Among 187 Arizona Mexican-American children with limited proficiency in both Spanish and English, participation in a maintenance bilingual education program during grades K-2 produced significant gains in oral language acquisition for both languages. Students with the lowest proficiency scores in kindergarten showed the greatest gains. (SV)

Teachers in a Spanish/English dual language elementary school in Tucson (Arizona) promote Spanish literacy using a school-designed program. The schoolwide, nonscripted program has been successful in supporting the transfer of reading skills from Spanish to English and in including special education students in dual language schooling. (Contains 33…

By focusing on advantages inherent in what are typically considered disadvantages for rural schools, 14 rural, southern California school districts cooperated in implementing a successful inquiry-based elementary science program. Isolation and low population density resulted in a stable teaching force familiar with the community, and the area's…

A study assessed an intensive fluency intervention for low-achieving at-risk beginning Spanish readers in grades 1-2. Data from 53 first- and second-graders in bilingual classrooms in southeast Texas indicated that implementing intensive reading fluency interventions in bilingual classrooms is feasible and valuable if conducted with fidelity and…

A study of four high-performing third-grade Spanish reading programs in Texas found six common features: explicit support for Spanish literacy and biliteracy; high expectations; skills-driven reading instruction beginning in kindergarten; shared understanding of program practices; alignment between Spanish and English programs; and explicit…

This report examines patterns related to academic performance and language development in the lives of 16 children of Mexican descent in grades 3-5 who were identified as learning disabled. Research questions focused on factors that made these students eligible for referral for learning disabilities, patterns in the development of students' oral…

This digest examines barriers to parent participation in the education of Mexican American students, and successful programs and strategies for overcoming those barriers. Research has found family participation in education to be twice as predictive of academic achievement as family socioeconomic status. Mexican American parents care about their…

This paper analyzes the literature pertinent to the educational and occupational aspirations of Mexican American youth. Following a historical account of the Mexican American presence in the Southwest, this review focuses on social science literature, primarily of the 1950s-70s, that viewed Mexican Americans as having culture-based pathological…

This anthology includes research and reviews about social issues and inequalities facing Chicanos and Chicanas and their struggle for equal participation in society. Four sections focus on demography and on economic inequality among beginning and mature workers; the Chicano family and its responses to acculturation and poverty; the Chicano…

This paper describes effective practices for developing Individual Education Plans in small rural schools along the U.S.-Mexican border. Since immigration levels in this area are high and many immigrants are limited-speakers or nonspeakers of English, border school districts are concerned about issues involving communication with parents and…

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A KEEN REALIZATION OF THE VALUE IN THE EDUCATION OF POTENTIALLY BILINGUAL CHILDREN HAS COME ABOUT AS A RESULT OF TWO STRONG FORCES--THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE RECOGNITION THAT BILINGUALISM CAN BE AN ASSET OR A HANDICAP DEPENDING ON THE EDUCATION THE CHILD RECEIVES IN BOTH LANGUAGES.…

PROCEEDINGS OF A 1967 TEXAS CONFERENCE ON IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEXICAN AMERICANS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT. SPEECHES, COMMENTARIES, A PAPER, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND RESOLUTIONS ILLUSTRATE THE STATED GOALS OF THE CONFERENCE--(1) TO IDENTIFY AND DEFINE BARRIERS FACED BY MEXICAN-AMERICANS IN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES IN TEXAS, (2) TO…

The thesis briefly analyzed the laws of the State of Texas and of the United States which directly affect the education of Texas Mexican Americans. The legal-political history of "Chicano" education in Texas was traced from the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 to August 1971. The educational "problems" of…

Fixed-choice stimulus questions were distributed to students from 12 New Mexico rural high schools (randomly selected), and responses were derived from 139 Native, 171 Anglo, and 240 Mexican American students in the 10th and 12th grades. Responses indicated educational, occupational, and residential aspirations and expectations and goal…

Deomographic, social, and economic data for persons of Spanish origin in the United States are presented. Data were collected in March 1973 by the Bureau of the Census as a supplement to its monthly Current Population Survey. Persons of Spanish origin are divided into: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, and other Spanish.…