29 research outputs found
Growing Up Bilingual: Understanding specific benefits across the mainstream and complementary education sectors
No full textThere is a paucity of longitudinal research on the development of younger bilinguals, particularly those with a heritage language (HL). Complementary schools (CS) that promote HL learning have become increasingly prominent and are also underrecognized. This project applied a mixed-methods approach to examine the cognitive, social and educational outcomes of children with or without CS longitudinally.The quantitative component of this research assessed cognitive and social developmental outcomes of 153 bilingual children (aged 4-9 years) across four mainstream primary schools and five CSs across East London. Following initial data collection (timepoint1) in 2019, eleven interviews were conducted with school staff and parents from each setting, focusing on language attitudes and practices, to help explain some of the initial findings. Ninety children (aged 6-12 years) from the initial sample were then revisited in 2021 (timepoint2) following the Covid-19 lockdowns, for reassessment of outcomes. Cognitive measures included executive functioning, attentional control and English object naming. Social measures included strength of ethnic and national identities, and cognitive, athletic and social competences. Teacher ratings of school adjustment were taken at timepoint2 as an educational outcome. Perceived HL and English language proficiency and exposure and family affluence (FA) were measured at both timepoints.Findings indicated the supportive role of CSs in children’s perceived HL proficiency, particularly literacy, and developing ethnic identity. Apart from age, the impact of FA and proficiency of both languages on cognitive and social outcomes were also implicated. The sample showed a decline in perceived HL proficiency and competences post-pandemic, but the decline was smaller among CS-attendees. Interviews further highlighted the challenges of HL learning, the role of CSs in parental engagement, and the efforts by primary schools to support bilinguals’ English with a desire for greater inclusivity. The potential implications of these findings on education and policy are considered
Growing up bilingual: language proficiency, social identities and competences of complementary school-attendees and non-attendees in the UK
No full textThe UK is linguistically rich but faces a reducing uptake of language learning in schools, as pupils feel more withdrawn and disinterested in learning an additional language to English. A key component in many linguistic minority communities to preserve their language is complementary schooling (CS), which has wide-ranging educational and societal implications. This study compared social developmental outcomes and patterns among bilingual children who attended CS and those who did not in London. A sample of 153 pupils aged 4–9 years was recruited including 73 across five CS settings and 80 across four state primary schools. Measures included strength of ethnic and national identities, cognitive, athletic and social competences, exposure and proficiency for each language, and family affluence (FA). Results showed that CS-attendees reported higher proficiency in HL, particularly in literacy, compared to non-attendees. Ethnic and British identities were positively associated with the respective language’s proficiency and exposure in both groups, while unique patterns were also observed. Regression models confirmed the unique contributions of HL and CS to ethnic identity, but age and FA were also significant predictors of English proficiency and social competencies. Findings indicate the supportive roles of CS and HL and identity development. Further considerations of these and other factors in subsequent research are discussed.funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC Grant Reference: ES/P000592/1), through the UBEL Doctoral Training Partnership© 2021, Taylor & Francis. The attached document (embargoed until 06/04/2023) is an author produced version of a paper published in LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it
Growing up bilingual: Understanding benefits across the mainstream and complementary education sectors
No full textGrowing up bilingual: language proficiency, social identities and competences of complementary school-attendees and non-attendees in the UK
No full textThe UK is linguistically rich but faces a reducing uptake of language learning in schools, as pupils feel more withdrawn and disinterested in learning an additional language to English. A key component in many linguistic minority communities to preserve their language is complementary schooling (CS), which has wide-ranging educational and societal implications. This study compared social developmental outcomes and patterns among bilingual children who attended CS and those who did not in London. A sample of 153 pupils aged 4–9 years was recruited including 73 across five CS settings and 80 across four state primary schools. Measures included strength of ethnic and national identities, cognitive, athletic and social competences, exposure and proficiency for each language, and family affluence (FA). Results showed that CS-attendees reported higher proficiency in HL, particularly in literacy, compared to non-attendees. Ethnic and British identities were positively associated with the respective language’s proficiency and exposure in both groups, while unique patterns were also observed. Regression models confirmed the unique contributions of HL and CS to ethnic identity, but age and FA were also significant predictors of English proficiency and social competencies. Findings indicate the supportive roles of CS and HL and identity development. Further considerations of these and other factors in subsequent research are discussed
Understanding the benefits of growing up bilingual: The first time-point of a longitudinal study
No full textIntroduction: A creativity without stars [Special Capsule Issue: Teaching creativity, creative teaching]
No full textGrowing up bilingual through a pandemic: Children’s language exposure, proficiency, social identities, and competences pre- and post-lockdowns
No full textGrowing up bilingual: Specific benefits across mainstream and complementary education sectors
No full textAnalyzing the Relationship between Spatial Representations and Gender in Charlotte Gilman's Novel, HERLAND
No full textThe aim of this paper is to explore the connections between architecture, interior spaces, urban environment, and social issues through the medium of literary fiction. In particular, it is to analyze the spatial representations through cues and interpretations as well as their impact on social inequalities, specifically gender discrimination, which is the governing theme that shapes the plot, within Charlotte P. Gilman's utopian fiction Herland. Space within literature can be seen as an essential part of storytelling because it allows the reader to fully comprehend the surroundings that the author hopes to portray throughout the literature. In relevance to the novel, the portrayed environment emphasizes the gender inequalities that were evident through Gilman's lifetime. In addition, gender governs the overall space within Herland, therefore, the space holds the same characteristics as women; the country existed as it is for the sole purpose of benefitting the user profile - the inhabitants of Herland. Gilman also criticizes architecture and interior spatial norms of her time throughout the novel by suggesting a completely different layout and function. To address the questions and issues mentioned, an in-depth study of the novel, the author, the authors' time, and related publications were employed to further understand the relationship between space, gender and literature. The conducted analysis revealed this relationship by the elimination of gender roles and the alteration of conventional spaces; thus depicting a more utopian country, as a form of literary criticism to her dystopian era
Intact Goal-Driven Attentional Capture in Autistic Adults
No full textBackground: Autistic individuals have been found to show increased distractibility by salient irrelevant information, yet reduced distractibility by information of personal motivational salience. Here we tested whether these prior discrepancies reflect differences in the automatic guidance of attention by top-down goals. /
Methods: Autistic (self-reported diagnoses, confirmed with scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale) and non-autistic adults, without intellectual disability (IQ > 80 on Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence), searched for a color-defined target object (e.g., red) among irrelevant color objects. Spatially uninformative cues, matching either the target color or a nontarget/irrelevant color, were presented prior to each display. /
Results: Replicating previous work, only target color cues reliably captured attention, delaying responses when invalidly versus validly predicting target location. Crucially, this capture was robust for both autistic and neurotypical participants, as confirmed by Bayesian analysis. Limitations: While well powered for our research questions, our sample size precluded investigation of the automatic guidance of attention in a diverse group of autistic people (e.g. those with a range of cognitive abilities). /
Conclusions: Our findings imply that key mechanisms underlying the automatic implementation of top-down attentional goals are intact in autism, challenging theories of reduced top-down control
