A brief discussion of the history, organization, program, advantages and effectiveness of immersion centers, schools offering only the immersion program, in Canada. Some of the small amount of existing research is reviewed. Although there are no definitive conclusions, it is suggested that such centers may offer a better educational program than…

A panel discussion of the effect of immersion programs on first and second language learning. Questions are raised regarding the effectiveness of the regular curriculum, results of immersion for majority language and minority or immigrant children, the meaning of linguistic competence and underlying cognitive and intellectual processes. (AMH)

The Plattsburgh French Language Immersion Program (FLIP) is designed to enrich the education of majority-group children. In discussing evaluation methodology for FLIP, the general problems of evaluating a program are discussed, as well as reactions to details of the design developed by the research group for FLIP. Evaluation is distinguished from…

An evaluation study is presented of a primary grades Ukrainian-English bilingual program. The study focuses on three areas: (1) pupil academic achievement; (2) pupil cultural achievement; and (3) the perceptions of relevant groups concerning the bilingual program. One hundred forty-eight students in grades one, two, and three were matched with…

This article discusses the history of the St. Lambert bilingual education experiment in Montreal, Canada, and bilingual education in general. The experimental project was begun because parents did not feel that the traditional language classes were successful in teaching their children French. The belief that native language skills would suffer,…

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 study assesses the implementation of the "Let's Be Amigos" program for Spanish- and English-speaking students during its first year. The program, operating in Philadelphia at the elementary and secondary school levels, is described in terms of instructional objectives, evaluation criteria and procedures, student performance, teacher…

This report consists of two sets of criteria developed by the NEA Task Force on bilingual/multicultural education. The criteria presented are for: (1) effective bilingual/multicultural education programs, and (2) state legislation which establishes such programs. The first set of criteria includes factors such as state and federal laws, student…

A summary report is presented of the program that was begun in 1970 in three elementary schools located in a predominantly Hispanic area of the city. The study is divided into four main headings: program description, evaluation design, findings and limitations. The description of the program includes the cultural and social context; the project…

Culturally responsive programs incorporate the child's native language and cultural knowledge as part of the curriculum. In addition they consider the child's development in terms of relationships among self-concept, culture and achievement. While it has been established that self-concept and ability to achieve influence one another, the way in…

Despite limited research due to lack of funding and inadequate program evaluations, enough evidence has accumulated to indicate that quality bilingual programs can meet the goal of providing equal educational opportunity for students from non-English speaking backgrounds. A review of existing research supports this statement. In almost all cases,…

The fourth and final report on this study of the impact of bilingual education provides an overview of the design of the study and a summary of the findings, which were discussed in more detail in three previously released volumes. The goals of the study were to: (1) determine both the cognitive and the affective impact of bilingual education on…