Moreno, Jose F., Ed. (1999). The Elusive Quest for Equality: 150 Years of Chicano/Chicana Education. Harvard Educational Review Reprint Series No. 32. The year 1998 marked the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War, formalized the appropriation of half of Mexico's territory, and guaranteed Mexican-origin people in the appropriated territory the rights of U.S. citizens. The United States reneged on this promise almost immediately. Public education became a tool for the eradication of Mexican American culture and identity, and today the Chicano community's quest for a just and equitable education remains elusive. This book draws on a forum of scholars, teachers, activists, and students who met in Irvine, California, in April 1998. Themes include the historical development of Chicano education and the effects of language, segregation, Americanization, and resistance on that development. Following a foreword (Manuel N. Gomez) and introduction (Jose F. Moreno, Frank Garcia Berumen), the nine chapters are: "The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Racialization of the Mexican Population" (Martha Menchaca); "The Schooling of Mexicanos in the Southwest, 1848-1891" (Guadalupe San Miguel, Jr.); "Segregation and the Education of Mexican Children, 1900-1940" (Gilbert G. Gonzalez); "Chicana/o Education from the Civil Rights Era to the Present" (Dolores Delgado Bernal); "Politics Matters: Educational Policy and Chicano Students" (Gary Orfield); "Educational Testing and Mexican American Students: Problems and Prospects" (Richard R. Valencia); "Chicanos/as in the United States: Language, Bilingual Education, and Achievement" (Eugene E. Garcia); "Staying in the Race: The Challenge for Chicanos/as in Higher Education" (Patricia Gandara); and "150 Years of Chicano/Chicana Education: Intergenerational Platica" (transcript of dialogue among forum participants). (Contains references.) Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Acculturation, Activism, Bilingual Education

Agency for International Development (IDCA), Washington, DC. Center for Development Information and Evaluation. (1999). Improving Girls' Education in Guatemala. Impact Evaluation. In Guatemala, many girls attend no school. A project by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Basic Education Strengthening (BEST), demonstrated that improving educational quality is the best approach to enhancing girls' participation. BEST included a Girls Education Program (GEP) activity. Under the BEST/GEP umbrella, several new strategies were tried, most notably mobilizing the private sector to action for girls' education and testing targeted interventions to improve the education of indigenous rural girls. Section 1, "Introduction," describes the problem. Section 2, "Background," discusses the war and the peace accords and examines the problem. Section 3, "USAID and Girls' Education in Guatemala," describes project implementation. Section 4, "CDIE Study Methods," describes the impact evaluation conducted by USAID's Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE). Section 5, "BEST/GEP Successes and Shortcomings," describes program results. Section 6, "Findings: BEST/GEP Program Components," examines program components: the Franja Curricular (systemwide interventions to integrate gender issues); Eduque a la Nina (GEP's major component); bilingual education; Nueva Escuela Unitaria (improving learning via flexible individual and group study and active participation); technical assistance; and cost effectiveness. Section 7, "Findings: BEST/GEP Policy Initiatives and Outcomes," examines policy dialog and project conditionality, policy reform, private sector participation, donor coordination, sustainability, missing actors, and benefits to boys. Section 8, "Conclusions," discusses synergies unrealized and USAID's comparative advantage. Section 9, "Lessons Learned," discusses points that underscore GEP's two principal lessons regarding the need for broader and deeper participation and for concentrating on systemwide sustainable impacts.   [More]  Descriptors: Developing Nations, Educational Improvement, Educational Policy, Educational Quality

Swain, Merrill (1974). Some Issues in Bilingual Education in Canada. The basic language issues in Canada are two-fold: (1) French-Canadians are making serious attempts to maintain their native language and culture, and a move towards French unilingualism is apparent; (2) English-Canadians are showing increasing interest in becoming bilingual, mainly because they are not threatened by native language loss or by cultural assimilation; and they are gradually accepting the economic and educational advantages of learning French. Some of the bilingual programs developed for English-speaking students are discussed. Evaluations of these programs have attempted to answer questions concerning the effect of bilingual education on French and English proficiency, the students. knowledge of curriculum subjects other than language, and IQ and cognitive development. Results indicate that bilingual programs do not affect cognitive development or achievement in curriculum subjects. Although children in total immersion programs do lag behind in English skills, they catch up when English Language Arts instruction is begun. Secondary students' English skills are not affected, and both primary and secondary students have French skills superior to students in regular language classes. Better results are obtained in reading skills by introducing reading first in French in the immersion programs. In addition, one study has noted that students in immersion programs may develop and reinforce their own classroom dialect of French. Descriptors: Acculturation, Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Educational Policy

