Advancing Equity in Early Language Learning: Expanding the Frame for Intervention Research.
Purpose: Numerous studies emphasize the critical impact of early communicative interactions on children's language, cognitive, and social development; academic performance; and life outcomes. Early research linking disparities in language interaction quality and quantity to socioeconomic factors som...
| Published in: | Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research Vol. 68; no. 7; pp. 3357 - 3369 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Jul2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=186522592&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 186522592 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10924388 1SM jtl: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research issn: 10924388 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2025 vid: 68 iid: 7 pid: 42 pub: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association artinfo: ui: 186522592 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00235 ppf: 3357 ppct: 12 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 692KB tig: atl: Advancing Equity in Early Language Learning: Expanding the Frame for Intervention Research. aug: au: Carta, Judith J. Walker, Dale Bigelow, Kathryn M. Greenwood, Charles R. Schnitz, Alana G. affil: Juniper Gardens Children's Project, Institute for Life Span Studies, The University of Kansas, Kansas City su: Interprofessional relations Socioeconomic status Cultural competence Human research subjects Information resources Linguistics Academic achievement Interpersonal relations Psychology of caregivers Psychology of parents Language acquisition Social classes Patient participation Coalitions Patient selection Diversity & inclusion policies Professional practice Caregiver education Neurodiversity Conceptual structures Evidence-based medicine Time sug: subj: Interprofessional relations Socioeconomic status Cultural competence Human research subjects Information resources Linguistics Academic achievement Interpersonal relations Psychology of caregivers Psychology of parents Language acquisition Social classes Patient participation Coalitions Patient selection Diversity & inclusion policies Professional practice Caregiver education Neurodiversity Conceptual structures Evidence-based medicine Time ab: Purpose: Numerous studies emphasize the critical impact of early communicative interactions on children's language, cognitive, and social development; academic performance; and life outcomes. Early research linking disparities in language interaction quality and quantity to socioeconomic factors sometimes identified these population differences as the "word gap" and spurred intervention research aiming for more equitable early language learning opportunities. Recent critiques have suggested that past "word gap" research has relied too often on a deficit lens to attribute differences in language exposure to family background. Instead, recent proposals have advocated for reframing the "word gap" and the use of less stigmatizing and more equity-based approaches in intervention research. This article provides historical context on the "word gap" and its role in fostering an intervention science for early language promotion. While acknowledging the need to destigmatize language intervention efforts, we offer here not a reframing of the "word gap" but instead an expanded framework for representing the ecological and behavioral variances in early language opportunities that may affect children's early language development. This ecobehavioral approach helps identify both distal and proximal factors that may either promote or limit children's language learning opportunities. Conclusions: Addressing the "word gap" equitably requires interventions at multiple levels, emphasizing strengths-based language learning within home and community contexts. We outline principles to guide future language intervention research reflecting this expanded framework and provide examples of how new research is integrating these principles. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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