About this paper symposium

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Panel information
Panel 8. Education, Schooling

Paper #1
“Todo es ciencia”: Funds of knowledge expressed by Latine parents of preschoolers when defining science
Author information	Role
Diana I. Acosta, Ph.D., Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, United States	Presenting author
Anele Villanueva, Loyola University Chicago, United States	Non-presenting author
Maureen A. Callanan, University of California, Santa Cruz, United States	Non-presenting author
Gigliana Melzi, New York University, United States	Non-presenting author
Catherine A. Haden, Loyola University Chicago, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
To advance an equitable approach to developmental psychology and early science learning, it is essential to recognize the voices and experiences of families from culturally and linguistically non-dominant communities. Our study aims to expand our understanding of how science is seen and experienced by children from Latine families in the US. As part of this effort, we thus far have analyzed qualitative interviews conducted with 49 Spanish-speaking, Mexican-heritage parents of preschool-aged (3- to 5-years) children recruited from New York, NY, San José, CA, and Chicago, IL. (The presentation will involve a sample of more than 100 Latine parents.) One section of the semi-structured interview asked parents to share what comes to mind for them when they hear the word “science” (“Cuando usted escucha la palabra ciencia, ¿en qué piensa?”) Parents’ definitions of science were coded reliably (>82% agreement) along three dimensions that emerged from the data: (1) the science concepts included in their response, (2) the science practices they mentioned, and (3) the contexts where they describe science happening. Based on the sample coded thus far, parents described science as omnipresent (37%), and referenced nature (35%), plants (20%), animals (20%), climate and the environment (16%), technology (12%), astronomy (10%), and medicine and health (10%). Parents often expressed that science is an active process that they or others (i.e., scientists) do (33%), and that it involves investigating (29%). Science was often described as happening in school (18%), although some parents also talked about science at home in their families’ everyday lives and activities. Finally, some parents juxtaposed (or contrasted) their ideas about science with religious and spiritual views, such as believing in higher entities (i.e., God and the universe). Parents’ answers will help advance a greater understanding of what science means to families in Latine communities and the ways that they see science reflected in their everyday lives.

Paper #2
Enhancing preschool educator self-efficacy by integrating funds of knowledge into science, technology, and engineering experiences
Author information	Role
Daniel Ivan Garcia, University of California, Irvine, United States	Presenting author
Daniel I. Garcia, University of California, Irvine, United States	Non-presenting author
Victor Aguilar, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Vanessa N. Bermudez, University of California, Irvine, United States	Non-presenting author
Virginia Diez, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Cynthia Parker, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Keely Orlando, Santa Ana Unified School District, United States	Non-presenting author
Rigo Rodriguez, Santa Ana Unified School District, United States	Non-presenting author
Lisa Solomon, Santa Ana Unified School District, United States	Non-presenting author
Christine McWayne, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Andres Bustamante, University of California, Irvine, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Family-school partnerships often emphasize aligning home practices with school methods, but this can overlook the valuable cultural and practical knowledge families bring, known as funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1992). Recognizing and integrating funds of knowledge allows teachers to connect home practices to the curriculum, especially benefiting minoritized children whose backgrounds are often underrepresented in the classroom. In Science, Technology, and Engineering (STE), this can include using skills like gardening, cooking, transportation, or understanding local structures to create culturally responsive learning environments. STE experiences can spark interest and enhance learning across various domains, including strengthening children’s executive functioning, approaches to learning, peer collaboration, mathematics understanding, and language development (Bustamante et al., 2018; Gelman & Brenneman, 2011; Nayfeld et al., 2013). This study presents the Blinded project, a research-practice partnership with 23 preschool educators in a predominantly Latine school district. Blinded delivered six professional development sessions and biweekly coaching focused on family engagement and a home-to-school flow of information centered around STE. Unlike fixed curricula, Blinded offers a flexible framework, helping educators create STE learning opportunities rooted in children’s daily lives, family routines, and cultural practices. Prior research has shown that teachers who engaged more deeply with science recognized its benefits for children (Authors, 2021), and Blinded positively impacts teachers’ attitudes, practices, and knowledge in STE (Authors, 2022). This study builds on previous findings, using interviews to explore how integrating funds of knowledge into STE experiences shapes educators’ perceptions of teaching STE. The research team conducted semi-structured pre- and post-interviews with 16 teachers and seven teaching assistants, all female and 91% Latina. Educators had an average of 15 years of teaching experience, and 81% of them held at least a bachelor’s degree. Despite the loss of one pre-interview, we analyzed the remaining 45 interviews using inductive coding (Saldaña, 2021). Our inductive codes captured themes related to educators’ experiences and perceptions with the Blinded approach (e.g., family engagement, STE curriculum). We inductively coded one-fourth of the interviews to create our initial codebook using Dedoose, a qualitative analysis software. Our current codebook consists of eight parent codes and 20 subcodes (Figure 1). Preliminary findings show that incorporating students’ home-based knowledge into STE enhances educators’ self-efficacy in teaching STE. As one educator stated, “[We did] a plant dissection…We knew exactly what we needed to do…[Coach] gave us ideas on how we could expand the information we're gathering from the families to bring into the classroom.” Educators also reported a growing awareness of how STE is relevant to students after learning how to integrate families’ funds of knowledge into the curriculum. For example, one educator mentioned, “The teabag [activity] was amazing…A little girl opened it and she’s like, ‘It's a flower…my mom puts this in a cup’…It was eye-opening for them because they’re able to explore things that they would’ve never thought about.” While full analysis is pending, the study underscores the importance of equipping educators with strategies to build meaningful relationships with families, ultimately fostering culturally sustaining educational experiences.

