The Bologna Process on the Eve of Its 16th Anniversary Meeting

With a meeting in May to plan for the future, it’s worth taking a moment to note the successes and challenges of the Bologna Process. The Bologna Process was initiated in 1999 with 27 signatory nations, but it continues to enhance the higher education systems of Europe and Eurasia, albeit lopsidedly. The leaders from the 47 members of the Bologna Process will discuss topics as wide-ranging as “reform adoption, quality assurance and transparency, lifelong learning, mobility and internationalization…access, portability of scholarships and loans, student-centered learning, employability, common recognition of professional qualifications, doctoral training…” (Lazerson, 2015). These topics are certainly important to the larger discussion of education and to the continued development of the Bologna Process. However, with the focus still firmly on higher education, the Bologna Process fails to capitalize on the far-reaching effects that the process could produce.

The Bologna Process is part of a movement towards the creation of the European Higher Education Area through the adaptation of higher education degree structures to a three-cycle system: bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees (Voegtle, et al. 2010). This process is intended to facilitate the translation and transfer between universities and across nations of degrees, students and instructors, as part of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) (Teelken & Wihlborg, 2010). But improved higher education institutions can only make so much progress if primary and secondary schools do not make conscious efforts to rise to the new standards.

While the Bologna Process does not include features dedicated to improving teacher training or policy, the requirements regarding degree structures have some implications for how teachers should be trained. Some structural changes have trickled down to the secondary level of education, but this has not been part of a greater, intentional decision-making process. “Although the Bologna agenda is often perceived as concerned with structural issues, its focus on quality has implications for curricula” (Bauer & Penzel, 2012, 1642). The ideals of Bologna in facilitating international connections and benchmarking have the potential to pressure governments and universities to improve their educational systems (Voegtle, 2010). With greater deliberative attention, increased pressure to reform and enhance teacher requirements would further the Bologna Process goals, though due to the structure of the Bologna Process, this may never occur. Almost half of Bologna countries have increased the length of teacher training requirements for primary and upper-secondary level teachers (Bauer & Penzel, 2012). This sounds like definite progress, and it is.

At the heart of the problems with the Bologna Process, and the hindrance to it impacting development is that it is a voluntary program. When nations commit, there can be a decrease in corruption and improvement in teacher training not only in higher education, but also in primary and secondary schools. But, given the voluntary basis for the pact, there are no means of forcing a negligent nation to make changes. The process is dependent entirely on nations feeling pressured or being independently committed to change to actually make reform. This is certainly enough for some nations, such as Georgia and Macedonia. Georgia has implemented standardized testing to limit teacher corruption, and passed laws improving equity in private tutoring access (Gabedava, 2013). Lativia has made efforts to shift to a student-centered teaching and learning approach (Kangro, 2005). But these are more exceptions than the rule, as there are nations that have largely failed to right issues of corruption and teacher development.

When examining the countries that have adopted these changes, it becomes apparent one of the most challenging issues facing Bologna success: the one-sidedness of the exchange. The Western European nations and higher education systems already had in place many of the Bologna requirements, while Eastern European and Eurasian nations struggle to catch up. A distinct “brain drain” effect exists in this exchange, with many students from less affluent nations participating as exchange students and then staying in their host nation. These students also often struggle when they reach their host university, as their secondary education has not prepared them for a more intensive higher education environment. This limits the gains that a country such as Belarus, which is attempting to join the Bologna Process this year (Preiherman, 2015), would experience from participating. Less likely to make the changes, or be able to afford to complete the reforms in a thorough and sustainable way, are often those nations that are more recent signatories of the Bologna Process, the Eastern European nations.

