Affirming the Rights of Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Children and Families

Book excerpt: Affirming the Rights of Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Children and Families explores how the philosophy, principles, and practices of the internationally acclaimed Municipal Preschools and Infant Toddler Centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy, advance the social justice and linguistic human rights of emergent bilingual and multilingual children and their families, particularly immigrants and refugees. The book is driven by the authors’ research-based discourse including an interview with Reggio Emilia educators and direct observations in the Preschools and Infant–toddler Centers in Italy. Chapters include survey and follow-up interviews, and classroom examples from U.S. early childhood educators inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach some of whom are in multilingual settings. Recommendations are included for practitioners who are intentional about advocating for the rights of emergent bi- and multilingual young children. Also included are the researchers’ interpretations and reflexive narratives on contextuality, intersectionality, and intertextuality, which interweave theories and practice. The insightful examinations of scholarly work and the critical review of the distinctive features of the Reggio Emilia philosophy contribute to an early childhood education transformative lens that challenges the status quo of inequities and foregrounds the linguistic and cultural rights of learners who speak different languages. The authors review research and theory that inform the latest developments in culturally and linguistically responsive practices in innovative early education (infant through pre-k), family participation, and teacher preparation and development. Of general interest to educators and researchers around the world who work to ensure the rights of emergent language learners, this is an essential text for upper-level and graduate students, early childhood educators, educational and community leaders, administrators, and researchers.