Minaya-Rowe, Liliana (1994). Staff Development Specialists for Bilingual and Bicultural Education Programs: A Training Program. A three-year training program for bilingual/bicultural program staff development specialists is described. The program, which involves the cooperation of a higher education and six local education agencies (LEAs), seeks to train staff development specialists who can function in two languages, sensitive to the problems and advantages of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students, have strong background in bilingual and bicultural education, and are committed to quality education and social change. In particular, efforts to institutionalize the program are examined, based on eight indicators of institutionalization: active support of administrators; positive attitudes of non-bilingual education faculty; faculty support through institutional funds; bilingual faculty tenure and promotion; program continuation without federal funds; involvement of several professionals in program operations; compatibility with institutional priorities; and sufficiently high enrollment levels to sustain the program. Theoretical constructs used in the training, curriculum design and content, practicum, participant perceptions of the program, and benefits to the organizational participants are reviewed. Contains 35 references.   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Teachers, College School Cooperation, Consultants

Harrington, Charles (1978). Bilingual Education, Social Stratification, and Cultural Pluralism, Equal Opportunity Review. In this society cultural pluralism and social stratification go hand in hand. Status differences among cultural groups can be clearly seen in urban schools, where there may be many different groups and where stereotyping often results. One problem with status stereotypes is that they are not completely fixed in reality. A further problem is that status stereotypes are destructive to, and have no place in, educational planning. When anthropologists make functional data available about other cultures, in the hope of enabling educators to plan and to make more enlightened decisions, they can be creating more stereotypes. Transitional, enrichment, and maintenance models of bilingual education each have different social and cultural implications. In considering these models, it is important to remember that social stratification and cultural pluralism are distinct phenomena, even though they may coincide in our society. Theoretically, schools and education can provide groups with the skills and resources necessary for them to compete more equally in the larger society. Alternatives for the future involve either doing away with structural and cultural pluralism through homogeneity, or making multiculturalism a desirable element of everyone's experience. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Cultural Pluralism, Elementary Secondary Education, Ethnic Groups

ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, Washington, DC. (1999). Promoting Successful Transition to the Mainstream: Effective Instructional Strategies for Bilingual Students. ERIC Digest. This digest describes a research and development program being carried out in transitional bilingual education programs at five elementary schools in the Los Angeles area. Researchers have been collaborating with teachers and project advisors to develop, implement, and describe instructional strategies that improve the chances of students in these programs making a successful transition to mainstream English instruction. As part of the transition program, 12 specific language arts components that fall under three categories–literature studies, skill building, and other supporting components–have been identified for instruction. Across all phases of the program, in both Spanish and English language arts, students study literature. Discussions, writing projects, social studies content, and supplementary readings are all based on the literary selection being studied. The experience-text-relationship approach was adapted as the framework for the literature units. In this approach, the teacher helps students study the story in relation to their own experiences and to a central theme by means of ongoing discussions (instructional conversations), writing activities (literature logs and culminating writing projects), and reading. A study was conducted to establish the independent and combined effects of the use of literature logs and instructional conversations on transition and non-transition students' story comprehension and theme understanding. Results suggest that for English language learners, teachers should use both instructional conversations and literature logs, because the combined effect is stronger than the effect of using either component individually. For fluent English proficient students, both are not needed. Teachers could use one or the other, although instructional conversation would be the more efficient choice. (Contains 4 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Dialog Journals, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second Language)

