The Culver City (Calif.) Schools' Spanish Immersion Program (SIP) offers an innovative and highly successful approach to the development of proficiency in a foreign language in the elementary grades. This approach differs from most bilingual programs in that for the first two years the students are completely immersed in Spanish. When the students…

This paper discusses some of the background rationale for bilingual education and raises issues concerning personnel training, with indications as to how these issues have been dealt with in the program at SUNY-Albany. In the preparation of bilingual educators, the relationship between the educator's cultural, linguistic, and ethnic background and…

A study examined the beliefs and attitudes of Mexican-trained educators regarding instruction for minority and language minority students in light of assumptions that students experience better outcomes with culturally and linguistically compatible teachers. Fifteen educators who received their teacher education in Mexico, and whose native…

One aspect of the development of a performance assessment is addressed--the field testing of the tasks. In a performance-based assessment, the tasks must allow each examinee a fair and equal opportunity to give the best possible demonstration of his or her ability, and must elicit a performance sample that enables scorers to evaluate each examinee…

Data from three different teacher surveys are compared in a study of Paraguayan bilingual teacher attitudes on the choice of the language to be used in the classroom. The surveys were conducted in 1976, 1979, and 1986. Paraguay was chosen because of the stability of Guarani-Spanish bilingualism in that country and in its educational system. A…

Generic and causal competencies for effective elementary bilingual teachers have been defined through this study. Data have been collected with an operant interviewing method termed the Behavioral Event Analysis (BEA). The BEA was developed at Harvard for the purpose of identifying competencies for effective job performance. In this study, 20…

The intent of this paper is to discuss the principal issues and interacting factors of basic importance in the planning and development of university programs to prepare bilingual teaching professionals. After a brief discussion of two approaches in planning and designing new teacher preparation programs, the "redo" method and the…

This case study describes culture conflicts experienced by Vivian, an Asian language-minority preservice teacher, during two years of her teacher preparation at a large northeastern private university. Data were collected from multiple sources to understand her experiences and perspectives. These include: informant, faculty, and family interviews;…

A critical shortage of bilingual teachers exists in Texas. While the Hispanic population has grown at a 39% rate, the number of Hispanic teachers has declined. The Teachers Need Teachers program in San Antonio pairs about 75 new bilingual education teachers with experienced bilingual education teachers, who serve as mentors. Its purpose is to…

A study examined bilingual children's composing behaviors during classroom writing and their perceptions of writing. Students' descriptions of what occurred in their day-to-day environment were analyzed using ethnographic methods. The researcher observed five subjects--bilingual students in kindergarten through third grade--for 145 hours, and…

This Spanish edition reports on the Aspira National Think Tank Conference attended by educational leaders and social scientists representing the major bilingual communities namely, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Cubans. The conference studied four major topics: (1) equality and not similarity, theory, rationale, and objectives of bilingual…

A community college is committed to serve all persons living in the areas it encompasses, and it must demonstrate this commitment. At Sauk Valley College in Dixon, Illinois, language instruction must extend beyond the traditional Spanish-for-anglos classes, because there is a large population of Mexican-Americans living within the school district.…

Education for foreign migrant children in the Netherlands from 1960 to 1976 is discussed. Two aspects of the background and development of migrant education are stressed: governmental organization and education in practice. Discussed are the government's responsibility for investigating problems of cross-cultural education; inspecting educational…

This report summarizes the proceedings and outcomes of a working conference of experts, scholars, and educators in bilingual education held at Stanford University on February 12-13, 1976. The goal of the conference was to discuss and improve five tests constructed as part of an effort to improve teaching in bilingual (Spanish-English) education…

A study used focus groups and interviews to examine dropout causes among Hispanic middle and high school students in Hillsborough County, Florida. Major contributors to Latino student success included personal motivation to succeed, supportive parents, and being interested and involved in school activities. Factors contributing to dropout included…