Cheng, Amy; Fairbrother, Greg; Moore, Carey; Mukai, Gary; Young, Jocelyn (1995). Understanding China in the 21st Century: Political, Economic, and Security Issues in the Asia/Pacific Region. Part I, U.S. and Japanese Relations with China: Case Studies of Cooperation and Competition. This curriculum unit is part one of a three-part series. The unit introduces students to policy options for U.S. and Japanese relations with China at the beginning of the 21st century. By identifying and examining these options, students gain an awareness of U.S., Japanese, and Chinese perspectives on political, economic, and security issues. Provided is a rationale and introduction to the lessons, along with unit goals, materials, time required, suggested sequence of activities, small group roles, subjects, equipment needed, icons, and policy study references. Lessons included in the unit are: (1) "Historical Legacies"; (2) "China's Political Situation"; (3) "China's Economy in Transition"; (4) "U.S.-Sino Relations: With a Focus on Human Rights"; (5) "SINO-Japanese Relations: With a Focus on Security Issues in the South China Sea"; and (6) "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation." Handouts and primary source documents have been…

Watkinson, Ailsa (1996). Honouring Diversity in the Classroom: Challenges and Reflections. Diversity in the Classroom Series, Number One. This document provides the framework for six other related documents in a series that focuses on diversity in the classroom. Section 1, "Introduction," explains that children in any Canadian classroom are not homogeneous, and such diversity presents teachers with challenges and obligations. The chapter reviews the subjects addressed in the series' other six documents. It explains that teachers who work with diverse students must be capable of analysis, visioning, and advocacy–elements associated with reflection. Section 2, "Diversity as the Norm," defines diversity and explains that teachers must be able to understand the shifting, evolving paradigms in education in order to be able to serve the needs of all students. Section 3, "The Reflective Educator," explains essential elements of the reflective process (open mindedness, responsibility, and whole heartedness) and discusses the importance of reflective teaching. Section 4, "Equality and…

(2000). Gathering Strength: Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. A Progress Report = Rassembler nos forces: Le plan d'action du Canada pour les questions autochtones. Rapport d'etape. Gathering Strength is an integrated government-wide plan to address the key challenges facing Canada's Aboriginal people. Following an initial section on reconciliation of historic grievances, this report describes initiatives in the four areas addressed by the action plan: (1) partnerships (all schools received public awareness materials; students and teachers participated in cross-cultural programs; Aboriginal language and culture programs were funded and conducted; federal, provincial, and territorial ministers of Aboriginal affairs and five national Aboriginal organizations met for the first time in 2 years; and national and regional partnership think tanks were conducted); (2) governance (legislation for the Nisga'a Final Agreement was passed; 86 land claims were settled or negotiated; and over 100 professional development projects were completed for Aboriginal administrators); (3) new fiscal relationships (93 percent of First Nations communities completed community… [PDF]

Durkin, Lisa Lyons, Ed. (1997). First Teacher, 1997. First Teacher, v18 n1-6 Jan-Dec. These six theme-oriented newsletter issues present specific curriculum planning ideas and activities for teachers of young children. The theme of the January-February 1997 issue is "The Arts of Winter." Topics in this issue include celebrating with music and movement, learning songs, classroom visitors and the arts, art in picture books, big indoor art projects, and the art of winter cooking. The theme of the March-April 1997 issue is "Global Adventures." Topics in this issue include developmentally appropriate multicultural activities, creating a global village, multicultural prop boxes, an animal safari with books, and St. Patrick's Day fun. The theme of the May-June 1997 issue is "A Happy, Healthy Spring." Topics in this issue include basic health and safety skills, changes in spring, children's gardens, healthy spring cooking, and dealing with picky eaters. The theme of the July-August 1997 issue is "Messy Learning." Topics in this issue…

Rios, Francisco A.; And Others (1996). Making the Path by Walking It. Teacher Education Quarterly, v23 n3 p23-36 Sum. Describes preservice teacher education reform efforts at California State University San Marcos via program development and curricular design innovation. Beginning faculty worked on creating a middle level teacher education program informed by critiques of teacher education, visions for restructured middle schooling, and institutional realities. (SM)…

Forbes, H. D.; Orwin, Clifford (1994). Cultural Literacy: A Canadian Perspective. International Journal of Social Education, v9 n1 p15-30 Spr-Sum. Summarizes E. D. Hirsch's book, "Cultural Literacy," focusing on four separate arguments. Compares U.S. and Canadian education and society, particularly in relationship to multiculturalism and bilingualism. Concludes that Hirsch trivializes culture by presenting as no more than a common convention of effective national communication. (CFR)…