These nations sign on because of the perceived benefits of the exchange, such as an influx of international students and higher reputation for their universities. However, several nations also have reputations for corruption (again, mostly in Eastern Europe or Eurasia), and these nations struggle to reap the benefits, as their students fail to gain acceptance or success in the exchange, and the corruption institutions are not likely to receive international students (Bergan, 2009). In some cases, the desire to improve perception outweighs the need to make and implement reforms patiently and carefully. In Ukraine, the government pressured universities to increase research output in order to improve the country’s reputation, though professors did not receive higher salaries, resulting in fraudulent or falsified research (Shaw, 2013).

These issues that the Bologna Process face are not reasons to give up on the process. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Bologna Process has corresponded with the growing importance of the European Union and the Education for All movement, further connecting the different nations and cultures of Europe, and improving access for different economic classes and ethnic minorities (Crosier & Parveva, 2013). It has the continued ability to create bridges across cultures and nations, encouraging social capital and economic development, and preventing conflict between the participant nations. Because these nations agree to a set of reforms and ideals for higher education, greater quantitative and qualitative comparisons are possible, which could lead to greater accountability measures in dedicated nations and universities.

Works Cited

Bauer, J. & Penzel, M. (2012, 06 29). European teacher training reforms. Science Magazine, 336, 1642-1643.

Bergan, S. (2009). “The European Higher Education Area as an Instrument of Transparency?” pp. 121-135 in Heyneman, S.P. (ed.) Buying Your Way into Heaven: Education and Corruption in International Perspective Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Crosier, D. & Parveva, T. (2013). The Bologna Process: Its impact in Europe and beyond. UNESCO: International Institute for Educational Planning. Paris, France. UNESCO.

Gabedava, M. (2013). Reforming the university admission system in Georgia. Transparency International Education Report, 155-159.

Kangro, A. (2005). The Bologna declaration and professional teacher training in Latvia. European Journal, 33, 49-57.

Lazerson, M. (2015). “Beyond the Bologna Process.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. April 6, 2015. http://chronicle.com/article/Beyond-the-Bologna-Process/229093?cid=megamenu

Preiherman, Y. (2015). “Why Belarus Needs the Bologna Process.” Belarus Digest. April 15, 2015. http://belarusdigest.com/story/why-belarus-needs-bologna-process-22353

Shaw, M. M. (2013). Impacts of globalisation on the academic profession: Emerging corruption risks in higher education. Transparency International Education Report, 194-201.

Teelken C, & Wihlborg, M. (2010). Reflecting on the Bologna Outcome Space: some pitfalls to avoid? Exploring Universities in Sweden and the Netherlands. European Educational Research Journal, 9(1), 105-116.

Voegtle, E. M., Knill, C., & Dobbins, M. (2010). To what extent does transnational communication drive cross-national policy convergence? The impact of the Bologna process on domestic higher education policies. Higher Education, 61, 77-94.

Beyond Formal Education: Reclaiming and Integrating Vocational Education

The Western attitude toward higher academic education as a signifier of success has been intensifying and spreading around the world. In some nations, this has resulted in higher stress levels and an increased focus on testing as a means of gaining access. In South Korea and China, intensive private tutoring has become a fact of life, resulting in students studying for hours with private tutoring organizations every evening, in addition to their formal schooling. South Korea’s entrance examination, suneung, is so intensive that there have been correlational studies connecting the test to higher suicide rates (Kim, 2010). On that date, the country shuts down so that students can take the test in peace (Lee, 2013). Students eagerly seek to obtain entrance to one of the three best universities in the nation, and good test scores are the gateway. In China, the gaokao exam holds a similar place of importance, and role as stressor (Ruiqing, 2013). In Azerbaijan, students are regularly woefully unprepared for the entrance exams that they must resort to corruption in the form of cheating and bribery to receive scores that will garner their entry into a university. The United States has a different education system than these countries, but the pressure and value paired with higher education achievement has some of the same results. Higher academic education is the place to be. Between 1995 and 2009, the rate of entry into higher education nearly doubled in the United States (OECD, 2012). In order to receive prestigious employment, or even entry-level positions, it is increasingly required to have a bachelor’s degree, if not a master’s or Ph.D.

