Success in the 21st century, for individuals and societies, requires competence in comprehending ... more Success in the 21st century, for individuals and societies, requires competence in comprehending and communicating in the academic disciplines--the natural sciences, history, geography, and more. The Read-Write Cycle (RWC) Project, a three year longitudinal research study conducted from 2005-2008 in ten public elementary schools in southern California, explored the effectiveness of curriculum and instructional strategies that integrate literacy with disciplinary knowledge with the simultaneous goals of: (1) enhancing students\u27 literacy outcomes; and (2) broadening and deepening knowledge of the content area. Funded by the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences, the RWC Project concentrated over years one and two on 1,024 students in grades three through six and the ongoing professional development of 18 classroom teachers. This documentary account focuses on one aspect of the larger project, specifically the RWC Project\u27s effect on teachers\u27 metacognition about their own prac...
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Early C... more This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Early Childhood Education Journal, volume 43, issue 4, in 2014 following peer review. The final publication is available at Springer via DOI: 10.1007/s10643-014-0656-3. Copyright
Restricted until 14 Dec. 2009. The overarching purpose of this qualitative study was to understan... more Restricted until 14 Dec. 2009. The overarching purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the specific dynamics of how upwardly aspiring Latino/a students, in a well-functioning elementary school setting, incorporated their cultural resources, background knowledge, language, and lived experiences during their literacy engagement. By the year 2050, it is estimated that one-in-four school age children will be of Latino/a descent. This study adds to the literature regarding the educational adaptation of children of intergenerational immigrant status.; The main research question was: What is the nature of middle-class Latino students' cultural capital in their fifth-grade classroom's reading and writing practices? The four sub-questions were: (a) What are the characteristics and structure of the reading and writing activities in this classroom? How do they foster integration of middle-class Latino/a participants' background and cultural experiences?; (b) What was th...
accepted for inclusion in Education Faculty Articles and Research by an authorized administrator ... more accepted for inclusion in Education Faculty Articles and Research by an authorized administrator of Chapman University Digital Commons. For more
This article addresses the question,“How do mothers and children in a homeless shelter interact w... more This article addresses the question,“How do mothers and children in a homeless shelter interact with literacy?” We drew on the theoretical framework of social literacy practices in which cultural context is foregrounded. Data for this qualitative study included participant observation in one homeless shelter and interviews with one shelter’s residents and other stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, shelter staff at various shelters, and homelessness experts across Los Angeles County, California. While examining the literacy practices of women and children living in one transitional shelter, we identified three institutions that were part of their lives (a) the public library, in which choice was a major factor; (b) the church, which focused on reading the Bible; and (c) schools, where literacy was tied to evaluative outcomes. Although families were overwhelmingly positive about their participation in each of these institutions and all three were referred to as places for...
... We see how teachers are struggling with the enforcement of the mandated reading programfigur... more ... We see how teachers are struggling with the enforcement of the mandated reading programfiguring out how to teach with, between, and against the scripted curriculum. They operate across the binary of colonizer/colonized with what at first seems like contradictory behavior. ...
Success in the 21st century, for individuals and societies, requires competence in comprehending ... more Success in the 21st century, for individuals and societies, requires competence in comprehending and communicating in the academic disciplines--the natural sciences, history, geography, and more. The Read-Write Cycle (RWC) Project, a three year longitudinal research study conducted from 2005-2008 in ten public elementary schools in southern California, explored the effectiveness of curriculum and instructional strategies that integrate literacy with disciplinary knowledge with the simultaneous goals of: (1) enhancing students\u27 literacy outcomes; and (2) broadening and deepening knowledge of the content area. Funded by the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences, the RWC Project concentrated over years one and two on 1,024 students in grades three through six and the ongoing professional development of 18 classroom teachers. This documentary account focuses on one aspect of the larger project, specifically the RWC Project\u27s effect on teachers\u27 metacognition about their own prac...
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Early C... more This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Early Childhood Education Journal, volume 43, issue 4, in 2014 following peer review. The final publication is available at Springer via DOI: 10.1007/s10643-014-0656-3. Copyright
Restricted until 14 Dec. 2009. The overarching purpose of this qualitative study was to understan... more Restricted until 14 Dec. 2009. The overarching purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the specific dynamics of how upwardly aspiring Latino/a students, in a well-functioning elementary school setting, incorporated their cultural resources, background knowledge, language, and lived experiences during their literacy engagement. By the year 2050, it is estimated that one-in-four school age children will be of Latino/a descent. This study adds to the literature regarding the educational adaptation of children of intergenerational immigrant status.; The main research question was: What is the nature of middle-class Latino students' cultural capital in their fifth-grade classroom's reading and writing practices? The four sub-questions were: (a) What are the characteristics and structure of the reading and writing activities in this classroom? How do they foster integration of middle-class Latino/a participants' background and cultural experiences?; (b) What was th...
accepted for inclusion in Education Faculty Articles and Research by an authorized administrator ... more accepted for inclusion in Education Faculty Articles and Research by an authorized administrator of Chapman University Digital Commons. For more
This article addresses the question,“How do mothers and children in a homeless shelter interact w... more This article addresses the question,“How do mothers and children in a homeless shelter interact with literacy?” We drew on the theoretical framework of social literacy practices in which cultural context is foregrounded. Data for this qualitative study included participant observation in one homeless shelter and interviews with one shelter’s residents and other stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, shelter staff at various shelters, and homelessness experts across Los Angeles County, California. While examining the literacy practices of women and children living in one transitional shelter, we identified three institutions that were part of their lives (a) the public library, in which choice was a major factor; (b) the church, which focused on reading the Bible; and (c) schools, where literacy was tied to evaluative outcomes. Although families were overwhelmingly positive about their participation in each of these institutions and all three were referred to as places for...
... We see how teachers are struggling with the enforcement of the mandated reading programfigur... more ... We see how teachers are struggling with the enforcement of the mandated reading programfiguring out how to teach with, between, and against the scripted curriculum. They operate across the binary of colonizer/colonized with what at first seems like contradictory behavior. ...
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Papers by Margaret Curwen