About the Editors

Mariella Espinoza-Herold is Researcher and Professor at Northern Arizona University, USA. She has worked for over 33 years in the areas of language and literacy development, educational equity, bilingualism, and optimal program models for speakers of English as an additional language. She is the main editor of this volume, and has authored books and many research articles in indexed journals in the United States and other international outlets. She has also served as Associate Editor of the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Journal for Research and Practice (NJRP). She has been the recipient of several awards including two Fulbright fellowships that allowed her to investigate educational systems in Japan, China, Scandinavia, and several Western European nations. Dr. Espinoza-Herold’s research work has been highlighted at the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria, the European Sociological Association, the Swiss Association of Applied Linguistics, the American Educational Research Association, among others. She received several distinctions from school districts in the state of Arizona for her dedication to improve the educational experience of culturally diverse students. She is a fluent speaker of four languages and has traveled and observed educational programs in over 45 countries. She served at the Board of the NABE.

Rina Manuela Contini holds a PhD in Social Sciences and is an Expert in “Welfare Theories and Social Intervention” in the Department of Management & Business Administration at the University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy), she also has previous experience as a Post-Doctoral Research-Fellow “Al.Fo. Project 2012-2013”. Her research is focused on migration, educational policies, interculturality in multiethnic schools, and immigrants educational achievement. Her latest publications include “Intercultural education in Italy and in the United States: The results of a binational inquiry” in Romanian Journal for Multidimensional Education (2015) (with M. Herold), “Transnational-cultural identity among immigrant students in Italy in a globalized era” in Migranti e Territori (Ediesse, 2015) (with M. Herold), “Interculturality and social bonds formation: A case study on immigrant and native preadolescents in Italy” in Procedia: Social & Behavioral Sciences (2014), “New generations and intercultural integration in a multiethnic society” in Procedia: Social & Behavioral Sciences (2013), Nuove generazioni nella società multietnica. Una ricerca nelle scuole d'Abruzzo (FrancoAngeli, 2012). Dr. Contini has participated in many international conferences as a presenter, keynote speaker, and session organizer. She is a member and reviewer for the European Sociological Association and has been a reviewer for the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Contini is on the Editorial and Reviewer’s Board for Global Education Review and Athens Journal of Social Sciences and on the International Editorial Advisory Board of the Romanian Journal for Multidimensional Education, Lumen Social Sciences Journal and Postmodern Openings, and on the Reviewer’s Board for the Journal of Sociology Study and Journal of Modern Education Review. She is also a member of the Advisory Board and a Scientific Consultant for the Lumen Research Center in Social and Humanistic Sciences.