Editorial

The topic of this special issue of Topics in Early Childhood Special Education is “Research to Practice for Dual Language Learners (DLLs) in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE).” Young children who speak languages other than English at home are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, and the EI/ECSE field needs to respond by developing evidence-based practices to meet their unique cultural and linguistic needs (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017). The most recent version of the Division for Early Childhood Recommended Practices (2014) provides specific recommendations for DLLs, including providing support for home languages, assessing children in their home language and English, and emphasizing culturally responsive practices. More guidance is needed to provide evidence-based approaches to implementing current recommended practices. This special issue includes articles that tackle pressing issues facing the field. Our goal with this issue is to provide an avenue to synthesize the current literature and to provide direction to researchers, practitioners, and administrators. Given limited evidence, the ever-growing population, and the need to promote equity in our practices, the imperative is clear to focus research efforts in this area.

The first manuscript, Systematic Review of English Early Literacy Interventions for Children Who Are Dual Language Learners, directly addresses this need by summarizing research that can directly influence practices in the field. Nationally, about 82% of special education teachers are White, and of those, most are monolingual English speakers (Data USA, 2019). Therefore, even while we strive to increase the diversity in our field, it is important to provide evidence-based recommendations for best practices in English given that is the primary language used in service delivery. These authors reviewed 25 studies to explore the effects of both English and bilingual approaches to early literacy instruction and the effects of both on English and Spanish literacy outcomes. The authors provide important evidence regarding the effects of both approaches and the limitations about what is known. They found positive effects for some forms of English early literacy instruction for young children who are DLLs and identified several areas for which additional research is needed. For example, additional research is needed with authentic intervention agents including a broader diversity of instructional strategies on English early literacy skills.

In the second manuscript, Early Literacy Growth in Spanish-Speaking Children With and At-Risk for Disabilities in Early Childhood, the authors present important findings about growth trajectories in phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge in English and Spanish. Growth trajectories were compared between children who scored below benchmark or had identified disabilities to typically developing peers. Although there have been numerous studies published focused on the language and early literacy growth of young DLLs in English and Spanish, none have specifically compared these populations (Durán & Wackerle-Hollman, 2018). This study included 325 Spanish-speaking preschoolers who were both simultaneous and sequential bilinguals from primarily Head Start programs and found that children below benchmark and those with disabilities demonstrate significant growth over the year. They actually grew at the same rate as their typically developing peers on a measure of phonological awareness, and interestingly, they actually demonstrated significantly higher growth rates in alphabet knowledge. These findings suggest that children who begin the school year below benchmark still demonstrate significant growth even in status quo early childhood settings. The authors also suggest that assessments that allow us to accurately capture children’s growth are needed in addition to benchmarking. Although children with disabilities may be below benchmark, it is important to document the gains they are making in these critical skill areas. This study provides evidence that some children with disabilities or who are performing below benchmark may be able to catch up to their typical peers if provided targeted and effective instructional support given their growth rates in settings with little literacy instruction. This is a critical finding given the importance of these foundational skills to later reading success and the academic risk associated with low performance in early literacy at kindergarten entrance (Lonigan & Shanahan, 2009).

In the third manuscript, Social Validity in Early Interventions for Dual Language Learners: A Systematic Review of the Literature, the authors provide a unique perspective on the role of social validity in intervention research focused on DLLs. Social validity is central to informing the development of culturally and linguistically responsive interventions that include practices that are acceptable and congruent with current practices and, therefore, more likely to be adopted by participants. The authors reviewed 11 studies and examined the extent to which social validity was reported and how it was measured. They also present the findings of the social validity measures embedded in the included studies and the implications for research and practice. This is the first study to-date that has systematically reviewed the literature to address critical research questions regarding social validity in research focused on interventions with DLLs. The article is an important contribution and is a call to the field to systematically include high-quality and targeted measures of social validity in future research with DLLs.

In the fourth manuscript, Latino Caregivers’ Interactions With Their Children With Language Delays: A Comparison Study, the authors compare the interactions of low socioeconomic status (SES) Latino Spanish-speaking caregivers and non-Latino higher SES caregivers with their young children. Forty caregiver–child dyads were recorded during play episodes, and videos were coded for interaction characteristics, use of naturalistic language support strategies, and linguistic input. The findings provide much-needed evidence on the strengths of Latino caregivers and the ways in which naturalistic interventions designed to enhance caregiver–child language interactions can be designed to be culturally responsive and build on the characteristics observed in their interaction styles. The enhanced warm interaction style noted in the study between Latino caregivers and their children has also been documented in previous research and is known as “cariño” in many Latin American cultures (Livas-Dlott et al., 2010). Differences were noted between the two groups, but it is critical that these differences are not framed as deficits. Caregiver–child interaction patterns differ cross-culturally, and more research is needed on larger sample sizes to reduce the risk of overgeneralizing the findings to all Latino populations and to parse out differences based on culture versus SES. This study provides important preliminary findings that can inform future work in this area.

We are grateful for all of authors who contributed to this special issue on research to practice with DLLs. There is an incredible amount of research that needs to be conducted to fully inform our practices with DLLs receiving EI/ECSE services and those who are at risk of identification. As a field, we need to challenge ourselves to move beyond deficit thinking to valuing and building on the strengths of these children and families. In that spirit, I share this quote from Norma González’s (2006) book I Am My Language: Discourses of Women and Children in the Borderlands:

These children are children of promise. They are not “at-risk”; they are not disadvantaged. Their struggle is the struggle of children everywhere—to grow and develop in a world that is sometimes confusing, sometimes harsh, sometimes ambivalent, but within which they are uniquely endowed to grow.

May we continue to support this growth through our commitment to research and improved culturally and linguistically responsive practices with young DLLs and their families.