Baker, Maria Gonzalez; Blomstedt, Bob (1987). Transitional Systems Management in Bilingual Education. The Texas Education Code, in which bilingual education is specifically required to contain six components, translates into a systems model for practical application. The model contains these steps and processes: (1) informal instruction using the student's language and cultural values and experience in the home; (2) thorough skill assessment, diagnosis of language dominance, degree of bilingualism, and level of English language proficiency; (3) teacher determination of the skills to be learned, matching the child's developmental stages with the instructional objectives and prescribed curriculum; (4) grouping according to language proficiency (generally, Spanish-dominant, bilingual, and English-dominant), with subgrouping when appropriate; and (5) formal instruction by grouping.  Other strategies used in this approach include individualized instruction, peer tutoring, contracting, team-teaching, and flexible scheduling. All of these strategies have been found to facilitate learning and provide for individual differences in a bilingual setting. Consideration of children's learning styles, home-school cooperation, the inclusion of learning activities relating to specific teaching objectives, and careful record-keeping and evaluation are also seen as important program elements. Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Class Activities, Educational Strategies, Elementary Secondary Education

Gandara, Patricia; Sun, Andrew (1986). Bilingual Education: Learning English in California. An evaluative study was done of California's Bilingual Education Program, the goal of which has been to teach English and other academic skills to more than half a million students with limited English backgrounds. While the State Department of Education provided no comprehensive evaluation, there is evidence that some components have been extremely successful. Where students are instructed by a bilingual teacher, academic subjects are introduced in a language students understand and English is taught simultaneously, gains were demonstrated. Schools using this approach report English fluency for most students within 2 to 3 years. Areas for concern include the following: (1) only about one-third of students in bilingual programs are enrolled in bilingual classrooms and only about-half of these are staffed by bilingual teachers; (2) most children in the program are served through individual learning plans or other methods for which there is no good evidence of effectiveness; and (3) although bilingual classes are the most cost effective method of providing instruction, efforts to implement fully this method on a statewide basis have been limited. The main impediment to implementation is a shortage of bilingual teachers. Five figures supplement the text and three appendices provide two graphs and two tables showing the concentration of limited English students statewide and teacher demand figures and projections. A list of 12 references is also provided.   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second Language), Limited English Speaking

Farr, Beverly P.; Garcia-Sims, Angela; Garcia Fontana, Rose Marie (1997). The Complexities of Evaluating Bilingual Education Programs. As part of a discussion of the complexities of evaluating bilingual education, this paper discusses critical questions related to equitable education. A first concern is the development of standards. Children must be given equal opportunities to learn, but the development of standards and new assessments alone will not ensure that inequities will disappear. Performance assessments are not an answer either, since the implementation of performance assessments will show that test bias does not simply go away. Potential causes of bias in performance assessments will be language-dependent skills and the problem of situational or cultural contexts in the assessments that are unfamiliar to students from certain cultures. Practical approaches to ensuring accuracy in assessments for students with diverse learning needs begin with providing reasonable access to manipulatives and resources when possible and making sure the language of the directions is clear. Educators should request special administration conditions for students when needed. An example of mediated administration that is more equitable for students is presented in the Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP) (no longer the state assessment) and its accommodations for Spanish speaking students. Strategies are included for administering the ASAP in English to limited English proficient students. (Contains two tables.)   [More]  Descriptors: Access to Education, Bilingual Education, Cultural Differences, Educational Assessment

Halasa, Ofelia (1975). Cleveland Bilingual Education Program: Title VII ESEA. This 1974-75 evaluation report of the Title VII Cleveland Bilingual Education Program discusses the degree to which process objectives were implemented and product objectives attained, and the impressions of project and school staff and parents. The goals of the bilingual program were to develop the ability to communicate and function in Spanish and English and to acquire knowledge and understanding of the differences and similarities in the two cultures. The program served 520 children in 14 schools, grades kindergarten through three. A full program description details participants, project operations, staff development and parent-community involvement. Detailed evaluation at each grade level is included. Scope and sequence charts are drawn for language arts, mathematics and science. Numerous tables and charts provide statistics on test results, class ranking and performance scores. The program appeared to be relatively successful. Surveys indicated it was most effective in enhancing positive school attitude and motivation for learning, learning Spanish, and involving parents with the school. Shortcomings included failure to provide inservice sessions on bilingual teaching and ESL skills, late arrival of bilingual-bicultural materials and lack of a bilingual curriculum guide at the start of the year. Descriptors: Biculturalism, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Schools, Bilingual Students

