(2007). Developing Cultural Competence: Mainstream Teachers and Professional Development. Multicultural Perspectives, v9 n2 p10-16 Jun. In response to the underachievement of its Latino children, one district implemented Parent Partnership for Achieving Literacy (PAL), a program to build cultural bridges between home and school. Professional development (PD) that helped mainstream teachers develop cultural competence to work effectively with Latino children and their families was central to the PAL Program. This article introduces the PAL program and presents findings from one PD course. This article discusses the elements of PD that are essential to increasing cultural competence in mainstream teachers. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)… [Direct]
(2006). \I Want to Read\: How Culturally Relevant Texts Increase Student Engagement in Reading. Multicultural Education, v13 n3 p18-19 Spr. Spanish was the first language of the majority of the author's 9th and 10th grade students who came from the Caribbean and Central and South America. Parents often worked late hours, and many students were employed, or had family responsibilities after school. Based on the realities of their lives, her students' engagement in reading was haphazard. Because of family circumstances, reading literature did not appear to play an important role in their after school lives. Whether it was due to issues of access or for other reasons, she knew that her students were not engaged in reading, and it was her responsibility to stimulate their interest. In this article, the author describes how culturally relevant literature and non-fiction texts increase her students' engagement in reading. Culturally relevant literature and non-fiction, combined with a focus on collaboration and comprehension strategies, results in students' feelings of self-efficacy…. [PDF] [Direct]
(2006). Bilingual Teachers-in-the-Making in Urbantown. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v27 n3 p211-224. This study, based on ethnographic methods, explores how the professional identities of a group of bilingual (Spanish/English) Latino/a teachers-in-the-making in an urban public school district in the USA are formed and enacted. It illustrates the national and local discourses that influence novice bilingual teachers in their professional identities. But it also focuses on the structural influences and the ways that teachers respond to such influences. The study found that teachers developed a complex, sometimes conflicted, sense of their professional identities and these were mediated by their responses to their marginalisation, their professional development, local setting(s) and their personal histories. Another important finding of this study was the resulting variation of professional identities the teachers enacted due to a host of influences, causing some to leave the profession and others to stay. This research suggests viewing professional development for bilingual teachers… [Direct]
(1991). The Politics of Literacy. Information Update, spec iss v7 n1 Fall-Win 1990-91. This document examines political questions that surround the issue of literacy. "City Literacy Cuts" outlines effects of the most recent budget cuts in New York City. "Families, Inequality, and Power: The Cultural Politics of Literacy" (Deborah D'Amico-Samuels) focuses on the importance of understanding the different models used in interpreting the causes of illiteracy and the cultural politics of literacy. Three articles examine the issue of politics and literacy from different perspectives: "The Politics of Literacy" (Paula Finn), which presents a union's model for revising the politics of literacy theory and practice; "The Politics of the Language of Literacy: Spanish Literacy for New York Latinos" (Ofelia Garcia), which presents theoretical arguments of the necessity of using non-English languages in literacy instruction; and "Literacy & Common Sense" (John Garvey), which discusses the "need" for literacy…. [PDF]
(1974). Serna et al. v. Portales Municipal Schools et al. The appellees, all Spanish surnamed Americans, contended that the appellants deprived them of their right to equal protection of the laws. After hearing all evidence, the trial court had ordered the Portales schools to submit a plan for remedial action within 90 days. Appellees thereafter filed a Motion for Hearing to hear their objections to the appellants' plan and to introduce their own proposed bilingual-bicultural program. After reviewing both parties' programs, the trial court entered final judgment, which included: all students in grades 1-3 receive 60 minutes per day bilingual instruction; a bicultural outlook be incorporated in as many subject areas as practicable; testing procedures be established to test the results of the bilingual instruction and adjustments made accordingly; and junior high students be tested for English language proficiency and, if necessary, further bilingual instruction should be available. Appellants appealed, positing two grounds for reversal:…
(1982). Ethnic Bilingual/Bicultural Programs in Canadian Public Schools. Canadian Modern Language Review, v38 n4 p648-57 May. It does not appear that bilingual (ethnic/official language) schools in the public sector will replace private ethnic schools. The latter often emphasize religious training and conduct much instruction in the community's native dialect, which most school boards would avoid, despite government and public support for bilingual/bicultural programs as enrichment. (MSE)…
(1992). Appropriating Scientific Discourse: Findings From Language Minority Classrooms. Research Report: 3. [Revised.]. This paper reports a study of the effects of a collaborative inquiry approach to science on language minority students' (middle and high school) learning. This approach emphasizes involving the students, most of whom have had very little schooling, in "doing science" in ways that scientists practice. This study addresses the question: To what extent do students appropriate collaborative scientific inquiry? The authors focus the analysis on changes in students' conceptual knowledge and use of hypotheses, experiments, and explanations to organize their reasoning in the context of two think-aloud problems. The findings indicate that at the beginning of the school year the students' reasoning was non-analytic and bound to personal experience. By contrast, at the end of the school year they reasoned in terms of a larger explanatory system; used hypotheses to organize and give directions to their reasoning; and demonstrated an awareness of the function of experimentation in… [PDF]
