A small example of why diverse voices in early childhood development research are so important:
“Sandra Ventura, a UTD senior, and the other REU fellows [at The University of Texas at Dallas] were talking informally about their experience with mealtime, comparing notes on how their families often had a small meal before bedtime.
‘In the Latino community, around 10-ish PM, after dinner we have another meal. It’s more quiet, less structured,’ Ventura says. ‘Me and other lab mates are talking about it. We’re like, ‘Yeah, this is normal. We do this a lot, and in a lot of our home countries this is something that is normal.’
When the faculty mentor heard the conversation, ‘her mind just exploded,’ Ventura recalls. The professor had never heard about this tradition and began to think about how to include the small evening meal in her research design.”