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Children’s early exposure and participation with science activities may help reduce underrepresentation issues that are often seen later in some disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and occupations. To help understand these trends, this study investigated the repertoire of parental support during hands-on science activities with their children with regards to ethnicity (Latiné families of predominantly Mexican origin and non-Latiné, primarily White, families) and gender. It was informed by work that examines gender, race, and ethnicity differences in STEM participation. Participants were 153 girls and boys, aged 8 to 12 years, and their mothers and fathers in the Southwestern United States. Each parent–child dyad’s behaviors during hands-on science activities together were examined. After controlling for family annual income and parental level of education, there were several variations by ethnicity and gender in parents’ support of their children (e.g., help and encouragement), children’s exploration of the activities, children’s talkativeness, and the amount of time they engaged in the activities. Suggestions for expanding STEM education programs to be more inclusive of underrepresented communities are discussed.

Background: It was the purpose of this study to investigate graduate students’ perceptions and the processes related to learning to teach at university/college level using socio-cultural theory and ecological systems. . Methods: A survey based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems (1977) and a Knowledge –Confidence-Usefulness instrument (Barton-Arwood, Morrow, Lane & Jolivette, 2005) was administered to graduate students four times (N=10). Four interviews, class observations and document analyses were also conducted. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the survey data and interview data were analyzed via constant comparison. Results: Findings showed high internal consistency reliability of the items (>.93) and that graduate students’ perceptions of their experiences to prepare to teach at the university level were quite positive. Themes were related to being confident, having the potential to be effective at the post-secondary level, and a mismatch between experiences and expectations. Using the emergent process model of Chi and colleagues (2012), overall perceived dynamics (macro level), the individuated university agents/students within the socialization process (micro level) and the social subgroups into which the agent/student network (meso level) support an ecological form of faculty development. Conclusions: Results provide support for an ecological systems model as well as insights into faculty teaching development.

In this article, the authors present a framework for guiding elementary preservice teachers in adapting mathematics word problems to better meet English language learners' (ELLs) needs. They analyze preservice teachers' ELL adaptations implemented in a one-on-one setting. Through qualitative methods, four themes regarding implemented adaptations are identified: language adaptations, mathematical adaptations, tool/visual adaptations, and structural adaptations. The authors conclude that the framework was successful in helping preservice teachers learn about adapting curriculum by interacting with ELLs. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Restrictive language policies for education have been passed in several states in the United States. In 1998, 2000, and 2002, California, Arizona, and Massachusetts passed the most restrictive of these policies, impacting 4.4 million students classified as English language learners (ELLs). This study examines how these policies are currently interpreted and presented to the public on Arizona’s Department of Education website, as well as how they are interpreted and presented on the websites of three of the state’s largest school districts. We seek to understand how three key elements of the laws—one-year programmatic time limits, Structured English Immersion (SEI) programs, and waiver processes—are conveyed by each text. Using tools from critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2003, 2013, 2015), we trace the endurance or disappearance of these elements between texts and across time. Textual differences are discussed as reflecting and perpetuating important contextual differences among the districts.

The Capital Area North Doctorate in Educational Leadership (CANDEL) program is committed to educational equity and supports, amongst others, K-12 schoolteachers, administrators, and teacher educators who are committed to bridging the worlds of theory and practice. As teacher educators, we advocate for those in doctoral programs to consider pláticas as a methodology that positions researchers and educators as equal collaborators, each with a wealth of experience to share. The historical roots as well as the five principles of plática methodology (Fierros & Delgado Bernal, 2016) are considered. We discuss our positionality as Latinas and first-generation college graduates, as researchers and as platicadoras engaged in teacher education research. Furthermore, we provide examples of how each has used pláticas methodology to understand the experiences of teachers. We conclude by providing advice for doctoral students interested in using pláticas in their own research.