally. However, the adoption…

Objectives: This study examined the effectiveness of Sound Partners, an evidence-based early literacy intervention program, with culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students within an applied Response to Intervention (RTI) system. Method: Participants (n = 11) with a range of English language proficiency (ELP) who spoke English,…

In Haiti, 49% of students cannot read a single word in Creole by the time they start grade 3, which is reflective of a broader learning crisis in low-income and fragile contexts. Read to Learn, an early-grade literacy intervention, was implemented and evaluated from fall 2014 through spring 2016 with the aim of improving students' reading skills.…

RMC Research used a case study approach to document implementation of "Imagine Language & Literacy" and a correlational design to examine the relationship between student program usage and student academic achievement outcomes for students in grades K-2. "Imagine Language & Literacy" is a digital education program…

The Language and Culture Division (LCD) provides accountability with support to districts that serve students participating in Bilingual Multicultural Education Programs (BMEPs) so that all participating students achieve the program goals as outlined by New Mexico statute and administrative code, which are: (1) students become bilingual and…

Background/Context: As dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs expand nationwide, parental feedback becomes crucial in evaluating their effectiveness and ensuring equitable access. Understanding the perspectives of diverse parental groups, including marginalized and privileged communities, is essential for developing inclusive and…

While families play a vital role in the early literacy skills of young English Learners, their educators often do not share the same backgrounds or cultures, and may not know how to connect with parents who are linguistically and culturally different. As part of a year-long grant funded professional development project, the authors led teams of…

The growing diversity in schools in the United States resulting from the rising number of English learners (ELs) has put more pressure on both children and teachers. Teachers are faced with the challenge of meeting the educational needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners, including the unique needs of CLD children with…

In September 2015, the United Nations ratified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including a central goal to improve the quality of learning, and attain universal literacy. As part of this effort, the UN and other funding agencies see technology as a major enabling tool for achievement of the SDGs. However, little evidence exists concerning…