Simultaneously, the price of higher education in the United States continues to rise, seemingly exponentially. In a review of the cost affordability of Western countries, the United States was found to be the third to worst, only ahead of Mexico and Japan (IREG, 2010). Much attention is paid annually to the US News and World Report ranking of universities and colleges, both by students and the universities themselves, and higher education institutions have entered into a sort of “arms race” to win by having selective acceptance rates, popular athletics programs, the “best” student experience, and largest endowments, among may other factors. In this commercialized battle for superiority, tuition and housing costs have risen, and both undergraduate and graduate students must take out huge student loans, on which many default. After the Netherlands, the United States has the highest total costs for both men and women attaining tertiary education, and by far the highest direct costs of education, six times the OECD average (OECD, 2014).

All of this is to suggest that perhaps this is not the direction in which education should be heading. In the light of this trend, it is easy to cherry-pick the problems in the system, but more difficult to determine how to fix the problems. There exists a social divide in prestige between jobs that are obtained through academic higher education and vocational education, and often the reward comes in social standing and economic advantage. Vocational programs (VET) are intended for those that are “non-academic,” a term which comes laden with judgment of class and capabilities. It means those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds, poor literacy skills, or from minority or immigrant groups. Certainly, academic tracks and university education are not for everyone, but that is not and should not be seen as a negative. The world and any country in it need the jobs that vocational education provides, so these jobs should not be looked down upon. Construction and maintenance or repair positions can pay very comfortably, and require significant experience and technical knowledge.

The process of reclaiming VET is not easy, but stronger integration of VET and academic tracks may be a means of achieving this. In recent decades, American high schools included courses such as “home economics” or “woodshop,” which were required for all students, but these were eliminated for being sexist and as unnecessary as the academic paradigm took power. However, the inclusion of these types of courses (not the actual home economics course, necessarily) could actually provide a broader “liberal arts” style education and support a student’s learning exploration. Even for students intending to attend a university, taking technical courses can prove beneficial (Meer, 2007). Taking VET courses can open pathways to those who may not be sure a university path is best for them (Poldiano & Tabasso, 2014). Without that experience, students may not find the program that is actually the best match for their interests and skills. By including the VET courses in mainstream education settings, it normalizes the option of VET as a viable and culturally acceptable path. VET courses could also work with local businesses and organizations to provide tangible and practical courses that may be used to support the local community. This could lead to greater social cohesion between economic classes. Additionally, the act of taking courses that may not be graded based on academic tests would better prepare all students for real world experiences and responsibilities. The below video is intended as a demonstration of the benefits of the Common Core, but the need to move beyond multiple choice tests could be supported by vocational education options as well.

In a study of purely vocational, purely academic, and a mixed pathway that included “loops” through both academic and vocational courses in Europe, Tuor & Backes-Gellner found that mixed pathways showed value, providing additional qualifications that would support students in the job market (Tuor & Backes-Gellner, 2010). Some nations have placed a great focus on vocational education as a separate, parallel track. However, these intensive tracking systems, such as Germany’s, would likely not succeed or gain acceptance in the United States due to the early age at which tracking occurs, as this would counter traditional “American dream” of all individuals being able to succeed doing what they want, and the perception of tracking depicts the program as counter that freedom of choice. Tracking’s division in labor and education would continue the current disparities and come at a cost to social cohesion.

Australia, however, has highly integrated in-school VET programs into their secondary school curriculum to the point that 40% of all students take at least one VET subject (Polidano & Tabasso, 2014). An integrated system is not new to the United States, but has not achieved much acceptance. This may be changing, for the best. A recent Atlantic article highlighted a set of schools in Pittsfield, New Hampshire that are developing student-centered learning programs (hardly a new feature), intended to enable students to explore areas outside of the traditional classroom, focus on real-world issues and projects, and reducing the focus on academic testing (Richmond, 2015). These programs are lauded for their hands on approach that seem to increase interest in schooling, and prepare students for the world beyond academia. While programs like this are an increasing trend in education, there is still little research about the long-term benefits and drawbacks of such a program in terms of academic and job achievement, but the model is interesting and worth further research and evaluation. Much of this essay has been speculative, but the potential benefits of integrating vocational education more highly into education seem to me to have merit, and could enable greater social cohesion and integration, bridging barriers in society.

