Creative manipulations of language have long been recognized as important aspects of second language development. Research has largely examined playful language within adult foreign language classrooms; however, less attention has been given to the pragmatic use of humor among adolescent multilingual learners of English. Drawing on oral…

We reviewed three existing reviews of literature: two related to cultural and linguistic diversity in well-regarded special education research outlets including "Advances in Special Education," and the third regarding constructions of culture, race, disability, and risk in early childhood and early childhood special education (ECSE)…

Statewide Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) enrollment data suggests that the percentage of children from homes where English is not the primary language has remained steady over the past four years at around a third of the enrolled population (33% in 2015-16 and 32% in 2019-20). In ECEAP, children from homes where English…

Black, Latine, and Indigenous students continue to face inequities in high school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outcomes in the United States (US). Racial disparities between teachers and students contribute to this issue, as teachers of color represent less than thirty percent of public-school educators, while most US…

Purpose: Most educational assessments tend to be constructed in a close-ended format, which is easier to score consistently and more affordable. However, recent work has leveraged computation text methods from the information sciences to make open-ended measurement more effective and reliable for older students. This study asks whether such text…

A common misconception about math is that it requires raw intellectual talent or "brilliance." Only students who possess this sort of brilliance are assumed to be capable of success in math-related subjects. This harmful myth has far-reaching consequences for the success of girls and children from ethnic-minority backgrounds in these…

The study examined seven early literacy classrooms to determine whether they mirrored the diversity in the classroom and community. Upstate New York has experienced double-digit increases in diversity indices since the 1980s. Instruction must keep apace. Analysis of observation and interview data using Constant Comparative Analysis and Classical…

This research is a collection of three studies that aim to better understand what it might mean for a White teacher to do right by her Black students in a mathematics classroom. By using a practitioner research design, I examine my own teaching in an all Black seventh grade low track mathematics class in an urban school. In the first study I…

In this article, Federico R. Waitoller and Kathleen A. King Thorius extend recent discussions on culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) in order to explicitly account for student dis/ability. The authors engage in this work as part of an inclusive education agenda. Toward this aim, they discuss how CSP and universal design for learning will benefit…

In the fall of 2016, the "Harvard Educational Review" ("HER") published "Cross-Pollinating Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning: Toward an Inclusive Pedagogy that Accounts for Dis/Ability" by Federico R. Waitoller, assistant professor in the Department of Special Education at the University…

According to 2016-2017 school enrollment data, 31.6% of K-5 students were English Learners (ELs) in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Of the many languages spoken at home by students, the most popular languages other than English are Spanish (19.14%) and Cantonese (15.88%). To respond to their needs, SFUSD offers programming that…

The n-word is unique in the English language. On one hand, it is the ultimate insult- a word that has tormented generations of African Americans. Yet over time, it has become a popular term of endearment by the descendents of the very people who once had to endure it. Among many young people today--black and white--the n-word can mean "friend".…

The purpose of this study is to describe what data preschools in a mid-sized city in the Northeast collect, how they use that data, and the challenges they face. The study focuses on three types of data: early learning outcomes, dosage (i.e., the amount of exposure to early childhood education), and classroom quality. The report further…

This "Stated Briefly" report is a companion piece that summarizes the results of another report of the same name. This study explores how seven early childhood education programs in a mid-sized city in the Northeast region are collecting and using data, how they would like to use data, how they could use the data that they have, and the…

This in-depth case study of classroom interaction illuminated how a white female teacher and African American students used talk to build positive authority relationships across their racial difference. Racial difference in classrooms can engender cultural misunderstandings between teachers and students around behavior, communication, and learning…