(1992). State Governments and Multicultural Education Policy. Equity and Excellence, v25 n2-4 p145-50 Win. Provides a rationale for state government involvement in multicultural education policy development, and assesses current trends of state government promotions of multicultural education. Presents a framework for examining the issue, background information, a description of trends in state multicultural education policies, and conclusions about the importance of policy mandates. (SLD)…
(1996). Fields of Dreams. Northwest Education, v1 n1 p2-7 Win. Draws on the experiences of two migrant families to discuss the reluctance of rural schools in the Northwest to accommodate Hispanic migrant students. Explains problems with educators' ignorance of the law, student documentation, diminished funding, untrained teachers, and discrimination. Explores potential solutions, including availability of federal funding. (SAS)…
(1996). Families First. Northwest Education, v1 n1 p26-28 Win. The Families First program in Oregon's Marion County Education Service District provides 130 Hispanic families with the support, resources, and reinforcement needed to participate in the culturally appropriate education of their preschool children in a home environment. Besides attending twice-monthly topical meetings, one member of each family must attend an adult literacy or GED class. (SAS)…
(1996). ASHA Completes National Schools Survey. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v27 n2 p185-86 Apr. A national survey of speech-language pathologists working in school-based settings examined such topic areas as caseload characteristics, service delivery models, bilingual/bicultural services, support personnel, shortages of speech-language pathologists, and demographic information. (DB)…
(2001). Integrative ASL-English Language Arts: Bridging Paths to Literacy. Sign Language Studies, v1 n2 p147-74 Win. A study of a bilingual program in a Deaf school in Minnesota examines the following: the principles primary grade teachers articulate and demonstrate as important for the use of American Sign Language (ASL) to teach English literacy; the strategies primary grade teachers use to teach English literacy through ASL; and how primary grade teachers use ASL in the listening and speaking components of the language arts program. (Author/VWL)…
(2002). Intercultural Awareness, Bilingualism and ESL in the International Baccalaureate, with Particular Reference to the Middle Years Programme. International Schools Journal, v21 n2 p34-41 Apr. Describes the ESL Program at the Vienna International School (VIS). States that students who come to international schools with poor English skills are those who struggle the most. Advocates separating ESL programs, diversity awareness training for instructors, and mother tongue programs. (NB)…
(2001). Incoherent English Immersion and California Proposition 227. Urban Review, v33 n3 p207-20 Sep. Analyzes competing legal issues and requirements regarding California's English language learners. Because of legal wording that attempted to hold teachers and administrators personally liable in noncompliance civil suits, many districts interpreted the new law as conservatively as possible. Other districts made changes site by site depending on school administrations. This was demoralizing for bilingual teachers and confusing for parents. (SM)…
(1989). After Three Years: A Status Report on the International High School at LaGuardia Community College. In 1985, the International High School (IHS) at LaGuardia Community College (LCC) in New York City was established to address the crisis in retention of high school aged immigrants with low English proficiency. IHS has had great success in improving student attendance, retention, academic achievement, and graduation. Because of its location on the LCC campus, students have access to all college facilities and are surrounded by positive role models. Special features of IHS are: (1) faculty members use English as a Second Language techniques to reinforce English language development in all classes; (2) extended day study opportunities are provided; (3) all graduates are guaranteed admission to LCC; (4) an Integrated Learning Center provides individualized and small group experiential learning opportunities; and (5) all students participate in a mandatory out-of-school internship program. Students must complete the same requirements for graduation as all other New York State students…. [PDF]
(1977). Emerging Instrumentation for Assessing Language Dominance. Occasional Papers on Linguistics, No. 1. This paper offers a two-step review to be used in designing dominance assessment plans and in determining appropriate instrumentation. The first step provides a classification system of dominance instruments according to testing specificity and strategy. The second step suggests criteria by which such instruments can be evaluated and selected. Selected dominance assessment instruments are categorized in a three-way descriptive matrix. The global/specific dimension distinguishes instruments which tend toward generic screening of gross language behavior from those which tend toward a refined classification of specific language indicators. Within the global and specific modalities, oral and aural performance subclasses are designated. The third dimension consists of four major strategies: rating, home interview, indirect, and parallel instruments. Specific examples of instruments are given to clarify how the classification matrix operates. Criteria for evaluating and selecting tests… [PDF]
