{"id":1519,"date":"2026-08-10T22:07:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T02:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/?page_id=1519"},"modified":"2026-08-13T15:59:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:59:46","slug":"programs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/programs\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Vision<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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To advance global early childhood research by centering children’s well-being, agency, and multilingual and multicultural identities as the foundations of lifelong learning and human dignity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mission<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The WARMA program conducts rigorous, convergent research to investigate the intersection of child well-being, agency, and development in multilingual and multicultural early childhood contexts.<\/p>\n

Driven by a global perspective and rooted in equity, our mission is threefold:<\/p>\n

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Advance Empirical Knowledge<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We produce high-impact, evidence-based research that captures how young children navigate, learn, and thrive across fluid linguistic and cultural boundaries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Elevate Child Agency<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We pioneer methodologies that center the voices, choices, and active contributions of young children within their families, schools, and communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Inform Global Practice<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We translate academic insights into actionable frameworks for researchers, professionals, and global stakeholders to foster inclusive environments that sustain children’s languages and diverse cultures, especially in societies where there are languages and cultures being minoritized and marginalized.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Meaning Behind Our Name<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our acronym WARMA is intentionally drawn from the Quechua language, the most widely spoken indigenous language family of the Americas. In Quechua, the word warma<\/em> translates to “child” or “young person.”<\/p>\n

We chose this name to anchor our global research program in the young children our research is focused on. By bridging a precise indigenous concept of childhood with contemporary global child development and education research, the WARMA program embodies a commitment to honoring cultural heritage, amplifying children’s distinct agencies, and examining the rich multilingual and multicultural landscapes that shape early development across the globe.<\/p>\n

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Our Team<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Dina C. Castro, PhD, MPH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bahamdan Professor of Early Childhood Well-Being and Director, Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being, Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program Co-Instructor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Milagros Calder\u00f3n Moya, PhD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bahamdan Research Scientist<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Johana Chaparro-Moreno, PhD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral Research Associate<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jelonid Fuentes, M.Ed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Program Coordinator, Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being and Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Janet Nicholson-Cronin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program Co-Instructor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tatiana Medina-Barreto<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program Coach<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Alba Franco, M.Ed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Doctoral Student, Language and Literacy PhD<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Stephanie Balderas<\/strong><\/span>
\nUndergraduate Research Assistant, Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ximena Garcia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Yarianis Rivera<\/strong><\/p>\n

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Social Media & Administration<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Our Projects<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ongoing studies<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Nuestros Ni\u00f1os Program<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Latin American Immigrant Early Educators Experiences in Monolingual Early Childhood Education<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Constructing Afro-Peruvian Identity in Early Childhood<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Latina Mothers’ Language Policies<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Completed studies<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Teacher Perspectives on Utilizing Culturally Responsive Teaching to Support Social Emotional Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Principal Investigator:<\/strong> Belen Ordonez, Undergraduate Student Researcher<\/p>\n

Faculty mentor:<\/strong> Dina C. Castro<\/p>\n

This study aimed to understand early childhood teachers’ perspectives on utilizing culturally responsive teaching to support socioemotional learning (SEL) competencies such as self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills. Through a series of semi-structured interviews in a community partner school, six participants shared their experience with culturally responsive practice, administration’s support and shortcomings, and the impact that culture has had on their students’ SEL skills. These findings yielded a new understanding of the ways teachers are utilizing family and classroom culture to enhance SEL learning. Simultaneously, these interviews provided new insights about what support early childhood educators need to continue to sustain students’ culture and empower social-emotional learning in their classrooms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Conference Presentations<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Castro, D. C. (2026, February). Early Care and Education to Build Just and Peaceful Societies: Critical Intercultural Approaches from the Global South. At the 64th Session of the United Nations Commission on Social Development, organized by the UN-NGO-Committee on Migration and the World Organization for Early Childhood Education-OMEP.<\/p>\n

Castro, D. C. (2025, July). Digital Literacy to Promote Equitable Access to Quality Early Education in Multilingual Contexts. President’s Symposium. OMEP 77th World Assembly and Conference. Bologna, Italy (invited).<\/p>\n

Castro, D. C. (2025, May). Early Childhood Well-Being in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts<\/em>. Featured Speaker. Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA.<\/p>\n

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Our Partners<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica del Per\u00fa<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vision To advance global early childhood research by centering children’s well-being, agency, and multilingual and multicultural identities as the foundations of lifelong learning and human dignity. Mission The WARMA program conducts rigorous, convergent research to investigate the intersection of child well-being, agency, and development in multilingual and multicultural early childhood contexts. Driven by a global […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19837,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19837"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1519"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1700,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1519\/revisions\/1700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ecinstitute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}