Marchese, Theodore J., Ed. (1999). AAHE Bulletin, 1998-99, AAHE Bulletin. The 10 issues of this organizational journal provide news columns, calls for proposals, conference information, and several major articles. Articles in this volume include: "Restructure? You Bet! An Interview with Change Expert Alan E. Guskin" (Ted Marchese); "The State of the 'Engaged Campus'" (Barbara A. Holland and Sherril B. Gelmon); "What Proportion of College Students Earn a Degree?" (Clifford Adelman); "Powerful Partnerships: A Shared Responsibility for Learning" (Susan West Engelkemeyer and Scott C. Brown); "Essential Demographics of Today's College Students" (Edmund J. Hansen); "How the Corporate University Model Works" (Jeanne C. Meister); "Who Teaches? Who Learns?" (Kimberley Barker); "Institutional Performance Measures" (Susan West Engelkemeyer); "The Case for the Nine-Hour Course" (Earl L. Conn); "Fostering a Discourse Community: Part One of Campus Conversations" (Barbara Cambridge); "What the Learning Paradigm Means for Faculty" (George R. Boggs); "For Profit: Application of the Corporate Model to Academic Enterprise" (Richard Ruch); "Liberal Arts for Business: A Partnership Built by Faculty" (Michael Rao); "Solving a 'Higher Ed Tough One'" (Dan Tompkins); "Building Multiculturalism into Teaching-Development Programs" (Constance Ewing Cook and Mary Deane Sorcinelli); "Connecting What We Know and What We Do through Problem-Based Learning" (Claire H. Major); "Two Steps to Creative Campus Collaboration" (Jane Fried); "Spirituality in the Workplace: An Interview with Father William J. Byron" (Kathleen Curry Santora); "Learning Through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination: The LEAD Center" (Susan B. Millar); "Post-Tenure Review: Rehabilitation or Enrichment?" (Joan North); "Doing Assessment As If Learning Matters Most" (Thomas A. Angelo); "How To Get the Ball Rolling: Beginning an Assessment Program on Your Campus" (Catherine Wehlburg); "Assessment: An Integral Part of the Teaching System Two Models" (John Biggs); "Research, Ethics, and Public Discourse: The Debate on Bilingual Education" (Jim Cummins); "Looking Forward to 2000. 'To Form a More Perfect Union: Diversity and Learning'" (Margaret A. Miller); and "On Diversity: A Board Statement to AAHE's Members."   [More]  Descriptors: College Faculty, College Instruction, College Outcomes Assessment, Diversity (Student)

Peter, Richard; Nelson, Orville (1977). Needs Assessment and Planning Workshop for Bilingual/Bicultural Vocational Education. Final Report. A two-day workshop was held in Wisconsin to identify secondary-postsecondary vocational teacher and vocational teacher trainer needs as they relate to bilingual/bicultural vocational education and to design a delivery system for meeting these pre- and inservice needs. The conference agenda was designed to provide information on the latest developments and concepts in bilingual/bicultural education and to generate methods and plans for its improvement. Following the presentations, two discussion groups generated lists of needs which were synthesized and prioritized as follows: (1) needs assessment, (2) planning and coordination, (3) educational needs (social and cultural), (4) development of special programs, (5) supportive services, (6) mass communication, (7) employment development, and (8) monitoring of program effectiveness. The groups then developed action plans for each and concluded that three measures were required to implement them: conducting regional inservice seminars for administrators, teachers, counselors, and paraprofessionals; conducting a needs assessment for bilingual/bicultural education in Wisconsin; and establishing target dates for vocational education to meet the needs of bilingual/bicultural students. As a result of these meetings, two projects were proposed for federal and state funding, and provisions were made to offer a course in the principles of vocational, technical, and adult education to bilingual/bicultural educators. Descriptors: Biculturalism, Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Delivery Systems

