Researchers at CEED, in partnership with colleagues from other universities, are investigating the strengths and needs of Black children in terms of early literacy skills and the use of oral language, specifically conversations and narratives, to foster relationships, build identity, and advance their learning. 

Projects supporting the Language and Literacy for Liberation Initiative include:

2. CONVERSATION COMPASS

Classroom conversation plays an important role in the development of children's language and reasoning skills. However, studies show that classroom talk relies too heavily on directives and closed-ended questions. Conversation Compass is a book authored by CEED executive director Dr. Stephanie M. Curenton. The book provides many tools--including conversation maps and tracking forms, activities and reflection questions--designed to help educators learn to adapt their classroom conversations to meet the diverse needs of all the children they teach and set them up for academic success.

If you're interested in using this book in your classroom, you can purchase it here!

3. THE dual language learners study

The Dual Language Learners Study is part of the larger Conversation Compass Project, and focuses on the conditions that foster dual language learners’ participation in classroom conversations in early childhood. Dual language learners (DLLs), a subset of culturally and linguistically diverse learners whose families speak a minoritized language at home, make up close to one third of school-aged children. This project is motivated by the importance of oral language skills in the minoritized and socially dominant languages for DLLs' literacy development and school learning and research showing that children’s oral language skills can be fostered through responsive, contingent interactions with teachers. However, such conversations are relatively rare in preschool classrooms, particularly between teachers and their DLL students. In this project we draw on video-recorded observations of classroom conversations between teachers and their DLL students in preschool classrooms to shed light on how teachers' flexible use of DLLs' languages can promote equitable learning environments and positive outcomes for DLL students. 

Dual Language Learners Study NRCEC Virtual Poster 2020

Fostering Dual Language Learners' Classroom Conversations SRCD Presentation 2021

4. THE piTtsburgh study reading, racial equity, and relationships (3rs) study

The 3Rs at Home study is part of a larger project, The Pittsburgh Study Early School Age Cohort: Reading, Racial Equity and Relationships (3Rs). The 3Rs umbrella study is a multifaceted literacy approach that integrates racially-affirming texts and high-quality literacy prompts and instruction across (1) family, (2) community, (3) school leadership, (4) classroom-based contexts (the four 3Rs Strands). The 3Rs at Home strand covers the family context. 

The Pittsburgh Study (3RS) Community Engaged Scholarship Forum (CESF) Poster 2021​