McCarty, Teresa L.; Watahomigie, Lucille J. (1994). Bilingual/Bicultural Education at Peach Springs: A Hualapai Way of Schooling. Peabody Journal of Education, v69 n2 p26-42 Win. The Hualapai (Arizona) Bilingual/Bicultural Program is nationally recognized for its achievements in native language literacy and bilingual/bicultural curriculum development. The article presents information on how the program evolved, the role of indigenous educators, community involvement, and biliteracy education in a community with a previously unwritten language. (SM)…

Cheng, Maisy; Soudack, Avi (1994). Education to Promote Racial and Ethnocultural Equity: A Literature Review. ERS Spectrum, v12 n4 p28-40 Fall. Reviews the literature on education to reduce prejudice, and advocates a whole-school approach to countering racism and promoting equity. Urges comprehensive reforms in curriculum; classroom practices and teaching methods; teacher attitudes, behaviors, and expectations; hiring and promotion practices; racial harassment policies; student-assessment and program-placement policies; linkages with parents and community; language issues; and staff development. (70 references) (MLH)…

Barrera, Rosalinda B. (1992). The Cultural Gap in Literature-Based Literacy Instruction. Education and Urban Society, v24 n2 p227-43 Feb. Literature-based children's literacy programs usually lack cultural foundation on the part of teachers providing the instruction. A framework for a cultural base for educators addresses this cultural gap. A series of professional development activities is presented that reflects the theoretical framework and increases cultural sensitivity. (SLD)…

Goldstein, Susan B. (1995). Cross-cultural Psychology as a Curriculum Transformation Resource. Teaching of Psychology, v22 n4 p228-32 Dec. Recommends ways that cross-cultural content can be effectively presented in general psychology courses. Includes avoiding the marginalization of cross-cultural materials and perspectives, using accurate terminology to make cross-cultural comparisons, and raising awareness about bias within the cross-cultural literature. Offers relevant examples for these and others. (MJP)…

Barreto, Ramona Maile (1996). Diverse Teacher Candidates' Critiques of Multicultural/Bilingual Teacher Preparation: Insights and Implications. This study examined California's new system of bilingual and cross cultural teacher preparation, its implementation, and teacher candidates' reception of it. The new system, referred to as (B)CLAD, consists of two credentials for preservice teachers and two certificates for inservice teachers: the Cross Cultural Language and Academic Development, and the Bilingual Crosscultural Language and Academic Development. The study focused on the introduction of these new standards for teachers of diverse students at a large research university in Southern California; the implementation process; and teacher candidates' and teacher educators' narrative practices, perceptions, and interpretations, using ethnographic case study methods. In-depth interviews with eight preservice teachers in the program indicated that the teacher candidates demonstrated awareness of the program's main focus as articulated by the teacher educators and that potential tension existed between this focus and the… [PDF]

(1987). Meeting the Challenge of Basic Education and Literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Highlights of a Unesco/UNICEF Regional Seminar on the Universalization of Primary Education and Literacy (Sucre, Bolivia, May 4-10, 1987). UNESCO-UNICEF Co-operative Programme Digest No. 24. This digest presents the main elements of a regional seminar held in Sucre, Bolivia, to analyze and assess basic education and literacy programs that have been implemented in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to UNICEF and UNESCO officials, some 36 experts from 11 countries participated in the meeting. Although the initial aim of the seminar was to analyze the progress of the projects which, with the cooperation of UNICEF and UNESCO, were operating in Peru, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, the seminar extended its focus to include basic planning problems related to programing for small children, women, and indigenous populations. Recommendations reaffirmed the need for a dynamic approach from a perspective of ongoing education within the framework of authentic sociocultural contents. The text of the digest provides an analysis of educational problems and strategies to use in addressing the problems, lessons from the experience of projects in the program for Universal Primary…

(1978). Kindergarten: Home and Family. The curriculum guide presents a working draft of the kindergarten component of a K-6 social studies program developed by the Allegany County Board of Education in Maryland. Goals and activities relating to ethnic heritage studies; family life; and career, consumer, citizenship, and environmental education are included in each of the seven guides. The overall objective is to help teachers assist their students in gaining the understanding needed to deal with the problems of living in a complex society. Specific goals are to develop students' knowledge of social science concepts and skills and to acquire democratic social attitudes. The kindergarten unit emphasizes the student's understanding of himself and his immediate environment in terms of the home and family. It is presented in two sections. Section I lists six concepts: basic human needs and how they are met; the form and function of government and citizens' rights and responsibilities; various ethnic, racial, and cultural…