(1993). Relationships among Psychosocial Factors and Academic Achievement in Bilingual Hispanic and Anglo Students. This study examined the relationships among a set of psychosocial variables (academic competence, physical appearance, self-worth, and motivation) and between the psychosocial variables and academic achievement for 236 third grade and fifth grade native Spanish speakers and native English speakers enrolled in a bilingual immersion program since kindergarten. Analyses of students' responses to several measures showed significant main effects for grade on every psychosocial variable, with third graders scoring higher than fifth graders and significant grade level effects in Spanish mathematics and English reading and mathematics, with fifth graders outperforming third graders. English speakers scored higher than Spanish speakers in academic competence, English reading and mathematics, and Spanish mathematics; Spanish speakers outperformed English speakers in Spanish reading. The best predictors of current English reading and mathematics achievement were the Spanish and English… [PDF]
(1977). Bilingual Bicultural Curriculum for Language Arts, Grade Four. Connecticut Migratory Children's Program. This is one of a series of curriculum guides designed to assist bilingual teachers in efforts to provide a coordinated program of studies for students in the Connecticut Migratory Children's Program and for any other students whose native language is Spanish. It is felt that an effort should be made to discover the skill level at which a child is functioning, to choose materials from curriculum guides at that skill level, and to move to more difficult materials when the child is ready. Skills are suggested at given grade levels to provide a logical sequence of skill development. The overall focus of the curriculum guides in the series is on Puerto Rican history and culture. The present guide is for the bilingual-bicultural curriculum for language arts at the fourth grade level, and is divided into seven units: (1) Connecticut, (2) Puerto Rico, (3) Latin America, (4) Europe, (5) Asia, (6) The Eskimo, and (7) The American Indian. Each unit is divided into skills, with activities…
(1980). Practicas de Oficina Para Duplicados. Volumen 1. Spanish Translations for Office Duplication Practices, Volume 1. First Edition. Intended to help the bilingual office duplication practices instructor to better communicate to students with limited English speaking ability the more technical aspects of information presented in class, this supplement consists of a series of transparency masters with Spanish sub-titles for key words. It consists of 18 units. Covered first is the process of applying for a social security card. Various job safety procedures are dealt with. Focus of the next two groups of transparencies is on various aspects of interpersonal relations, including avoiding politicking, apple polishing, and gossiping as well as on practicing good grooming and nutrition habits. Addressed next are procedures for using stencil duplicators, fluid duplicators, image paper masters, and electronic calculators. The next four units consist of transparency masters illustrating the basic rules of filing as well as rules for indexing, geographic filing, and numeric filing. Routing slips, envelopes, package…
(1999). Title I Evaluation Report, 1998-99. Publication Number 98.04. Online Submission This report summarizes evaluation results for AISD's federally-funded Title I program activities during school year 1998-1999…. [PDF]
(2008). Raising the Achievement of English Language Learners in the Seattle Public Schools: Report of the Strategic Support Team of the Council of the Great City Schools. Council of the Great City Schools The Seattle Public Schools serve one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation. The school system's enrollment represents many racial and ethnic groups and includes students from around the world who come to Seattle speaking many languages and families who came to the city generations ago. The challenge facing Seattle and all other major city school systems across the country is to educate all of its students to the highest standards regardless of their national origin, native language, or previous educational experiences. District leadership of the district asked the Council of the Great City Schools to conduct a critical review of the school system's programs to teach students who are learning English as their second language. The Council Strategic Support Team found an instructional program serving its English language learners is highly fragmented, weakly defined, poorly monitored, and producing very unsatisfactory academic results. The report recommends an almost… [PDF]
(2008). Neighborhood Social Processes and Academic Achievement in Elementary School. Journal of Community Psychology, v36 n7 p885-898 Sep. To examine how neighborhood characteristics influence academic achievement, data were drawn from a community survey of low-income neighborhoods and linked with data on performance on standardized testing for third-grade students attending elementary schools in those communities. Results of multilevel logistic regressions indicated that probability of passing the reading portion of the test was associated with high neighborhood expectations for educational attainment and high collective socialization. Contrary to expectations, higher probability of passing reading was associated with higher fear of victimization and retaliation. Passing rates for the mathematics portion of the test were greater in neighborhoods with high levels of collective efficacy. Neighborhood economic impoverishment was not a significant predictor of passing after adjusting for neighborhood social characteristics. (Contains 3 tables.)… [Direct]
(1991). Report of the Task Force on Hispanic Education. A 1990 Task Force report outlined the problem of the high dropout rate (40-60 percent) among Idaho's Hispanic-American students. This follow-up report presents state goals related to preventing Hispanic students from dropping out and makes specific recommendations to accomplish each goal. State-level goals are strong leadership, adequate funding, and enduring commitment to meeting the educational needs of Hispanic students. In the preschool category, the Task Force's goal is to provide a preschool program that will give Hispanic children a "head start" toward kindergarten. Goals for elementary and secondary schools include providing an educational environment conducive to success without damaging Hispanic children's self-esteem, providing a relevant curriculum that promotes cooperation and collaboration, ensuring cultural awareness and sensitivity among teachers and other school personnel, providing positive academic and vocational options for career development, and… [PDF]
(1980). The Literacy Conundrum: The Bilingual/Bicultural Boom and the Language Teacher. CEA Critic, v42 n3 p12-16 Mar. Discusses the dilemmas created for teachers by the growing number of bilingual/bicultural programs, especially with respect to literacy objectives and teacher preparation. (RL)…