Natalia Palacios

University of Virginia | UVa · School of Education and Human Development

Significant differences in language and self-regulation skills exist among children when they enter formal schooling. Contributing to these language differences is a growing population of dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States. Given evidence linking self-regulatory processes and language development, this study explored bidirectional a...

We examined the language practices of five mother-child dyads during a structured play activity, particularly in relation to maternal question use. The study includes second-generation, four year-old children of Mexican immigrants who demonstrate either high vocabulary levels in English and Spanish or low-levels of vocabulary in both languages. Exa...

This study examined young emergent bilinguals’ cognate and false cognate knowledge and vocabulary outcomes on four early-language assessments in English and Spanish. Findings revealed that children were able to use shared phonology of words—before they had developed extensive knowledge about their orthography—to recognize and produce cognates. In a...

The analysis of 21,409 participants of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten cohort focused on home and school factors sought to understand the level of reading mastery that children experienced throughout elementary school and Grade 8 by relating home language use, timing of oral English language proficiency, and the provision of sch...

Utilizing Utah state data, the aim of this study is to examine the association between language program types programs (dual language programs [DLI], sheltered instruction [SEI], and English as a second language [ESL]) since first grade and third-grade basic literacy skills of Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) in the United States. We employ...

Current approaches to supporting students in the transition to elementary school fail to meet the needs of Latinx immigrant children and their families in the United States. Typical approaches place the responsibility on families to help their children adapt to the expectations of their teacher, classroom, and school without recognizing the specifi...

Following a theoretical framework that recognizes the potential of promotive and inhibitive effects on children’s development, this study explored child-, family-, classroom-, and school-level factors as predictors of Latinx (N = 4,590) students’ early elementary science achievement. Research Findings: Employing a path modeling approach with ECLS-K...

Children from Latinx families bring rich and varied literacy practices and cultural models to their classrooms. When teachers are able to recognize these assets, they have opportunities to make their teaching more responsive and engaging. One way to learn about these assets is through relationship‐building, assets‐framed home visits. In this articl...

In this chapter, the authors focus on research-based strategies that support teachers to learn about the assets and wealth that culturally and linguistically marginalized (CLM) families possess. The authors explore how to support CLM families' agency to engage with their children's schooling in ways that specifically reflect these families' needs a...

In this chapter, the authors focus on research-based strategies that support teachers to learn about the assets and wealth that culturally and linguistically marginalized (CLM) families possess. The authors explore how to support CLM families' agency to engage with their children's schooling in ways that specifically reflect these families' needs a...

When identifying parental socialization processes influencing children's reading achievement, building self‐regulation is a potential underlying mechanism. Yet socialization (i.e., warmth, stress) of self‐regulation may vary based on the sociocultural context of ethnic minority families. Using the ECLS‐K: 2011 (N = 17,020; MAge = 73.43 mos, SD = 4....

Wordless picturebooks provide opportunities for both families and teachers to engage with narrative texts beyond the confines of a particular language. In this ethnographic study, the researchers examined how one multilingual family interacted with a wordless picturebook across time. They observed shifts in who engaged with the reading; evidence of...

The study explored cognitive flexibility, working memory, and effortful control as mediating factors of the direct associations between children's primary home language and parental foreign-born status and early reading and mathematics trajectories. The study used data from the ECLS-K: 2011 and included Latino children only (age = 5.58; N = 4590)....

Through in-home ethnographic observations of three multilingual immigrant families’ shared book reading, we identified recurring literacy practices in the home in which mothers, older siblings, and younger children participated during the reading. We found that families engaged in context-sensitive and cooperative shared reading practices, wherein...

In order to identify culturally adaptive approaches to socialization of school readiness skills involving siblings in Latinx families, researchers investigated how Latinx older siblings interact with younger siblings in the context of shared reading to support social emotional skills in three Latinx immigrant families. Analyses revealed that older...

This article synthesizes multiple studies that we have conducted on language and literacy practices among Latinx siblings at home, and identifies implications for teaching. Examples from micro-ethnographic discourse analyses provide rich vignettes of sibling interactions within Mexican and Central American immigrant households to illustrate how sib...

