This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include David Herrington, Adam Nir, Britta Korth, Stephen A. Bahry, Zvi Bekerman, Lucy A. Trapnell, Sean Cavanagh, Roselia A. Salinas, Angela L. Valdez, and Bencie Woll.
(2012). The Impact on Writing Achievement of Two Bilingual Education Models for English Language Learners, ProQuest LLC. The number of English language learners (ELLs) within the school system in one Western U.S. state continues to rise; writing scores of ELLs lag well behind those of their English speaking peers. The purpose of this ex post facto quantitative causal comparative study was to examine the writing achievement of fourth grade ELLs instructed within a transitional bilingual program and English immersion program. The conceptual framework for this study merged Krashen's monitor model, Cummins basic interpersonal communication skills and cognitive academic language proficiency, and Vygotsky's language and thought relationship model. The research question involved understanding differences between the writing achievements of students receiving instruction in their native language compared to students immediately mainstreamed into an all-English classroom. Writing test scores were collected from 68 students who participated in the two bilingual programs. The mean scores of these groups were compared using an independent t test. The findings indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups on writing achievement. This study contributes to social change because it is geared at improving ELL writing instruction, shifting the focus from language of instruction to effective writing instruction, and addressing the academic and linguistic needs of ELLs. Implications for social change also include on-going professional development for teachers in the area of ELL writing instruction, second language acquisition, and cultural competency. Teachers of ELLs as well as school districts with an ELL population will benefit from this as it will provide a better understanding of how language of instruction affects writing achievement of ELLs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: www.proquest.com/en-US/products/disserta… [More] Descriptors: Writing Achievement, Bilingual Education, English Language Learners, Writing Evaluation
(2006). Bilingual Language Profiles of Deaf Students: An Analysis of the Written Narratives of Three Deaf Writers with Different Language Proficiencies, Deafness and Education International. Literature on bilingual education suggests that the material used in teaching second language writing has an impact on the quality of the text. In addition, the material interacts differently with the level of bilingual proficiency of the students. This paper attempts to explore the written stories of three deaf students, which were produced under two different conditions: translation from a signed narrative vs. direct composition from a picture narrative. The three deaf students represent three language groups, with different proficiencies in Greek Sign Language and written Greek. It will be shown that a) each representative produces a unique writing style in accordance to his/her language proficiencies and b) each representative reacts differently to the stimulus material facilitating (or not) different aspects of writing. The narratives were explored in terms of their discourse and technical characteristics. Implications for deaf education and the teaching of writing are discussed. [More] Descriptors: Writing (Composition), Profiles, Sign Language, Bilingual Education
(2006). Language and Ethnicity: Multiple Literacies in Context, Language Education in Guatemala, Bilingual Research Journal. This study focuses on the research literature available in the United States on the evolution of language policy and planning issues involved in bilingual education programs in Mayan communities in Guatemala. I begin with general comments regarding language policy and planning for bilingual programs for ethnic groups within the borders of nation/states. These ethnic groups strive to maintain their ethnic, collective identities, which include their first language, in the context of social, cultural, historical, economic, and political dimensions of daily living. I then describe the research I located on such programs in Guatemala, making connections as I saw them across the dimensions indicated above. Specific gaps in the published research available are indicated in the conclusion, as are ways that the research impacts bilingual practitioners and researchers in the United States. [More] Descriptors: Diachronic Linguistics, Bilingual Education Programs, Ethnic Groups, Policy Analysis
(2006). Study Offers Ways to Better European Education, Education Week. School systems that track students into certain classes and academic programs based on ability end up worsening disparities between high and low performers, according to a far-ranging report that offers recommendations for improving education across Europe. The study, commissioned by a branch of the European Union (EU), also found that bilingual education has a positive effect on academic performance, and that non-native students benefit from being integrated within schools with majority native-born populations Titled "Explaining Student Performance," the study was conducted by the Danish Technological Institute, an independent research center. Its findings will be presented to members of the EU later this month in Brussels, Belgium. The report analyzes recent results from three major international studies of student academic skill: the Program for International Student Assessment, the Trends in International Science and Mathematics Study, and the Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study. The United States participates in all three studies. [More] Descriptors: Reports, Educational Improvement, Academic Achievement, Track System (Education)
