(1988). An Investigation of the Language Difficulties Experienced by Hong Kong Secondary School Students in English-Medium Schools: II Some Causal Factors. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v9 n4 p307-22. Responses of 118 Cantonese-speaking students at Hong Kong English-medium secondary schools to a questionnaire indicated those factors that contribute to the ineffectiveness of the English-medium education include: (1) lack of exposure to English outside the classroom; (2) absence of the Hawthorne effect on the immersion programs; and (3) "subtractive bilingualism" preventing students from learning the language effectively. (Author/CB)…
(1992). Bush Signs Education Spending Bill That Fails to Keep Pace with Inflation. Chronicle of Higher Education, v39 n8 pA22-23,26-27 Oct 14. Fiscal 1993 appropriations for Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, signed by President George Bush, include cuts in maximum Pell Grants, first in a decade, and little increase in funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH), among others. Requests and appropriations for student aid, institutional assistance, disadvantaged, disabled, other programs and NIH funding are charted. (MSE)…
(1991). When Learning a Second Language Means Losing the First. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, v6 n3 p323-47 Sep. Discusses a nationwide study of language shift among language-minority children in the United States. Immigrant and American Indian families were surveyed to determine the effects of children's learning of English in preschool on their family language patterns. Findings suggest that primary language loss can be very costly to the children, their families, and society. (Author/GLR)…
(1999). Dilemmas of Peer Assistance in a Bilingual Full Inclusion Classroom. Elementary School Journal, v99 n3 p233-54 Jan. An ethnographic study in a second-grade full-inclusion classroom examined spontaneous, unstructured peer-assistance interactions between 22 general education and 11 special education students during small-group and independent work periods. Found that helping exchanges in academic contexts were complicated by students' social agendas: desire to achieve mastery, display competence, establish themselves in the classroom social network, and save face. (Author/LPP)…
(1998). Exito Bilingue: Promoting Spanish Literacy in a Dual Language Immersion Program. Bilingual Research Journal, v22 n2-4 p261-77 Spr-Fall. 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 references.) (Author/SV)…
(2000). The New Diversity. Principal, v79 n5 p6-32 May. In this special section, various authors (in separate articles) discuss the new face of school segregation; socioeconomic integration–a plan to mix poor and middle-class students; and ways to bridge the minority achievement gap, teach linguistically diverse students, and identify and nurture the gifted poor. (MLH)…
(1996). Two Worlds in One Classroom. Northwest Education, v1 n1 p8-13 Win. Describes the successful bilingual program of the Ontario School District (Oregon). District strategies include visiting a model school in south Texas, encouraging parent participation, facilitating staff development and recruitment, acknowledging cultural awareness, using student-directed instruction and cooperative learning, maintaining students at grade level, and emphasizing literacy. (SAS)…
(2000). Education of Limited English Proficient Students in California Schools: An Assessment of the Influence of Proposition 227 on Selected Teachers and Classrooms. Bilingual Research Journal, v24 n1-2 p75-85 Win-Spr. Interviews with 32 teachers in 8 California school districts examined how teachers responded to Proposition 227. Three teacher reactions were identified: outward defiance, clarification of pedagogical purpose, and anxiety in the face of change. Key factors in these reactions were teacher ideology and experiences and the course of implementation taken by their districts and schools. (TD)…
(1996). Success for All: A Summary of Research. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, v1 n1 p41-76. Describes the various components of the Success for All Program (SFAP) and provides a detailed review of its effectiveness in improving the academic accomplishments of students placed at risk, including English-language learners and special education students. It also compares SFAP with Reading Recovery programs. Results of evaluations of 23 SFAP in 9 districts in 8 states show that SFAP increases student reading performance. (GR)…
(1999). The Use of Literary Letters with Post-Secondary Non-Native Students. Learning Assistance Review, v4 n1 p33-41 Spr. Examines the methodology of using novel reading and letter exchange based upon the novels to enhance reading/writing skills in non-native speakers at the college freshmen level. In addition, it refers to theories on which such methodology is based and offers samples from student work. Contains 17 references. (VWC)…
