On April 5, Bank Street Graduate School of Education hosted its inaugural Research Share Day, an opportunity for faculty and staff from across programs and departments to present research on various studies in the field of education.
The event provided a collaborative forum for researchers from the Graduate School of Education, Straus Center for Young Children & Families, the National Center for Children in Poverty, Emotionally Responsive Practice, and other Bank Street programs to share their work with colleagues and discuss important topics, including anti-racist education, bilingualism and multilingualism, and teacher preparation.
“The day was dedicated to sharing research in all stages of development, from the proposal stage through publication, and supporting colleagues in their research pursuits,” said Jessica Charles, Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, Graduate School of Education, who organized the event. “We look forward to increasing the visibility of Bank Street’s work and articulating a Graduate School research agenda as faculty and staff continue to explore new avenues and deepen our understanding of educational issues.”
To begin, Amy Stuart Wells, Dean, Graduate School of Education, welcomed attendees and set the stage for the day by highlighting emerging areas of research at Bank Street. Projects include a study on the education of migrant students, an exploration of parent perspectives and involvement in children’s education, an analysis of the relationship between K-12 districts and higher education programs for the development of partnerships and residency programs, and an examination of home-based child care settings and culturally responsive practices in early childhood education. Individual researchers are working on projects both within and beyond those areas.
Next, attendees transitioned into small breakout sessions where they heard a selection of five presentations.
In one breakout session, Elizabeth Silva Diaz, GSE ’10, Course Instructor & Supervised Fieldwork Advisor, Graduate School of Education, presented “Portraits of Bilingualism and Dis/ability: The Perspectives and Experiences of Emerging Bilinguals With Dis/abilities (EBwDs).” This paper explores a study Silva Diaz conducted to highlight the experiences and voices of children who are emerging bilinguals—students who have the potential to develop multilingual abilities—with dis/abilities.
“In schools and classrooms, as well as university courses with educators and teachers, two dominant narratives seem to exist regarding emergent bilinguals with dis/abilities. These narratives are interrelated and are often deficit-oriented, focusing on what students cannot do,” said Silva Diaz. She explained the two narratives—that EBwDs can’t or shouldn’t be bilingual and that EBwDs shouldn’t participate in bilingual education—before sharing her research design, methodology, and findings, which offered counter stories to the dominant narratives.
Silva Diaz added, “Emerging bilinguals with disabilities rarely have the opportunity to participate in bilingual programming and typically receive fewer language supports in schools. Calling attention to these issues is an issue of linguistic and social justice.”
Additional presentations included:
- “Giving Voice to Anti-Racist Educators: Changing Political Discourse, Policy, Practice, and Public Engagement” by Dean Wells, Xinyu Pa, and Sophia Vazquez, graduate students, Teachers College
- “Considerations for Doing Participatory Research” by Cristina Medellin-Paz, Associate Director, Straus Center for Young Children & Families
- “‘¡Celebrando Multilingualism!’ A Toolbox for Nourishing El Lenguaje y El Desarrollo in the Early Childhood Dual Language Classroom” by Carmen Colón, Supervised Fieldwork Advisor & Course Instructor, Graduate School of Education, and Margaret Blachly, Assistant Director, Professional Development Facilitator, Psycho-Educational Specialist, and Coach, Graduate School of Education
- “¿Dónde vive la ciencia en tu comunidad? A Photovoice Project” by Thania Gomez-Martinez and Xiaohan Zhu, Research Assistants, Straus Center for Young Children & Families
- “Research with Kindergarteners: Exploring Ways to Build Geographic Concepts and Perspective-Taking With Young Children” by Abigail Kerlin, GSE ’00, Instructor and Director of General Education Programs, Graduate School of Education, and Ellen McCrum, GSE ’03, ’09, Course Instructor, Graduate School of Education
- “A Place Where People Care: A Retrospective on Strategies to Recruit and Retain Students of Color in Educator Preparation Programs” by Carolina Gonzalez, Chief of Staff, Bank Street College
- “Research on Building a Successful Online Orientation for Bank Street Students” by Laura Zadoff, Co-Director of Online Teaching and Learning, Bank Street Graduate School, and Robin Hummel, Co-Director, Online Teaching and Learning, and Program Director, Leadership in Mathematics Education, Graduate School of Education
- “A Study of Immigrant Families in New York City Settlement House Programs That Looked at Access to and Use of Temporary Enhanced Financial Assistance (and Other Aspects of Families’ Experience) by Karen Chatfield, Director of Family Economic Security, National Center for Children in Poverty
- “Growing for Justice: Leaders’ Reflections on Building Capacity and Transforming Perspectives for Advocacy” by Jessica Blum-DeStefano, Course Instructor & Supervised Fieldwork Advisor, and Deborah Brooks-Lawrence, Adjunct, Graduate School of Education
- “How Multilingual Children of Color with Disabilities Resist Intersectional Oppression with Silence” by Soyoung Park, affiliated faculty member at the Straus Center for Young Children & Families and Director of Online Programs in Early Childhood and Childhood Special Education, Graduate School of Education
- “The Impact of Indigenous Worldview on My Life and My Teaching: An Autoethnography Handout” by Susie Rolander, GSE ’07, Supervised Fieldwork Advisor & Course Instructor, Graduate School of Education
- “Descriptive Inquiry to Advance Justice in Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Preparation” by Park and Rae Leeper, Program Director of Early Childhood Special Education, Graduate School of Education
- “Teacher Education as an Organizational Learning Challenge: How Do Equity- and Justice-Focused Practices Spread From One Institution to Another to Build the Field?” by Charles
To conclude the day, participants engaged in discussions around the projects and papers shared, exchanging insights and fostering shared support for their work.
The Research Share Day will take place again in the spring next year.