(1980). Social Studies Introductory Level–Needs. Teacher's Guide & Resource Book = Araling Panlipunan: Intro–Pangangarlangn. Aug Patnubay Ng Guro at Hanguang Aklat. This Pilipino teacher's guide is part of Berkeley, California Unified School District Asian American Bilingual Center's effort to foster the total growth of the child. To facilitate that growth, the Center has selected an interdisciplinary approach to curriculum development. Social studies themes and concepts provide the framework within which all the subject areas, including mathematics, reading and language arts, fine arts, and science, are organized. The four social studies themes are child, family, community, and natural environment. The themes reappear and expand through the curriculum from one text to the next and correlate to the concepts of identity, needs, and interaction. The Introductory Level is designed for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children. Each level develops one or more aspects of a theme as the child moves from simple to complex ideas and from understanding of self to understanding of society. Unit 1 of the document, entitled \Physical Needs,\ develops…
(1994). Quality of Kindergarten Education in Singapore: Parents' Views and Expectations. A study investigated parents' perceptions of the quality of kindergarten education in Singapore. Subjects (437 parents from 10 kindergartens) responded to a survey on reasons for wanting their children to attend kindergarten and their choice of kindergarten. Responses were categorized according to: (1) socioeconomic characteristics of the parents; (2) factors in the choice of kindergarten such as qualified staff, good facilities, individual attention, a strong academic program, emphasis on language learning, and a good academic reputation; (3) choice between private and government-aided kindergartens; (4) parents' reasons for sending children to kindergarten; and (5) parental expectations. Findings indicated that parents generally had a fairly definite idea of the kind of kindergarten education they wanted for their children, and revealed that: (1) parents in Singapore value kindergarten education for exposing their children to a structured learning situation; (2) all parents… [PDF]
(1992). Personnel Training for Parents, Preschoolers, and Professionals: Working with Young Children from Migrant Families. Burning Issues Series. This information packet contains five papers related to personnel training in migrant early childhood education: (1) \Personnel Training-an Interstate Coordination Committee Report,\ by Mary E. Carr and Susan C. Morse, the longest of the papers, provides an overview of the best personnel practices and a discussion of training needs of migrant preschool education personnel; (2) \Together, We Can Do It!\ lists vital practices for supporting and nurturing staff and families as identified by an Even Start staff; (3) \Building Bridges\ describes a home-based program for migrant preschoolers and the training of its staff; (4) \Going Some Place? Career Ladders in Migrant Education,\ by Susan C. Morse, suggests ways to develop a career ladder for migrants in the field of education; and (5) \Cultural Fine Tuning: Tips for Home Visitors\ (Susan C. Morse) offers suggestions for avoiding culture conflict when working with migrant families in their homes. The packet also lists resources for… [PDF]
(1990). School Finance at a Glance. [Revised.]. As in previous years, this publication provides information on two dimensions of public education finance in the United States–raising and distributing education dollars. Information as reported by each of the 50 states is provided. The first section shows the current financing structure used in each state. In 1990, states generally reported four basic approaches–foundation programs, district power equalizing programs, combination approaches, or full state funding. Most states use a foundation program to support funding. Most states also account for special characteristics of students or school districts in their financing formulas, as shown in section 2. The third section reviews state provisions for capital outlay, debt service, and transportation, and the fourth section covers states' accommodation of differences among school districts for special student populations. The fifth section reports on state constitutional and statutory requirements related to school finance…. [PDF]
(1993). Improving Knowledge and Competency of Early Childhood Providers Through an In-Service Multicultural Bilingual Program. This practicum was designed to provide a multicultural, bilingual inservice training program for the staff of six early childhood centers serving a large Hispanic population. The inservice training consisted of weekly seminars, guest lectures, classroom observations, and feedback interviews with center directors and executives of agencies that cater to a Hispanic clientele. Assessment instruments were developed and administered to evaluate the teaching knowledge and competency of the 10 participants before and after the intervention. Pre- and postintervention tests demonstrated that all 10 participants increased their teaching knowledge and competency, especially in relation to the importance of a bilingual, multicultural approach to teaching. Three appendixes contain questions asked of agency executives, questions asked of center directors regarding their perceptions of the caregivers on their staff, and a copy of the teaching practices assessment instrument. (MDM)… [PDF]
(1993). Maori Teachers Who Leave the Classroom. Interviews with 74 Maori teachers in New Zealand who had resigned from teaching and with 23 other educators examined issues in the retention of Maori teachers. Former Maori teachers are described in terms of: (1) gender and geographical distribution; (2) type of teacher training; (3) colleges of education attended; (4) level of educational attainment; (5) length of teaching career; (6) years since resigning; (7) career history prior to resignation; and (8) current occupation. Former Maori teachers describe their motives for entering and leaving the teaching profession and their experiences in colleges of education, schools, and the education system. They also describe the difficulties faced by many Maori teachers in being Maori in a non-Maori school environment, in being a teacher of Maori language, and in being an advocate of Maori students and their families. Retention issues include the process of applying for teacher training and the teacher training itself, workload, pay and… [PDF]