(1978). Grade 1: School Neighborhood. The curriculum guide presents a working draft of the first grade component of a K-6 social studies program using the expanding environments approach which was developed by the Allegany County Board of Education in Maryland. The overall objective is to help teachers assist their students in gaining the understanding needed to deal with the problems of a complex society. The bases for each unit are three goals (development of social science concepts, skills, and social attitudes), and six conceptual statements relating to ethnic heritage studies; family life; and citizenship, career, consumer, and environmental education. The key question/suggested activity format involves students in gathering and organizing data, and in analyzing its content and implications. The first grade unit is presented in two sections. Section I is designed to aid the student in becoming familiar with his school. Activities focus on enabling the children to become acquainted with teacher, staff members, and…

(1978). Grade 2: Communities–People. Communities–Goods and Services. The curriculum guide presents a working draft of the second grade component of a K-6 social studies program using the expanding environments approach which was developed by the Allegany County Board of Education in Maryland. The overall objective is to help teachers assist their students in gaining the understanding needed to deal with the problems of a complex society. The bases for each unit are three goals (development of social science concepts, skills, and social attitudes), and six conceptual statements relating to ethnic heritage studies; family life; and citizenship, career, consumer, and environmental education. The key question/suggested activity format involves students in gathering and organizing data, and in analyzing its content and implications. The second grade unit is presented in two sections. Section I is designed to develop the understanding of organized communities with people who share facilities and responsibilities for the common good. Activities focus on the…

Duran, Elva (1980). Reading Curriculum for Beginning Hispanic Bilingual Children Based on Direct Instruction. Addressing the needs of Hispanic bilingual children with learning problems, the manual is arranged to help teach beginning students vowels and the concepts of shapes in a step-by-step manner based on Englemann's principles of direct instruction. Equivalent Spanish/English chapters are designed to teach pronunciation and identification of vowels for reading remediation and to teach the concepts of shapes such as the triangle, square, rectangle, and circle. Vowels and shapes are selected as the teaching topics because they are major areas of learning difficulties for the Hispanic child having special needs. It is stated that once an instructor becomes familiar with the manual, an easy transfer can be made using the manual's principles to teach other concepts. Review and testing sections are included at the end of each chapter. Results of a field test with 120 bilingual first graders indicate that the manual's direct method of teaching significantly increases students' learning of…

Coffland, Jack A.; Cuevas, Gilbert J. (1979). Children's Learning of Number and Numeration Concepts. A Final Report. A study was conducted to examine the learning of mathematical concepts by English dominant and Spanish dominant primary school children. The concepts considered were number, numeration, and computational procedures. Using the case study method, a three step procedure was designed to study individual math objectives: (1) objectives were first identified in the curriculum; (2) these objectives were then included in a teacher survey for ratings on item difficulty as perceived by the teachers; and (3) students were observed while learning the identified math objectives. Among the findings of the study were: (1) field independence tends to be associated with achievement in mathematics, while field sensitivity tends to be associated with lower levels of achievement; (2) field independent students tend to perform better on the precise thinking exercises, demonstrating a higher ability to use and apply rules; (3) the ages of children within a grade do not seem to be related to achievement;…

Miyamura, Candace P. (1979). Building Communicative Competence in the Bilingual/Bidialectal Classroom. Cultures differ in rules that govern communicative behavior, and these differences can cause teacher/student miscommunication in the classroom and can also interfere with the academic performance of minority group children. These differences can be overcome, however, by knowledgeable teachers who endeavor to build and expand the communicative competence of minority group children. Teachers can accomplish this by fostering children's ethnic identity and pride while expanding their communication skills to include those of the dominant culture. To achieve this, teachers should provide a broad range of experiences to expose children to the full repertoire of communicative strategies and rules as they are defined by each culture. Teachers should also provide activities that expand children's social sensitivity and metalinguistic awareness and that afford opportunities to practice newly acquired dominant culture skills. The goal is to produce individuals who are capable of functioning in…

Perales, Alonso M.; And Others (1968). Guidelines for Implementing an Effective Language Program for Disadvantaged Mexican-Americans in the Elementary School; Guidelines for Implementing an Effective Workshop on ESOL. A bilingual language program for Mexican American students in elementary schools and a workshop for teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages are outlined to aid effective implementation of such activities. Guidelines include goals and objectives; administration and organization; methods, techniques, and activities; and evaluation. The guidelines for a workshop also contain an additional section on courses of study and materials. Both sets of guidelines offer examples of evaluation instruments. (SW)… [PDF]