 Works Cited

Kim, S. (2010). Globalisation and Invidiuals: The political economy of South Korea’s Educational Expansion. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 40(2). 309-328.

Lee, H. (2013, November 6). Trading Delayed as 650,000 South Koreans Take College Test.Bloomberg.com. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/trading-delayed-as-650-000-south-koreans-take-college-entry-test.html

Meer, J. (2007). Evidence on the returns to secondary vocational education. Economcis of Education Review, 26(5), 559-573.

OECD. (2012). Education Indicators In Focus. OECD Publishing. http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/49729932.pdf

OECD (2014), Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2014-en

Polidano, C. & Tabasso, D. (2014). Making it real: the benefits of workplace learning in upper-secondary vocational education and training courses. Economics of Education Review, 42(1). 130-146.

Richmond, E. (2015). Where kids learn more outside the classroom than in them. The Atlantic. April 12, 2015. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/04/where-kids-learn-more-outside-their-classrooms-than-in-them/390297/

Rieble-Aubourg, S. (1996). Institutional Arrangements of Germany’s Vocational Education System: What are the implications for the US? International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 37(1), 174.

Ruiqing, D. (2013). Gaokao in Chinese Higher Education: to Go or not to Go. Acta Universitatis Danubius : Communicatio, 7(2), 13.

Tuor, S.N. & Backes-Gellner, U. (2010). Risk-return trade-offs to different educational paths: vocational, academic and mixed, International Journal of Manpower, 31(5) 495 – 519.

Usher, A. & Medow, J. (2010). Global Higher Education Rankings 2010: Affordability and Accessibility in Comparative Perspective. Higher Education Strategy Associates.

The Values of Informal and Non-Formal Education in Health and Language Devalopment

For as important as formal classroom education is to student knowledge development, learning and socialization that take place outside of the classroom—in non-formal or informal settings—are just as important. This is due to the value of lifelong learning. As noted in a previous post, exposure to language and academic registers are vital from birth and throughout pre-primary childhood in ensuring language and literacy acquisition. However, education takes place outside the classroom throughout our lives, and plays a key role in the development of a nation and community. Cameron & Harrison observed that life and work experience (informal and non-formal learning, respectively) were in fact more important for skills development than formal education (2012), though their study took place in Australia. In developing countries, the impact of this type of learning may be more important or impactful. Huaman & Valdiviezo describe a study on the process of incorporating local Quechua community knowledge related to agriculture into education systems to improve local ecological practices of Peru. This education demonstrates tangible and ideally lasting benefits for the community and nation, as well as the ability of non-traditional education in adapting to and capitalizing on the needs of the local community (Huaman & Valdiviezo, 2012). This education can also be targeted using indigenous or minority languages in a way that capitalizes on learning benefits in the mother tongue, which research has shown to be more effective for young children than forcing students to learn a second language at the beginning of their schooling career (Brock-Utne, 2007).

Informal and non-formal education can take many forms and be spread through a variety of mediums. While issues of quality and accountability exist in the online education field, online courses are becoming an increasingly popular alternative or supplement to traditional education, including in developing contexts. The trend of online education could serve as an essay topic entirely by itself, but here only will be noted as one example of non-traditional education. One of the most common sectors of informal education is the spread of health knowledge and skills, often through mass media. This is very different than distance education provided by online organizations, and here refers mostly to public health campaign programs in developing countries. Though these campaigns, commonly utilized and funded by organizations such as USAID or UNICEF, often spread messages passively, they spread concrete knowledge “repeatedly, over time…and at a low cost per head” (Wakefield, et al., 2010). By combining effective messaging and pricing, these health programs have been a dominant form of public education across the world.

