RESEARCH THEMES

EARLY HOME LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT

Each family is different. What are the sources of individual differences in early home learning environment? How do parents support their children’s learning in culture-specific ways? I conduct indigenous and cross-cultural studies to answer these questions through a sociocultural and ecological lens.​

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• Atkins, R., Luo, R., Wunnenberg, M, Ayres, C., Lipman, T., Pena-Cardinali, V., Hayes, L., Deatrick, J. (2020). Contributors to depressed mood in Black single mothers. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 41(1): 38-48. pdf

• Luo, R., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S, & Mendelsohn A. (2020). Predictors and consequences of children’s literacy experiences in low-income families: The contents of books matter. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(2): 213-234.  pdf

• Luo, R. & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2019). Preschool book-sharing and oral storytelling experiences in ethnically diverse, low-income families. Early Child Development and Care, 189(10), 1602-1619. pdf

• Luo, R., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Kuchirko, Y., Ng, F. F., & Liang, E. (2014). Mother-child book-sharing and children’s storytelling skills in ethnically diverse, low-income families. Infant and Child Development, 23(4), 402-425. pdf

• Luo, R., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Song, L. (2013). Chinese parents’ goals and practices in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 843-857. pdf

EARLY HOME LEARNING EXPERIENCES PREDICTING LATER SCHOOL-RELATED SKILLS

A key aim of my work is to understand ways to best support children’s language and academic development in the home context. I examine children’s early home learning environments (i.e., learning materials, learning activities, and quality of parent-child interactions) in relation to early language skills, school readiness, and academic achievement.

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• Luo, R., Masek, L. R.*, Alper, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2022). Maternal question use and child language outcomes: The moderating role of children’s vocabulary skills and socioeconomic status. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 59(2), 109-120. 

• Luo, R., Song, L., Villacis, C.*, & Santiago-Bonilla, G. (2021). Parental beliefs and knowledge, parenting practices, and child school readiness: The dual language perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. doi:org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661208

• Luo, R., Pace A., Levine, D., Golinkoff, R. M., de Villiers J., Hirsh-Pasek K., Iglesias A., & Wilson, M. S. (2021). Home literacy environment and existing knowledge mediate the link between socioeconomic status and language learning skills in dual language learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55(2): 1-14.

• Levine, D., Pace, A., Luo, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., de Villiers, J., Iglesias, A., & Wilson, M. S. (2020). Evaluating socioeconomic gaps in preschoolers’ vocabulary, syntax, and language process skills with the Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS). Early Childhood Research Quarterly. pdf

• Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Luo, R., Bandel, E., Vallontton, C., & McFadden, K. (2019). Early home learning environment predicts children’s 5th grade academic skills. Applied Developmental Science. 23(2), 153-169. pdf

• Pace, A, Luo, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. (2017). Identifying pathways between socioeconomic status and language development. Annual Review of Linguistics, 3(1), 285-308. pdf

DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Dual language learners are children who are exposed to more than one language early on. Does knowledge in one language help children learn the other language? Do parents change their dual language input as children transition from home to school? How does children’s home language environment relate to their learning in the classroom? I work with Spanish-English and Chinese-English dual language learners to answer these questions.

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• Song L., Luo, R., & Liang, E. (2022). Dual language development of Chinese 3-and 4-year-olds: Associations with the family context and teachers’ language use. Early Education and Development, 33(2), 219-242.

• Luo, R., Song, L., Villacis, C.*, & Santiago-Bonilla, G. (2021). Parental beliefs and knowledge, parenting practices, and child school readiness: The dual language perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. doi:org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661208

• Pace A., Luo, R. (co-first author), Golinkoff, R. M., de Villiers J., Hirsh-Pasek K., Iglesias A., & Wilson, M. S. (2021). Within and Across Language Predictors of Word Learning Processes in Dual Language Learners. Child Development. 92(1): 35-53.

• Luo, R., Escobar, K., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2020). Heterogeneity in the trajectories of US Latine mothers’ dual-language input from infancy to preschool. First Language, 40(3): 275-299

• Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Song, L., Luo, R., Kuchirko, Y., Kahana-Kalman, R., Yoshikawa, H., & Raufman, J. (2014). Children’s language growth in Spanish and English across early development: Associations to school readiness. Developmental Neuropsychology, 39(2), 69-87. pdf

DYNAMIC AND BIDIRECTIONAL NATURE OF PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION

How do parents adjust their communicative behaviors in response to children’s emerging skills? How do children influence their parents’ behaviors during real time interactions? How do infants’ language experiences fluctuate as they transition across daily routines? My work highlights the dynamic and bidirectional nature of parent-child interaction.

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• Luo, R. & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2017). Sequential reciprocity between maternal questions and child contributions during book-sharing interactions. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 38, 71-83. pdf

• Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Kuchirko, Y., Luo, R., Escobar K., & Bornstein M. (2017). Power in methods: Language to infants in structured and naturalistic contexts. Developmental Science, 20(6): e12456. pdf

• Luo, R. & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2016). Mothers’ verbal and nonverbal strategies in relation to infant object-directed actions in real time and across the first three years in ethnically diverse families. Infancy, 21(1), 65-89. pdf

EARLY LANGUAGE INTERVENTION: THE DUET PROJECT

My colleagues at Temple University (Drs. Rebecca Alper and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek) and I developed an early language intervention, called The Duet Project, to improve the quality of parent-child interaction in high-risk families. The Duet project bridges rigorous science with culturally sensitive, community-based practice through the use of Community-Based, Participatory Research (CBPR). We have received a new grant from the William Penn Foundation to develop Duet 2.0, which will support families from diverse linguistic backgrounds through a light touch, public health model.

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• Rumper, B., Alper, R., Jaen, J., Masek, L., Luo, R., Blinkoff, E., Mogul, M., Golinkoff, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2021). Beyond translation: Caregiver collaboration in adapting an early language intervention. Frontiers in Education.

• Luo, R., Alper, R.(co-first author), Hirsh-Pasek, K., Mogul, M., Chen, Y., Masek, L., Paterson S., Pace, A., Adamson, L., Bakeman, R., Golinkoff, R., & Owen, M. (2020). Community-based, caregiver-implemented early language intervention in high-risk families: Lessons learned. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 13(3), 283-291.