Molina, Huberto (1975). Built-In Assessment Instruments in an Instructional Program Designed for Spanish-Speaking Children. Instructional materials and procedures to be used by Spanish-speaking children learning English call for assessment strategies not normally employed. Assessment scores aid in the selection of students, in student placement, in identifying children in need of remediation, and in assessing student performance at the end of the program. Assessment scores, along with attendance records, are useful in evaluating program effectiveness and in conducting followup studies which evaluate student progress beyond the program. Assessment strategies and procedures are described which have been incorporated into SWRL's English Language and Concepts Program for Spanish-Speaking Children (LCS), a program proven to be robust at a high level of effectiveness. (Author)… [PDF]

(1975). Meeting the English Language Needs of Indochinese Students. Educational Administrator Series, No. 2. Indochinese Refugee Education Guides. This guide is intended to assist school administrators in their initial planning for meeting the needs of Vietnamese and other Indochinese refugees entering their schools. To insure that the students can participate in the activities of the school and community as rapidly as possible, teaching the English language must be given high priority, and at the same time the students' cognitive development must be monitored. The guide answers the following questions: (1) Can the school expect Indochinese children to adjust to the school without special provision? (2) How much English can we expect Vietnamese students to know when they come to the school? (3) What models exist for organizing instruction in English for speakers of another language? (4) How much time should be budgeted for the teaching of English? (5) What pitfalls should a school avoid in attempting to meet the English needs of Indochinese students? (6) Where can a school turn for help in teaching English to Vietnamese… [PDF]

Shiraishi, Reyko Ruth (1975). Effects of a Bilingual/Bicultural Career Guidance Project on the Occupational Aspirations of Puerto Rican Adolescents. This study examined the effects of a career project on the level of occupational aspirations of bilingual/bicultural Puerto Rican adolescents. The experimental treatment utilized role modeling techniques, field trips and group discussions. The career guidance project consisted of six lessons and involved career role models and counselors who were both bilingual and bicultural. The subjects in the study were Ruerto Rican boys and girls. The experimental group experienced the career guidance project, while a comparison group received no experimental manipulation, but instead engaged in work-experience activities. Two dimensions of occupational aspirations, level of occupational aspiration and level of occupational choices, were examined. Instruments were administered to both groups before and after the project; four weeks later, the instruments were again given to both groups. On the basis of the findings, it was concluded that the career guidance project did have an effect on raising…

King, Dwade Robert (1975). A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Sensory Stimuli in Teaching Beginning Reading to Disadvantaged Children. This study compared 5 groups (45 each) of disadvantaged first grade children learning to read 16 basic sight vocabulary words. The subjects were enrolled in 1 of 16 classrooms on three campuses of a school district in Texas located on the southern border between the United States and Mexico. Furthermore, all spoke Spanish as their first language. None could read Spanish or English prior to training but each had developed a listening and speaking vocabulary in English. Each group was designated by type of stimuli used in training. All stimuli patterns had in common the presentation of each word in printed form and presentation of each word by audiotape reproduction. Results were analyzed for four variables: stimuli patterns, sex of the students, word length, and similar and dissimilar words. The most effective stimuli pattern was that utilizing the greatest number of stimuli. However, an analysis of variance did not reveal a statistically significant difference at the .05 level for…

Pratt, Wayne T., Ed.; Ramey, Joseph H., Ed. (1974). Emerging Role of the Teacher Aide in Navajo Education. A Guide Book. Based on the experiences of 52 Navajo teacher aides in a 10 week training course (1974), this teacher aide guide book for all grade levels is primarily descriptive, though "helpful hints" are provided for teacher aides in Bureau of Indian Affairs schools for Navajo children. Emphasizing the importance of the teacher aide's role in the "team teaching process", teacher aides are encouraged to envision their role as a "vital link in the team teaching process" and to seek further professional training so that they ultimately qualify as teachers. Brief sections on the American Indian, in general, and the history of Indian education, in particular, are followed by chapters dealing with: curriculum development (definitions, contributions, and suggestions); language arts (emphasis on the importance of communication skills); the English phonetic system (illustrations, arranged for easy reproduction, include pictures with written and printed alphabets);… [PDF]

Ellis, Tecwyn; Williams, Jac L. (1961). The Presentation of Welsh as a Second Language: Some Suggestions. Pamphlet No. 8. This pamphlet offers some suggestions on the use of Welsh as a second language in Welsh schools. In the present-day situation the goal of a bilingual Wales is far from realized; it appears that equal fluency in both languages is seldom achieved. A case is made for: (1) thorough grounding in a child's home language before the introduction of a second; and (2) the introduction of the second language at an early age. It is also noted that the precarious position of Welsh vs. English calls for special handling of English as a second language in Welsh-speaking Wales. Attention is drawn to the need for the introduction of Welsh in nursery schools. Suggestions are made for the use of nursery rhymes, songs, etc, and for considerate and sympathetic teaching to insure a positive attitude in the child. It appears that the whole school system needs to be adjusted to achieve the bilingual goal. Finally, consideration is given to the teaching of Welsh as a second language to older children. The… [PDF]

