Several qualitative studies in biliteracy (a term used to describe children's literate competencies in two languages) among students in English/Spanish bilingual elementary school classrooms have as their core thesis the notion that children, from both Latina/o and other student populations, have the potential to develop literacy in two languages…

The validity of the consensus paradigm dominant in sociolinguistics is questioned. Social scientists working in this paradigm take the perspective of society as an aggregate operating through agreement between its constituent elements, working to the benefit of the aggregate. The best-known of the consensus-oriented theories is…

This study expands the scope of an earlier review by examining a larger database of self concept studies in bilingual education and by relating the findings in bilingual education to general studies of the self concept in the educational literature. The traditional view of self concept as an intervening variable is found to be reflected in the…

Discussed is the need for an interdisciplinary approach to bilingual special education with emphasis on the integration of the fields of bilingual education and special education. (IM)

An impact evaluation of the Spanish/English component of the federal Bilingual Education Program (BEP) was done by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) between 1974-76. The AIR evaluation took three years, cost $2 million, and examined many aspects of the BEP. This paper explores the influence of the AIR evaluation on the 1978…

The author examines the use of oral bilingual models in programs for the hearing impaired, contending that the native language of a hearing impaired child of hearing parents is frequently sign language. It is suggested that classrooms for the hearing impaired could combine numerous languages (Signed English, Signing Exact English, and American…

Annotations of 16 documents, derived from a search of doctoral dissertations and the ERIC system, discuss the skills and competencies needed by principals or other administrators of bilingual schools or programs. A brief introduction lists the seven categories of competencies identified by the documents, comprising change promotion, conflict…

Discusses the factors affecting the relationship between a program of publishing in Gaelic and the readership the program serves. These factors include the push for bilingual education at the primary school level, the emphasis on local and folk culture, and the economics of publishing for a comparatively small readership. (SED)

This 3-year study evaluated a culturally and linguistically appropriate curriculum for 168 preschool children in a southwest Head Start program. Three yearly student cohorts (1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000) have participated in the study evaluating the Language Enrichment Activities Program (LEAP) as the curriculum. During Year 1, the English LEAP…

The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 (also know as Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) recognized that the educational needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students could not be met by traditional, English-only instruction. This legislation provided funding to state education agencies and local school districts to…

Court decisions relating to bilingual education in the United States are synthesized and analyzed. In addition to cases relating specifically to language of instruction, those dealing with desegregation and racial or ethnic discrimination are reviewed. In decisions involving the teaching of foreign languages in elementary school, during the period…

This paper updates cases, legal concerns, and educational practices relating to bilingual/bicultural education since the case of Lau v. Nichols was decided. Lau v. Nichols was a class action suit in which it was argued that education had been denied to Chinese-speaking children because English was the only language spoken in the public schools in…

There is a great need for bilingual/bicultural education, especially for Spanish-speaking students, who now number approximately three million in United States elementary and secondary schools. One educational experience for such students has been the presentation of bilingual plays in several of the New York City schools. Beginning with a play in…

The most important principle in Federal education policy is equal access to a good education for every young person, irrespective of race, faith, family circumstance, cultural background, age, or sex, and irrespective of any physical or mental handicap. The Office of Education is doing many things to help the States and local school districts…

The "Institute for Change," a proposed modular training project to improve the quality of educational services to linguistic minorities in special education, was pilot tested with 12 college trainees. Nine modules were delivered in 60 hours of training, with individual training plans developed (samples are included). The project forms the basis of…