(2001). Bilingual Education in Kyrgyzstan: Pros and Cons. This paper discusses the potential of bilingual education and its possible implementation in Kyrgzystan, focusing on why bilingual education can be useful in solving linguistic tension in Kyrgzystan and which organizational questions must be considered to make bilingual education effective. The paper begins by examining and refuting common concerns (children will be traumatized if they are spoken to in a different language, and children will confuse the two languages and end up unable to speak either one correctly). Next, it presents common models and experiences with bilingual education from other countries (submersion, immersion, partial immersion, transitional immersion, maintenance immersion, and two-way immersion). Finally, it discusses issues related to curriculum, teachers, textbooks, and classroom composition. It concludes that children who attend bilingual education programs naturally grow up with two languages, have more positive attitudes toward other ethnic and linguistic groups, and are more confident about their own ethno-linguistic identity. It asserts that bilingualism is a prerequisite for dialogue and understanding between ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Diversity (Student), Elementary Secondary Education, Foreign Countries
(2003). Some Key Issues in Intercultural Bilingual Education Teacher Training Programmes–as Seen from a Teacher Training Programme in the Peruvian Amazon Basin, Comparative Education. Presents a critical reflection of the author's 14-year experience in the Teacher Training Program for Intercultural Bilingual Education in the Peruvian Amazon Basin, developed by a national Peruvian indigenous confederation and the Loreto state teacher training college. Focuses on ethical, political, and pedagogical challenges that intercultural education raises regarding curriculum development and practice, particularly contradictions between intercultural discourse and assimilationist practice. (Contains 27 references.) Descriptors: American Indian Education, Bilingual Education, Cultural Pluralism, Curriculum Development
(1982). Sociolinguistic Foundations of Bilingual Education, Bilingual Review. Discusses various sociological issues of bilingual education, including language and ethnicity, language planning, nonstandard versus standard, and language maintenance. Types of bilingual education are described. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Dialects, Language Attitudes, Language Enrichment
(1983). Reaction/Response: An Immigrant's Experience, a Scholar's Reply, Principal. In response to previous articles on bilingual education, a German immigrant relates the personal experiences that cause him to look askance at bilingual education; then a proponent of bilingual education answers. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second Language), Immigrants
(2005). Highland Children's Education Project: A Pilot Project on Bilingual Education in Cambodia, Online Submission. The report was produced by UNESCO in partnership with CARE International in Cambodia for the "Highland Children's Education Project" (HCEP) to show how bilingual primary education has been implemented among the Tampuen and Kreung ethnic minority groups in six remote villages in the northeastern province of Ratanakiri, Cambodia. Central to HCEP is the idea of "community schools" for primary education that the community is largely responsible for governing and managing. The pilot project in Ratanakiri, with the assistance from Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and local NGOs, was established to promote bilingual education and education in the mother tongue through local teacher training and adaptation of the national curriculum. There are many barriers to providing education to ethnic minorities in Ratanakiri, including communication between the central government and the village representative due to language differences. A survey confirms that there is still a strong negative attitude to girls' education that hinders education for all in the area. However, the ethnic minority groups are becoming aware of the economic potential that education can bring and are therefore increasingly willing to participate in education related activities. The community will continue to play an important role in highland children's education. Development of education policy, teacher training, funding, networking and technology will also help to improve education for ethnic minorities in remote areas. (Contains 3 footnotes.) [This document was published by UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education. Cover title varies.] [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary Education, Negative Attitudes, Pilot Projects
(1981). The Larger Question: Bilingual Education, Family and Society, Childhood Education. Clarifies some of the intricate issues surrounding bilingual education and argues that an effective bilingual education program must be responsive to family and society. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Early Childhood Education, Family Life, Family School Relationship