(1993). Creating Conditions for Positive Change: Case Studies in American Indian Education. A study investigated factors supporting innovation in American Indian education by comparing data from two separate studies. One was a followup study of 25 Indian educators' implementation of cooperative learning and whole language techniques, which sought to identify: (1) the impact of the innovations on student achievement; and (2) factors that enable or constrain sustained pedagogical change. The second was a long-term ethnographic study at Rough Rock, on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona. The investigation's focus was on institutional and other structural barriers to educational reform, beyond what occurs in the classroom. It is argued that analysis of reform efforts must address factors both within the instructional setting and in the school's organizational structure and sociopolitical context. It is proposed that such analysis is essential to understanding and transforming the historically disempowering experiences of this population. (MSE)… [PDF]
(1991). Solidifying International Bridges through Communication Teaching. This paper discusses an ongoing study being conducted at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah concerning ways of improving communication teaching to graduate students, especially those in the business administration program. The paper also discusses some current research on language and management and some preliminary results of fourth year data. The research involves the MBA (Master of Business Administration) classroom in which bilingual (foreign national) students (abundant at BYU) are divided into study groups formed around languages, and periodically give 3-minute presentations, one in English and the second in their native language. Listeners fill out evaluation forms and presenters complete presenter forms. The purpose of the program is two-fold: (1) the North Americans can help foreigh nationals with the English language, and (2) the foreign nationals can supply business terms in the foreign language. The program is centered around the concept of the Competing Values… [PDF]
(1991). Bilingual Resource Instruction for the Development of Gainful Employment Skills (Project BRIDGES). 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of New York City Public Schools' Bilingual Resource Instruction for the Development of Gainful Employment Skills Program (Project BRIDGES), which served poor immigrant high school students. The program operated at three Brooklyn high schools (Sheepshead Bay High School, Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, and South Shore High School). It served 405 limited English proficiency students with instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA), content area subjects, and vocational skills. The program served students from many cultures, who spoke a variety of native languages including Spanish, Haitian Creole, Russian, Hebrew, and Arabic. Evaluation of the program was based on demographic data, citywide student test scores, and interviews with and surveys of the program director. In its final year of implementation, Project BRIDGES was fully implemented; provided at-risk students with essential supportive services and individualized… [PDF]
(1991). Discussions on Some Educational Issues III. Research Report 94. This publication consists of eight articles in which contributors discuss the following educational issues: (1) "Prospects for Schooling" (Friedrich W. Busch); (2) "Broadcasting, Education and Active Citizenship" (Brian Groombridge); (3) "On the Role of Mother-tongue Education in Multilingual Societies" (Wilfried Hartmann); (4) "Theory, Practice and Teacher Education" (Paul H. Hirst); (5) "Pedagogical Thinking: The Basic Problem of Teacher Education" (Pertti Kansanen); (6) "Self-Esteem and School-Achievement Revisited" (Patrik Scheinin); (7) "An Ethnographic Approach in Research on Teaching" (Eija Syrjalainen); and (8) "Phenomenological Study of Concentration versus Disruption in Class" (Rupert Vierlinger). (LL)… [PDF]
(1987). Maori and Pakeha School Performance: The Challenge for Educational Policy and Research. It is suggested that significant differences remain between ethnic groups in New Zealand, specifically the Maori and the non-Maori, or "Pakeha" (a term used by the Maori for New Zealanders of European descent), in terms of educational achievement. This gap exists despite emphasis placed on education as a means of reducing social inequality. These differences, when combined with similar disparities in other social indicators such as life expectancy, employment, and composition of prison populations, pose a significant challenge to the belief in equality, social justice, and the potential attainment and maintenance of social harmony. Statistics reveal that over one-half of Maori students who took School Certificate examinations received grades below that required to proceed, whereas only 26.5 percent of non-Maori received a similar grade. Access to and progress through schools has been changed significantly due to curriculum modifications, and greater attention is being paid… [PDF]