Paper #3
Transforming STEM Education for Latine children through Funds of Knowledge in a Smart Playground
Author information	Role
Isabella T. Seccia, University of California Irvine, United States	Presenting author
Kelsyann Cervera, University of California, Irvine, United States	Non-presenting author
Diana Romano, University of California, Irvine, United States	Non-presenting author
Jessica Blake West, Boston College, United States	Non-presenting author
Leiny Garcia, Duke University, United States	Non-presenting author
Sophie Hankin, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Infania Pimentel, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Jennifer Cross, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Chris Rogers, Tufts University, United States	Non-presenting author
Marina Bers, Boston College, United States	Non-presenting author
June Ahn, University of California, Irvine, United States	Non-presenting author
Andres Bustamante, University of California, Irvine, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Latine children and families possess a rich array of cultural assets that can be strategically harnessed to enhance the learning of Computational Thinking (CT), a key problem-solving skill in computing (Bers, 2022). This project seeks to make CT education more inclusive and culturally responsive by examining how Latine families integrate their cultural strengths into the creation of a technologically enriched CT playground. In light of systemic barriers and limited access to CT learning for Latine children, we employ the concept of Funds of Knowledge (FoK) (Moll et al., 1992) to explore how the collective repository of cultural knowledge, values, and practices within families can inform the development of more inclusive and effective CT learning experiences. By embracing the strengths of Latine communities through culturally resonant design, these playgrounds can be transformed into educational spaces that align with families’ cultural assets, thereby expanding CT learning opportunities in STEM education for Latine children. In a series of four co-design sessions with 13 Latine families from the Santa Ana Early Learning Initiative (SAELI), we explored their play practices and ideas for a Smart Playground, highlighting the cultural strengths embodied in these concepts. Initially, families participated in reflective discussions and created playground models integrated with technology. In subsequent sessions, we introduced Computational Thinking (CT) concepts, encouraging families to refine their designs using these principles. During the final session, prototypes were presented, and feedback on family engagement was collected. A thematic analysis was conducted to understand how Latine families express their FoK and incorporate it into their playground designs. The findings indicate that Latine families emphasized communalism through social games, familism through chore-based activities, and a strong connection to their heritage through storytelling. One notable manifestation of communalism was the design of a Smart Floor Mat by parents, inspired by a mother’s experience watching her nonverbal child struggle to interact with peers on the playground. Drawing from her child’s communication board, she devised a large, grid-like mat where children can step on squares to communicate through picture patterns (see Figure 1). She explained, “I would like to see something like this in schools, so that special children could also play and interact” (Participant 1). This design aims to provide an opportunity for all children to play together by using a common communication medium through light-up patterns, fostering inclusivity on the playground. To achieve this design goal, our team developed a prototype that cycles through various patterns and shapes when pressed, allowing children to create different picture patterns (see Figure 2). These findings underscore the value of co-designing playgrounds to promote cultural assets that engage underrepresented communities in STEM learning. Future phases will focus on iteratively refining prototypes based on feedback from families throughout the design process.

Paper #4
Parents as resources: Reaching out to families and learning from them
Author information	Role
Fany Salazar, The University of Arizona, United States	Presenting author
Marta Civil, The University of Arizona, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
The engagement of parents from minoritized communities in their children’s mathematics education is often tainted by deficit perspectives that overlook parents’ experiences, mathematical knowledge, and ways of supporting their children (Baquedano-López et al., 2013). To effectively bring families’ knowledge and partnership to schools, it is essential to move beyond school-centric views of involvement such as parent-teacher conferences that focus on the students’ grades or parents volunteering at schools to help with busy work. This study is part of a project which aimed to foster a two-way dialogue between parents and teachers, creating opportunities for mutual learning. We describe two activities designed to engage parents in an asset based collaboration that leverages their experiences and mathematical knowledge. Our work is grounded on the concepts of funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1992; Vélez‐Ibáñez & Greenberg, 1992) and parents as intellectual resources (Civil & Andrade, 2003). The project worked with one school located near the Mexico-U.S. border over three years. Participants included eight K-3 teachers (six bilingual in Spanish and English, and two English-only speakers) with 3 to 25 years of teaching experience, as well as twelve mothers of Mexican origin (six bilingual and six Spanish-only speakers), all of whom attended school in Mexico. Throughout the project, parents and teachers participated in leadership development workshops and facilitated family mathematics workshops at various local schools. The mothers also participated in mathematics-for-parents workshops (MFPs) to engage in mathematical tasks and discuss their children’s mathematics curriculum and visited mathematics classrooms, which were followed by a conversation on the visit. Data sources for this study included audio recordings of pre- and post-debriefs from six classroom visits and video recordings from three MFPs. We analyzed this data using descriptive coding (Saldaña, 2016) to identify instances where participants drew upon their everyday experiences, mathematical knowledge, or funds of knowledge. Preliminary findings indicate that having parents visit mathematics classes and collaborate to create culturally relevant mathematics tasks are productive ways to tap into their experiences and funds of knowledge. In the debriefs following classroom visits, mothers’ observations were informed by their own experiences as mathematics students in Mexico and reflected their commitment to the well-being of all students. Many mothers shared feelings of anxiety about learning mathematics during their school years, which made them more attuned to the students’ emotions and learning experiences. When asked about potential contexts for mathematics activities, the mothers offered multiple ideas that were relevant to their community, appealing to their children’s interests, and suitable for the whole family engagement. The mothers thought about the mathematics involved and what realistic solutions to the problem were. Suggested contexts included selling tamales, decorating garden stones, and baking cupcakes. Inviting parents to observe and debrief a mathematics class or creating spaces for parents to share their knowledge about their families and community can foster mathematics learning experiences that are meaningful for children. Such engagement also provides teachers with valuable insights to better understand and partner with the community in which they teach.

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