Ewton, Ralph W., Jr., Ed.; Ornstein, Jacob, Ed. (1970). Studies in Language and Linguistics 1969-70. The eleven essays in the present volume are by faculty members at the University of Texas at El Paso and deal generally with issues peculiar to the American Southwest. It is hoped, however, that the collection contains \enough that is of universal interest to avoid the taint of parochialism.\ Essays discuss (1) problems involved in teaching in bilingual situations: Patricia G. Adkins, \The Linguistic Puzzle of Figurative Language and the ESL Student,\ and Ray Past, \Does Johnny's Teacher Need Linguistics?\; (2) questions of linguistic theory and methodology: Edward L. Blansitt, Jr., \Phonology, Grammar, and Semology,\ and William M. Russell, \The Inverse Dictionary: A New Tool for Linguists\; (3) Spanish in the American Southwest: Dolores Brown, \A Two-Syllable Affective Affirmation in Spoken Spanish,\ Jack Emory Davis, \Annotated Bibliography and American Spanish,\ Charles Elerick, \The Contrastive Semology of Spanish and English Verbs of Visual Perception,\ Jacob Ornstein,…

Morelan, Steve J.; Ortiz, Flora Ida (1974). The Effect of Personal and Impersonal Rewards on the Learning Performance of Field Independent-Dependent Mexican-American Children. The effect of cognitive style and learning conditions on the rote verbal learning performance of Mexican American subjects classified as field independent or field dependent was investigated. Field dependent referred to a strong perceptual influence caused by the context or background while field independent referred to an ability to overcome the influence of a surrounding perceptual field. The sample consisted of 44 Mexican American children, 9 1/2 to 12 years, enrolled in a Southern California public school. The Portable Rod and Frame Test classified subjects as field independent or dependent. The learning component consisted of 3 stages: (1) the response learning stage, which reflected when the subject recalled the response as a unit, (2) the associative one stage, which reflected the first correct association between stimulus and response, and (3) the associative two stage, which indicated actual mastery of the correct association. The subjects were tested in a distraction free… [PDF]

Greene, John F.; Zirkel, Perry Alan (1971). The Academic Achievement of Spanish-Speaking First Graders in Connecticut. The Spanish-speaking school pupulation in the Northeast has grown significantly in size, but not in success in recent years. The Coleman Report revealed widespread and sustained inequality of educational opportunity for Puerto Ricans. However, the limited amount of other research on Puerto Rican students indicates that the problem lies in the schools rather than in the students. That is, the deficiencies that Puerto Rican children show in verbal ability and academic achievement might not exist if initial instruction and testing were in Spanish, the children's native language. This study sought to demonstrate this using a population of 217 first-grade Spanish-speaking children in Connecticut. The Interamerican Test of General Ability, Level I, was administered by the same male bilingual examiner first in Spanish and then in English. The Puerto Rican first graders scored significantly lower on the English forms than all ethnic groups, including Puerto Rican, in Coleman's study on the… [PDF]

Nicklas, Thurston Dale (1971). A Chocktaw Orthography. This paper describes a system for Choctaw orthography and discusses the principles and rules that can be used to govern the spelling system for the language. The orthography system is based on a study of documents written by comtemporary Chocktaws. The system proposed here seeks to be as accurate a representation of the spoken language as possible while providing a more or less uniform spelling for each morpheme; the vowel and consonant systems are discussed. Where both these conditions cannot be met, the criterion of accurate representation is preferred. The overriding consideration is to achieve a spelling system that is acceptable to a speaker of Choctaw and easy for him to learn, essentially a phoneme system. A sample text with translation is included. For a related document on Choctaw morphology, see FL 002 865. (VM)…

(1972). Materials Acquisition Project, Volume 2, Number 8 [9]. Bibliographic data, physical characteristics, contents, prices, and ordering instructions for Spanish and Portuguese instructional materials are provided for each entry. Subject categories include general works, social science, language arts, pure science, technology, the arts, literature, and history. Materials are classified according to the Dewey decimal system by subject matter, with related subject areas utilized. The annotation provides an objective description of materials and often includes suggestions concerning appropriate grade level and utilization of materials. The bibliographic materials are generally adapted for use by bilingual teachers. Many works included in the compilation have been translated from foreign languages into Spanish. (RL)…