Many early learning settings include children with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Educators must create equitable access to educative experiences for all children in these settings, including for multilingual and multicultural learners and children with disabilities, as well as for their families. 

SRI Education works with partners to ensure that all children learning in multiple languages have full access to and participation in daily classroom activities. We focus on building educators’ capacity to effectively incorporate children’s home-life experiences, cultural backgrounds, home languages, interests and strengths into instruction. For example, we provide educators with skills and strategies to build on students’ home languages, even if the educators do not speak the languages. 

Learn more about SRI Education’s projects on young multilingual learners:

• A Self-Reflection Tool for Early Childhood Educators
• First 5 Dual Language Expansion Pilot San Francisco
• Evaluation of Mobile Messaging on Responsive Caregiving

There is an ongoing need to improve the process of identifying disabilities among multilingual learners. In some cases, multilingual learners are overrepresented in special education; in other cases, they are underrepresented. Educators can best serve multilingual learners formally identified with disabilities by building expertise to meet learners individual needs and by providing access to rigorous grade-level content, English language development and appropriate special education services. 

SRI Education brings our combined expertise in multilingual learners and disability in early childhood, K–12 and postsecondary education to help our partners identify practices or strategies to meet their needs. For example, we have provided resources for determining special education eligibility of multilingual learners and conducted a study examining the factors associated with successful transition from high school to college for multilingual learners with disabilities.

Learn more about SRI Education’s projects on the intersection of language learning and disability:

• Resources for Determining Special Education Eligibility of English Learners
• Mixed Methods Exploration of Factors Associated with Postsecondary Success of English Language Learners with Disabilities

Education leaders, policymakers and teachers need to understand what makes K–12 instruction effective for multilingual learners and how policies can ensure that all multilingual learners have access to high-quality instruction. Recent policy efforts have focused on integrating technology into instruction to better support multilingual learners and on recruiting, developing and retaining qualified teachers. 

SRI Education provides information and tools to help our partners transform learning experiences and optimize opportunities for multilingual learners. For example, we have highlighted how different states promote local Grow Your Own programs to address shortages of teachers for multilingual learners. We have also developed a report for the U.S. Department of Education on the first national survey of how teachers use technology when teaching their multilingual students. We are also evaluating a professional development program for teachers and caregivers that focuses on bi-literacy in language arts and math. 

Learn more about SRI Education’s projects on high-quality instruction and teacher development:

• Bilingual/Biliterate Instruction for Bilingual Youth (BBILY) Evaluation
• Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center Bilingual Teacher Project
• Think Forward New England: New England’s Education Systems Navigate COVID-19 and Map a New Way Forward