Public health campaigns often work through inspiring indirect change, targeting parents or social networks in order to influence others, including children, to change behavioral practices (Wakefield, et al., 2010). Just as parents represent a conduit through which to influence language exposure for their children (as noted in the previous post), they naturally provide a microphone through which to introduce ideals of health (or any other desired topic). In a study on childhood obesity in the United States, it was noted that the more frequently parents viewed images related to healthy foods and the ideal that limiting unhealthy foods prevents obesity, the more likely the parents were to keep track of their children’s unhealthy eating (Andrews, et al., 2010). Parents are regularly the targets for these health campaigns, but the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” should be reminder enough that it is not enough to only target parents, but that changing the behaviors of all authority figures is important to improving the lives of children in a community.

These campaigns are not perfect, however, as their impacts can be diluted by competing messages or fail to reach their target audience, but have successfully dealt with issues as diverse as tobacco and alcohol abuse to the need for nutrition and physical activity to the importance of breastfeeding and immunization. The same techniques used to spread benevolent ideals of health and community could just as easily be utilized to spread negative messages about other groups or nations, fomenting conflict or violence. This has to do with the facts that education and knowledge are not inherently positive forces, but as neutrals, can also cause or be used to cause negative relationships or the loss of social capital.

Mass media campaigns, whether for health or for education in general, are often the most effective means of reaching minority groups in developing countries. They can be translated and distributed in various languages and targeted to specific regional populations. This can be costly, but less so than when attempting to translate and print a textbook into all the native languages of a nation such as Nigeria with around 500 languages (Danladi, 2013). Interactive Radio Instruction and other “entertainment education” has been proven to be effective for reaching those who would otherwise miss out on formal education, either as children or in their adult lives (often due to violence or infrastructure). Radio education can also have a strong impact on improving education for girls who, due to conflict in their home and the long trip to reach a formal schoolhouse, would otherwise not be allowed to attend school (Burde, 2014). Rugh notes how IRI has been implemented in 18 countries to teach math, science, and literacy, and can be incorporated into formal education settings through local facilitators, but have also been designed to be utilized individually (Rugh, 2012). Burde describes a radio soap opera in Rwanda, La Benevoencija, intended to influence political culture and target populations that still feel the effects of the nation’s conflict and promote reconciliation between the Hutu and Tutsi groups (Burde, 2012). Davies notes that radio education supports home education opportunities for girls in conflict zones, enabling them to gain important skills such as literacy in times when their families do not feel comfortable sending them to formal schooling that may be far away in dangerous areas (Davies, 2010). McAnany & Mayo describe three media campaign programs, the Radio Santa Maria program in Dominican Republic, the Nicaraguan Radio Mathematic Project, and the Indian Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), that were among the earliest foundational successes for the development of such media campaigns (McAnany & Mayo, 1980). These examples note the broad cultural and technological opportunities for education through non-formal and informal means, but also suggest the need for specifically targeted interventions in order to achieve significant impact and lasting change.

Informal and non-formal education are both vital parts of the education process. These forms of education are not intended to replace formal learning, but serve as a supplement, providing real life experience or information that falls outside of the typical structure of schools, and take advantage of alternative media of communication to reach those who cannot access the formal education of their nation.

Works Cited

Andrews, K., Silk, K.S., & Eneli, I.U. (2010) Parents as Health Promoters: A Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective on the Prevention of Childhood Obesity, Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, 15:1, 95-107.

Baker, D.P. (2014) The Schooled Society: The Educational Transformation of Global Culture. Stanford Press.

Brock-Utne, B. (2007). Learning through a familiar language versus learning through a foreign language—A look into some secondary school classrooms in Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Development 27(1). 487-498.

