July/August 2006
While much of the research on school readiness
has focused on children, a group of researchers in North Carolina
is looking at the issue from the opposite perspective: Are schools
ready for the diversity of young children who walk through their
doors?
Richard Clifford, a senior scientist at the University
of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill’s FPG
Child Development Institute, says that closing early learning
gaps depends in large part on addressing the mismatch between what
today’s children need and what schools currently provide.
A U.S. Census report released in May 2006 found
that nearly half of all children under 5 in the United States are
from racial or ethnic minority groups. The fastest-growing segment
is Hispanic children, many of whom are from families where Spanish
is spoken at home.
“We have very large numbers of children
coming to school from backgrounds that are associated with their
being at risk for school failure,” Clifford says. “Yet
schools are struggling to have staff that have facility in a language
other than English or are reflective of the population of children
who are here.”
The FPG Child Development Institute, which conducts
research and helps schools around the country design effective programs
for children in preK through grade 3, has formed a committee at
the institute that will specifically examine how prekindergarten
through early elementary schools can support diverse learners in
four areas:
- practices that address the specific learning
needs of English-language learners
- “early intervening” to address
the needs of young children who may be eligible for special services
- “culturally responsive practices”
that take into account the diversity of children’s ethnic
and racial backgrounds
- early childhood inclusion programs to support
more widespread education of young children with special needs
in mainstream classrooms
“These are the areas where teachers
are really struggling,” says committee cochair Virginia Buysse,
also a senior scientist at UNC’s FPG Child Development Institute.
“Most teachers just don’t have the training or experience
to meet the needs of these children.”
For Further Information
FPG Child Development Institute, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8180, Chapel Hill, NC 27599;
tel.: (919) 966-2622. www.fpg.unc.edu
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