Promising Yet Challenging: Ethnographic Insights On Head Start Teachers’ Language Policy Negotiations In New Immigrant Settlements

Dr. Kiyomi Umezawa, Assistant Professor in Curriculum Studies, conducted a comparative ethnographic study on Head Start teachers’ language ideologies and policy implementation. Curious about how Head Start teachers understand and implement the policy to recognize children’s home languages as assets and incorporate them into classroom practices, Dr. Umezawa interviewed educators at four sites. She describes the emerging findings from her interviews: “I found that the journey of the policy was not straightforward. Much like the game of telephone, each agency that passes the policy to the next reflects its own understanding and modifies it.” The study highlights that maintaining bilingualism in young children requires intentional, culturally responsive teaching practices, and emphasizes the crucial yet often-overlooked role of teachers as key policy actors who can drive equitable bilingual education from the ground up.