This book portrays what works in creating better educational opportunities and effective school reform for Hispanic Americans, offering a reflection on the bicultural experience of minority groups in U.S. schools and showing how and why educational reforms must seek to build upon rather than downplay the native culture and language of minority…

Preschool teachers from Texas school districts with high and low Hispanic populations completed surveys examining their knowledge and beliefs about early childhood bilingualism and developmentally appropriate practice. Positive beliefs about the use of native language to develop emergent cognitive-academic language proficiency through active…

A year-long study followed two bilingual (English/Spanish) middle school teachers as training helped them to develop a new way of interacting with students during content teaching. To enhance student comprehension, the teachers moved away from concurrent translation and made efforts to distribute language usage so that they spent equal amounts of…

Asserts that changing demographic patterns indicate that the fastest growing sector of school-age children is the language minority group. Contends that, although social studies might seem to be the ideal curriculum area for mainstreaming students, the need for literacy skills often makes it difficult for limited English proficient students. (CFR)

Examines an innovation in bilingual education introduced in selected schools in Ireland between 1904 and 1922, outlines the general background of the program, and analyzes the likely factors that account for its initial acceptance. Finally, a variety of developments associated with the program during this period are considered. (36 references)…

Eighth-grade students in bilingual classrooms explored the geometric concepts of reflection and rotation within a computer-based, dynamic, instructional environment. With initial differences controlled, treatment groups performed significantly better on concept formation and spatial visualization than did control groups receiving conventional…

Maintains that every public school student deserves an opportunity to study a musical instrument. Asserts that a limited command of English should not prevent a student from being accepted into instrumental music class or hinder that student's progress. Describes a music education program for students speaking limited English. (CFR)

Examines ways to adjust instruction to develop language while teaching specific academic content to students from different cultural and language backgrounds, focusing on students in Hawaii. Information is presented on adjusting instruction so that students will understand better, with emphasis on providing sufficient cues and information,…

Interviews with 77 California teachers who either continued teaching bilingual education, switched to English immersion, or continued teaching English immersion sought their perspectives on impacts of Proposition 227 to the teaching profession, instructional practices, students, school culture, and teacher relationships. Implementation of…

In fiscal year 1990, the Bilingual Education Special Populations Program of the Department of Education awarded grants to 30 programs serving children of limited English proficiency. These programs were preschool projects, special education projects, or projects that served gifted children. This document reports the results of a survey, conducted…

This book, which presents ethnographic studies of multiethnic classrooms and schools in their community context, was designed to illuminate the benefits of an anthropological approach that recognizes the centrality of culture in education. Papers are grouped under three headings: (1) Cross-Culturally Compatible Schooling; (2) Community Contexts;…

Historically, efforts to educate American Indians have focused on "civilizing" and assimilating Indians into White society. During the early 1970s, Congress passed legislation encouraging self-determination of tribes in educational matters. Despite changes brought about by the Self-Determination Act, testimony at Indian Nations at Risk…

The Threshold Project focuses on the language and learning difficulties that children in Southern African schools experience when they change from their mother tongue to English as a medium of instruction in their fifth year of schooling. This report discusses Threshold Project research relating to the nature of pupils' cognitive capacities and…

Presented are transcripts of hearings on legislation which is intended to improve the operations of the federal bilingual education program by (1) focusing on building the capacity of the local educational agencies to carry out bilingual education programs; (2) broadening the range of instructional approaches eligible for assistance; (3) targeting…

Kiswahili was declared the national language of Kenya in 1968 and since then has also been established as the language of parliamentary debate. There are, however, inadequate instructional materials in this language, particularly at the primary level of schooling. Since there are almost 20 different languages, or dialects, in Kenya, Kiswahili must…