(2006). Teacher Quality as a Predictor of Student Achievement in Urban Schools: A National Focus, Online Submission. Research indicates that an increasing demand for teacher accountability and student achievement is at the forefront with the mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. These challenges will be crucial in urban and rural schools where the need for classroom teachers in critical teaching areas such as bilingual education, special education, mathematics, science and foreign languages exists. Unfortunately, university teacher preparation programs are not producing sufficient critical teaching areas teacher candidates to meet the demand; meanwhile the number of alternatively certified teacher candidates appears to be increasing with the proliferation of alternative certification programs emerging to address the teacher shortages. It is important to determine whether there are significant differences in student achievement among students based on the certification route of the classroom teacher. The academic achievement of our nation's students is at stake. [More] Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Teacher Certification, Urban Schools, Teacher Competencies
(2002). First Language First: Literacy Education for the Future in a Multilingual Philippine Society, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Examines Philippine bilingual education policy, which emphasizes the need to develop literacy in Filipino as a linguistic symbol of national unity and identity and in English as a language of wider communication. Contends that a technical model of literacy acquisition that emphasizes literacy primarily as an economic skill for use in the workplace cannot achieve the policy goals. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, English (Second Language), Foreign Countries
(2012). What Constitutes Quality in Minority Education? A Multiple Embedded Case Study of Stakeholder Perspectives on Minority Linguistic and Cultural Content in School-Based Curriculum in Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, Gansu, Frontiers of Education in China. While quality in education has long been a significant issue, definitions of quality are often taken for granted rather than argued for, allowing the possibility that the criteria used by researchers and planners to judge quality may differ from local stakeholders' perspectives, particularly regarding the place within quality education of the knowledge, culture and language of non-dominant groups. However, there is an accumulating convergence of research that calls for assessments of quality in education of non-dominant linguistic and cultural groups that engage local stakeholders' understandings. This paper presents a recent study that attempts to do this, investigating the perspectives of students, parents, teachers, and administrators in Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, a multiethnic, multilingual district in rural Gansu, inhabited by several nationalities. Over one hundred participants in three schools were asked what was important for children to learn in school; including what aspects of local (minority) knowledge, culture and language should be taught as part of school-based curriculum. The study found three educational visions in local schools: regular urban education; Chinese-medium, multicultural education; and bilingual, multicultural education. The study also found that stakeholders support the latter vision, which reflects society's actual cultural and linguistic pluralism, as well as much research on quality education for non-dominant groups. The paper concludes with a call for a comparative approach, both domestic and international, towards the investigation of quality education of non-dominant groups in China. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Case Studies, Stakeholders, Language Minorities
(2006). Opportunities and Challenges of Integrated Education in Conflict-Ridden Societies: The Case of Palestinian-Jewish Schools in Israel, Childhood Education. This article reports on a rather new and revolutionary education initiative in Israel. The information and descriptions offered are based on the results of a long-term ethnographic research effort that has been conducted since 1999 in the integrated bilingual Palestinian-Jewish schools in Israel. The bilingual schools are a product of the entrepreneurship of good-willed citizens who, unaided by theoretical conceptualizations, developed a system based on commonsensical humane approaches, flowing from their experience in Israel's complex and unjust society. The schools' functioning can be conceptualized through a variety of existing theoretical paradigms, including peace and co-existence education, collaborative learning, multiculturalism, bilingual education, contact hypothesis, and less-recognized acculturation theories. These paradigms can be relevant to the development of better strategies and pedagogies, which can help to overcome mistrust and fear between the communities involved in this initiative. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Ethnography, Bilingual Schools, Politics of Education
(2002). Emergent Biliteracy in Chinese and English, Journal of Second Language Writing. Focusing on the emergent Chinese and English literacy of a 5-year-old boy from Taiwan, provides insight into the debate within the field of bilingual education as to whether the introduction of literacy in languages with two different writing systems helps or hinders literacy development in both languages. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Chinese, Emergent Literacy, English