Jalongo, Mary Renck, Ed. (1999). Resisting the Pendulum Swing: Informed Perspectives on Education Controversies. Designed to offer more than slogans and buzzwords to practitioners who are grappling with an array of education controversies, this book provides classroom teachers with a spectrum of information about current controversies so that they will be better equipped to blend action with reflection. The book deliberately resists extremes and argues for less contentious points of view. The book's introduction explores the five overarching goals for this collaborative project: (1) to resist faddism and false dualisms; (2) to promote a deeper understanding of education controversy; (3) to examine the beliefs that underlie the battles; (4) to respond more thoughtfully to educational debates; and (5) to expose the barriers to informed perspectives. The book's chapters, which address various controversies, are: (1) "Censorship–Evaluating Quality without Imposing Agendas" (Anne Drolett Creany); (2) "Inclusion–Celebrating Contributions while Meeting New Challenges" (Kay A. Chick and Deborah M. Clawson); (3) "Classroom Management–Managing the Classroom while Respecting the Child" (Beatrice S. Fennimore and Molly C. Ihli); (4) "Assessment–Allowing Traditional and Alternative Approaches To Co-Exist" (Linda Doutt Culbertson and Gerardo A. Contreras); (5) "Multicultural Education–Celebrating Diversity while Building Community" (Jyotsna Pattnaik); (6) "Families–Offering Support and Joining in Partnership" (Kathryn Delaney); (7) "Pedagogy–Finding a Place for Inquiry Methods and Direct Instruction" (Kay A. Chick); (8) "Reading Instruction–Reconciling Phonics and Whole Language: What Every Reading Teacher Should Know" (Xiaoping Li); (9) "Bilingual Education–Preserving a Child's First Language while Promoting Facility with a Second Language" (Elise Jepson Green); (10) "Gifted and Talented Education–Individual Differences or One-Size-Fits-All?" (Jennifer V. Rotigel); and (11) "Program Evaluation–Monitoring Quality without Sacrificing Substance" (Mary Renck Jalongo and Moses M. Mutuku). Each chapter contains references.   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Censorship, Classroom Techniques, Educational Improvement

Ortiz, Flora Ida (1977). Implementation Practices of Bilingual Education Programs. The ethnographic study investigated the implementation practices of a bilingual education program. A school site containing factors which were determined to be prevalent across Title VII programs was selected from over 300 Title VII sites. In addition, the school also contained a local student population, i.e., no one was bused from elsewhere; two bilingual teachers in the program, representing a higher percentage of bilingual capacity among the teaching staff than was generally true in other bilingual programs; a program being implemented at two different grade and age levels (K-3 and 4-6); and instructional aides representing the most qualified group of paraprofessionals in the school district. Most of the students were Chicano. The non-teaching staff reflected the ethnic composition present among the student population. However, the teaching staff was predominantly composed of Anglos with a few Chicano and Black teachers. Three classrooms within the school were observed for a period of three weeks. Interview data and relevant documents were also used in the analysis. It was found that the prevalent structure of teaching and the organization of tasks within the classroom determined the implementation practices. Teachers retained their dominant and traditional role. Instructional aides translated traditional subject matter, taught the native language, and enforced the behavioral norms. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingual Teacher Aides, Bilingual Teachers, Educational Environment

Andrews, Jean F.; Nover, Stephen M. (1998). Critical Pedagogy in Deaf Education: Bilingual Methodology and Staff Development. USDLC Star Schools Project Report No. 1. The New Mexico School for the Deaf was awarded a five-year federal grant to implement and test a proposed bilingual/ESL model for students with deafness acquiring and learning two languages. The Star Schools project also was tasked with designing an effective system of staff development within residential schools for the deaf to guide teachers in the use of effective instruction to maximize students' affective, cognitive, social, American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency, English literacy acquisition, and academic achievement through the use of two languages: ASL and English. This report summarizes the first year's research on the implementation of staff development for teachers of children with deafness. Fifteen elementary school teachers from two residential schools for the deaf participated in a year-long staff development program. This program included 36 hours of seminars in bilingual/ESL theories. Analysis of reflective logs indicate that the seminars prodded teachers to reexamine their beliefs about how students with deafness acquire language and literacy. Appendices include course syllabi and answers to questions regarding bilingualism, first and second language acquisition, and teaching techniques that emerged from discussions with teachers and other professionals concerned with implementing bilingual education for students with deafness. (Contains more than 200 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Bilingualism, Deafness, Elementary Education, Hearing Impairments