PhD Alumna Elizabeth Miller Publishes Four Articles from 2016 Dissertation

Alumna Elizabeth Miller (UCI PhD in Education in 2016, specialized in Educational Policy and Social Context) has published all four chapters from her dissertation: Use of Spanish In Head Start and Dual Language Learners' Academic Achievement: A Mixed-Methods Study. Her dissertation advisor was Professor George Farkas. Currently, Dr. Miller is Project Director for SMART Beginnings at New York University Institute of Human Development and Social Change.

1. Spanish Instruction in Head Start and Dual Language Learners’ Academic Achievement
 
Miller, E. B. (2017). Spanish instruction in Head Start and Dual Language Learners’ academic achievement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 52, 159-169. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2017.07.008
 
Abstract: Data from the Head Start Impact Study (N=1141) and the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, 2009 Cohort (N=825) were used to investigate whether Spanish instruction in Head Start differentially increased Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners' (DLLs) academic achievement. Although hypothesized that Spanish instruction would be beneficial for DLLs' early literacy and math skills, results from residualized growth models showed there were no such positive associations. Somewhat surprisingly, DLL children instructed in Spanish had higher English receptive vocabulary skills at the end of the Head Start year than those not instructed, with children randomly assigned to Head Start and instructed in Spanish having the highest scores. Policy implications for Head Start-eligible Spanish-speaking DLLs are discussed. Head Start data were used to determine program impacts for Spanish-speaking DLLs. The association between Spanish instruction and English outcomes was examined. Instructing DLL children in Spanish improved English receptive vocabulary. Instructing DLL children in Spanish did not improve other outcome domains.

2. Four Classrooms Model How Teachers Use Spanish in Head Start
 
Miller, E. B. (2017). Four classrooms model how teachers use Spanish in Head Start. NHSA Dialog: The Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field, 19(3), 83-93.
 
Abstract: National Head Start policy mandates incorporating Dual Language Learner (DLL) children’s home language in classroom instruction. It is less clear, however, how this is actually implemented in early childhood classrooms. In four local Head Start centers in a predominantly Spanish-speaking DLL county, classroom observations helped shed light on when the home language of Spanish was used and how it may have contributed to DLL children’s school readiness skills. The observations revealed that Spanish was used to promote certain academic as well as planning and recall skills; to provide emotional caregiving; and to communicate with parents as well as during daily health routines. Thus, in line with Head Start’s “whole child” model, Spanish was used for academic, socio-emotional, and health development as well as to strengthen the home-school partnership.

3. How Spanish is Used in Head Start: Observational Evidence from Four Classrooms
 
Miller, E. B. (2017). How Spanish is used in Head Start: Observational evidence from four classrooms. NHSA Dialog: The Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field, 19(3), 1-26.
 
Abstract: Developmental science recommends and national Head Start policy mandates incorporating Dual Language Learner (DLL) children’s home language in classroom instruction. It is less clear, however, how this is implemented in the real-world context of early childhood classrooms. In four local Head Start centers in a predominantly Spanish-speaking DLL county, exploratory qualitative observations helped shed light on when the home language of Spanish was used in the classroom and how it may have contributed to DLL children’s school readiness skills. Emergent patterns from the observations revealed that Spanish was used to promote certain academic as well as planning and recall skills; to provide emotional caregiving; and to communicate with parents as well as during daily health routines. Thus, in line with Head Start’s “whole child” model, Spanish was used in the domains of academic, socio-emotional, and health development as well as to strengthen the home-school partnership. Implications for practice are discussed.

4. Child Care Enrollment Decisions Among Dual Language Learner Families: The Role of Spanish Language Instruction in the Child Care Setting
 
Miller, E. B. (2016). Child care enrollment decisions among Dual Language Learner families: The role of Spanish language instruction in the child care setting. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36(3), 223-232. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.01.003
 
Abstract: Data from the Head Start Impact Study (N = 1141) and the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, 2009 Cohort (N = 825) were used to describe child care enrollment decisions among Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learner (DLL) families. In particular, logistic regression models tested which child, family, and institutional characteristics predicted enrollment in early care and education (ECE) settings that used Spanish for instruction versus enrollment in settings that did not use Spanish. Results showed that whether the child’s first language was exclusively Spanish and whether other DLL families previously attended the ECE arrangement strongly predicted whether that child enrolled. Policy implications for Head Start-eligible Spanish-speaking DLLs are discussed.


About Elizabeth B. Miller: Dr. Elizabeth B. Miller received her Ph.D. from the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine specializing in Education Policy & Social Context. She also holds a Master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University. Elizabeth’s research interests include early childhood policy interventions and how these interventions can increase low-income children’s school readiness. She is particularly interested for which groups of children these policies work best and has a special focus on Dual Language Learners. Recently, Elizabeth has expanded her focus to include interventions for infants and toddlers in the 0-3 age period. She is currently the project director for the Smart Beginnings. (Source: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/ihdsc/smart/team)