Burde, D. (2012). Assessing Impact and Bridging Methodological Divides: Randomized Trials in Countries Affected by Conflict. Comparative Education Review 56(3). 448-473.

Cameron, R. & Harrison, J.L. (2012). The interrelatedness of formal, non-forma and informal learning: Evidence from labour market program participants. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 52(2), 277-309.

Danladi, S.S. (2013). Language Policy: Nigeria and the Role of English language in the 21^st century. European Scientific Journal 9(17). 1-21.

Davies, L. (2010). The Different Faces of Education in Conflict. Society for International Development. 53(4). 491-497.

Huaman, E.S. & Valdiviezo, L.A. (2014). Indigenous knowledge and education from the Quechua community to school: beyond the formal/non-formal dichotomy. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 27(1). 65-87.

McAnany, E.G. & Mayo, J.K. (1980). Communication media in education for low-income countries: implementations for planning. UNESCO, International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris.

Rugh, A.B. (2012). International Development in Practice: Education Assistance in Egypt, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Palgrave Macmillan. NY.

Wakefield, M.A., Loken, B., & Hornik, R.C. (2010). Use of mass media campaigns to change health behavior. The Lancet, 376(1). 1261-1271.

The Importance of Early Childhood Language Exposure in Development

The processes of language acquisition and development begin before children are even born (Brandone, 2006), and their experiences and exposure to language from an early age play a huge role in preparing children for academic and ultimately economic success. “Language is a self-sustaining system that gathers momentum during the preschool years. There is evidence that language is an evolving self-reinforcing system…suggesting that early encouragement to communicate may have beneficial effects” (Dickinson, et al., 2012, 3). However, children are not exposed to language at uniform rates, and researchers have found differences in the attitudes and practices of parents from different cultural and economic backgrounds. A study by Fernald found that at 24 months, low-SES students reached the same levels of vocabulary size and language efficiency as their high-SES counterparts had six months earlier (when the high-SES children were 18 months old) (Fernald, 2013). One study noted that in the US, 37% of fourth grade student are not achieving basic reading skills, and this figure is primarily made up of disadvantaged students (Dickinson, 2010). Similar gaps in language skills have been found for syntax, reading ability, and phonological awareness (Farah, 2006) This effect ‘cascades,’ growing wider as children age, and lower-SES children playing a perpetual game of catch-up for the rest of their lives, a game most will never win.

This gap develops for a number of reasons, including parental education (especially maternal education), cultural and individual traditions, and parental activities. Researchers find differences in cultural ideals of child-parent language needs and practices, including a largely dichotomous division between collectivist and individualistic cultures in the United States, noting that there are those, such as Latin Americans and African-Americans, who do not see babies as intentional communication partners or to see learning as fun, but instead feature an emphasis on group interactions, assuming children gain language skills from the conversations around them, and focusing on adult-led conversations (van Kleeck, 2006, Hoff, 2006, Leseman & Van Tuijl, 2006). Regardless of the reasons for these differences, this gap is not one of cultural deprivation, though it is one that has a lasting effect on a child’s success in school. “Differences in child-directed speech based on parental education level and income were due to differences in parental knowledge of child development” (Landry, 2012). Fortunately, these differences are not due to lack of caring or parental interest, but due to different cultural ideals about child-raising, and different knowledge of research on child linguistic development in the pre-linguistic period.

These differences in exposure to a child matter, though; because of the role early exposure has in developing academic language fluency before even entering school. Academic language refers to the specific lexical, grammatical, and textual choices that a speaker normally makes in the formal context of school when communicating about school subjects,” which differ from the choices one would make while speaking at home or informal settings (Scheele, 2012, 419). This is significant as it is becoming increasingly expected for students to already be familiar with the academic language patterns and vocabulary before even entering the school building. Just as with language as a whole, children of higher SES backgrounds are more likely to be exposed to academic language from an early age, and this in turn contributes to the gap in academic achievement found between SES groups. 

