Immigrants & Dual Language Learners

The report presents internationally comparable data on the situation of immigrant children in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States — that together include almost 40 percent of all persons in the world living outside their countries of birth.

This paper compares Spanish-speaking Kindergartners to other Kindergartners in terms of three teacher characteristics: The use of Spanish for instruction in the classroom; teachers’ rating of the importance of knowing English for Kindergarten readiness; and years the teacher has taught Kindergarten.

More than half of New York City’s Haitian, Russian, and Latino first-generation immigrants interviewed for a new report by The New York Academy of Medicine say that language barriers lead to reduced quality care for their children, prevent them from fully using healthcare services, and leave them dissatisfied with their medical care.

As communities strive to ensure the success of all children, it is important that policymakers and early education professionals identify and respond to the needs of immigrant families so that teachers, schools, and early childhood programs are prepared to serve these children.

The share of students in kindergarten through 12th grade with a foreign-born parent tripled from 6 percent in 1970 to 19 percent in 2000.

Eight key themes emerge from this research of children younger than six living in families with at least one immigrant parent.

Jensen, B. (2006). Mathematics Achievement of Spanish-Speaking Kindergartners and the Impact of Teacher Characteristics: A Mediation Hypothesis.

The Foundation for Child Development Working Paper Series: This is the first nationally representative study about child care use among immigrant families based on their children’s and their parents’ nativity status.