Background/Context: Latino English language learners (ELLs) comprise a rapidly growing portion of the student population, and much empirical attention has been devoted to supporting their English language and literacy proficiency. Less is known about how to support Latino ELLs’ social-emotional needs. Latino ELLs face the dual challenge of learning...

We used structural equation modeling in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort (N = 17,020) to explore the influence of having an older sibling on kindergarten‐age focal children's cognitive self‐regulation. In Model 1, we tested how having a sibling who is generally older than the focal child contributes to the focal child's wo...

Students' academic achievement is the result of the interplay between person-level and contextual factors (R. R: Greene, 2014; D. E. Hunt, 1975). Students perform better when classroom characteristics support their characteristics. The authors examine whether student perceptions of two classroom characteristics (care and control) fit with two Latin...

Teachers need more clarity about effective teaching practices as they strive to help their low-achieving students understand mathematics. Our study describes the instructional practices used by two teachers who, by value-added metrics, would be considered “highly effective teachers” in classrooms with a majority of students who were English learner...

Teaching is comprised of interconnected practices. Some practices are domain-neutral (DN) or independent of a content area. Examples of DN practices include emotional and instructional support and classroom organization. Others are domain-specific (DS), or content-dependent. Within a mathematics context, examples of DS practices include mathematica...

Teachers of elementary mathematics face multiple, convergent demands. These demands include supporting the growing population of English language learners (ELLs) and facilitating mathematical discussions across relevant curricular contexts. The authors used a comparative case study to examine how two teachers attempt to facilitate discussions while...

This qualitative study examines language and literacy practices in nine Latin@ immigrant families, focusing on young children (ages 4–6) and their older siblings (ages 7–10). Audio, video, and fieldnote data were collected during a series of in-home observations. We use a multifaceted theoretical framework integrating sociocultural notions of learn...

Eliminate obstacles to effective classroom communication with these research-tested suggestions.

We utilize a within-group framework to understand the association between childcare type and the language-use and vocabulary of second-generation Latino immigrant children. The sample was drawn from a study of a suburban/rural immigrant community to study the role of home experiences on the early language and literacy of young Latino preschoolers (...

Siblings play a critical role in the socialization experiences of their younger siblings. Societal values, standards and customs are transmitted and created through the process of modeling and the construction of shared meaning. It follows, therefore, that the process of socialization may be culturally dependent. Using multiple case studies of 5 si...

50 Free E-Prints http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/yVcMsvYTdFA8yNmksUxR/full Full Citation: Palacios, N. (accepted). Why all teachers matter: The relation between long-term teacher quality and children’s reading achievement. Journal of Research in Childhood Education. This study uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (199...

This multiple case study examines patterns in the oral second language use of three Spanish-speaking English language learners in rehearsed presentations produced annually over 4 years (Grades 9–12) in a U.S. high school. Analysis focuses on students' changing use of transitional devices called frame markers (Hyland, 2005) as a lens for understandi...

This case study examines one Honduran immigrant family’s community of practice during home literacy events. Data include field notes and audio and video recordings from six weeks of in-home observations. Coding and discourse analysis are used to analyse talk-in-interaction in order to understand how the family engages in literacy events. Family dis...

The relationship between Latino fathers' immigrant status and their involvement with their 12-month-old infants was examined using the Fragile Families data set, a longitudinal birth cohort study. We examined differences among 787 immigrant and nonimmigrant Latino fathers along three dimensions of father involvement- accessibility, engagement, and...

The significant rise in immigration that took place at the end of the 20th century and continues into the 21st has resulted in demographic shifts in the composition of the United States and of elementary schools in particular (see Chapter 1, this volume). These changes call attention to the academic achievement and potential of Latino immigrant chi...

This article examines whether longitudinal reading trajectories vary by the generational status of immigrant children as they begin formal schooling through the 3rd grade. The results of the hierarchical linear model indicated that 1st and 2nd generation children (i.e., those born in a foreign country and those born in the United States to foreign-...