Fortunately, researchers are developing interventions to improve language exposure for children, and have applied these practices to a various cultural and economic familial settings. The most common of these interventions seems to focus on shared book reading, a practice of parents and children reading a book together, often incorporating some act of discussion of the book’s contents (Brandone, 2006; Dickinson, et al., 2012). These interventions are easier in countries with sufficient reading and learning materials, though more difficult for nations with fewer resources, or with high linguistic diversity. One such program in the United Kingdom provided books to parents and observed increases in children’s acquisition of reading and mathematics skills (Dickinson, et al., 2012). Many diverse nations lack the infrastructure to produce academic texts in all local languages, though a number of studies argue that this investment is cost effective in the long term, in terms of improving academic achievement and retention, as well as reducing drop out rates (Vawda & Patrinos, 1999). As an intern with Chemonics, I participated on a project in the Republic of Georgia, with the goal of improving primary school literacy in a mother tongue-based education program. In addition to the primary goal of improving teacher training and cooperation, the project team also worked to create new reading materials in the local languages by working with local authors and encouraging a new trend of writing for children. The need for this new trend illustrates the different cultural ideals of children as targets for conversation and reading.

It is important, when attempting to improve access to education and learning to remember that education does not begin when a child enters the schoolroom for the first time. A large impact in lifelong academic achievement is based initially in the language and literacy exposure a child has from the day they are born, and thus pre-primary interventions are necessary to level the playing field, and provide low-income or second language students in any country with sufficient exposure to literacy and academic language that they are able to enter school in a position to learn and compete with their more privileged peers. This can be done by interventions to change parents’ (especially mothers’) behaviors (Landry, et al., 2011) or through training pre-primary teachers practices (Dickinson, 2011). However it is achieved—and research continues to investigate effective methods—it is equally important to realize this is not just a situation in the United States, where the majority of research has been centered. It is an issue across the world, and remains most prevalent among disadvantaged populations.

Works Cited

Brandone et. al. (2006), Language Development (pp. 499 – 504).

Dickinson, D.K. (2011). Teachers’ language practices and academic outcomes of preschool children. Science, 333, 964 – 967.

Dickinson, Griffith, Golinkoff & Hirsh‐Pasek (2012). How Reading Books Fosters Language Development Around the World, Child Development Research, 2012, Article ID 602807. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/2012/602807/.

Farah, M. et. al., (2006). Childhood poverty: Specific associations with neurocognitive development. Brain Research, 166‐174.

Fernald, A., et al. (2013). "SES differences in language processing skill and vocabulary are evident at 18months." Developmental Science 16(2): 234‐248.

Hoff, E. (2006). "How social contexts support and shape language development." Developmental Review 26(1): 55‐88.

Landry, S. H., et al. (2012). "The Effects of a Responsive Parenting Intervention on Parent‐Child Interactions During Shared Book Reading." Developmental Psychology 48(4): 969‐986.

Leseman, P. P. M. and C. v. Tuijl (2006). Cultural diversity in early literacy: Findings from Dutch Studies. Handbook of early literacy research Vol. 2. D. K. Dickinson and S. B. Neuman. New York, Guilford. II: 211 – 228.

Scheele, A. F., et al. (2012). "The Relation of Home Language and Literacy to Three‐Year‐Old Children's Emergent Academic Language in Narrative and Instruction Genres." The Elementary School Journal 112(3): 419‐444.

Vawda, A.Y. & Patrinos, H.A. (1999). Producing educational materials in local languages: costs from Guatemala and Senegal. International Journal of Educational Development 19(1). 287-299.

van Kleeck, A. (2006). Cultural issues in promoting interactive book sharing in the families of preschoolers. Sharing books and stories to promote language and literacy. A. Van Kleeck. San Diego, Plural: 179 – 230