This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include IDRA Newsletter, Rosalie Pedalino Porter, Scott Willis, Melinda Rae Lucke, Michael E. Wonacott, Margaret L. Plecki, Mary Wood, Alexander Seeshing Yeung, Paul Liberty, and Ivy Cheuk-yin Lau.
(1998). READ Perspectives, 1998, Read Perspectives. This document comprises the two 1998 issues of the journal. Articles included are: "El Paso Programs for English Language Learners: A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study" (Russell Gersten, Scott Baker, and Thomas Keating); "Two Activists in Anaheim, California, Speak Out" (Harald G. Martin and Cathy Liska); "A Fifty-State Survey of Requirements for the Education of Language Minority Children" (Anita Garcia and Cynthia Morgan); "Afterword: A Response to Barbara Mujica" (Stephen Krashen); "Mystery on the Bilingual Express: A Critique of the Thomas and Collier Study 'School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students'" (Christine H. Rossell); "The Labor Market Effect of Bilingual Education among Hispanic Workers" (Mark Hugo Lopez and Marie T. Mora); "New Insights: A Review of Ruben Rumbaut's 'Transformations: The Post-Immigrant Generation in an Age of Diversity'" (Paul Hollander); "Four Year Longitudinal Report for the English Acquisition Program in the Bethlehem Area School District" (Ann Goldberg). (Each article contains extensive references and/or endnotes.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Classroom Techniques, Cognitive Style, Cultural Pluralism
(1998). Computer Technology in Adult Education. This publication provides materials to help adult educators use computer technology in their teaching. Section 1, Computer Basics, contains activities and materials on these topics: increasing computer literacy, computer glossary, parts of a computer, keyboard, disk care, highlighting text, scrolling and wrap-around text, setting up text, databases, spreadsheets, how to tutor with the computer, and references for an introduction to computers course. Section 2, Interesting Websites for Teachers, consists of examples of and sites for the following: clip art, Yahoo!, PC Magazine's top 100 websites, reliable websites recommended for educators, K-12 connections, interesting sites for teachers recommended by the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education, Mitchell's Bookmarks, Literacy Links, Internet Vocational and Technical Resources, social studies resources, science resources, SciEd–Science and Mathematics Education Resources, Ask Science Questions page, literacy websites, and vocational-technical education websites. Section 3, English as a Second Language (ESL), contains a list of ESL and bilingual education websites, games and activities for the ESL classroom, hints and tips for making ESL teaching easier and more fun, and crossword puzzles. Section 4, General Educational Development (GED) Preparation Resources, includes the following: a list of Internet resources; useful sites: software companies, teacher sites, and education resources; Blue Web'n Learning Sites Library; GED skill list; and sample lessons from the Internet. [More] Descriptors: Adult Basic Education, Basic Skills, Bilingual Education, Classroom Techniques
(1998). Hispanics in Oregon's Workforce, 1998. This report describes the Latino workforce in Oregon, outlining employment, income, education, and unemployment data. A brief history of Hispanics in the state notes that most of Oregon's Hispanics are of Mexican origin and that the state's Hispanic population grew 66 percent between 1990 and 1997. The history of migrant agricultural labor in Oregon is reviewed, and one chapter notes that increasing numbers of Hispanics are participating in politics, showing special interest in bilingual education, English-only legislation, immigration and welfare reform, and affirmative action. A chapter on general labor force issues reveals that Oregon's Hispanic labor force has more than doubled since 1990, unemployment rates and high school dropout rates are higher for Hispanics than any other group, and less than two percent of postsecondary degrees awarded in Oregon were earned by Hispanics. An examination of employment trends shows that Hispanics are represented in all major occupational groups, with agriculture no longer their primary employer; many occupations common for them have lower skills and educational requirements and lower pay; Hispanics are not well represented in professional occupations; and Hispanic-owned firms have increased. A chapter on income and wages finds that Oregon Hispanics earn less than the state average, and documents the relationship between education and income. Hispanic contributions to the economy are noted, and barriers to employment are discussed in the last two chapters. (Contains 37 data tables and figures.) [More] Descriptors: Demography, Dropout Rate, Education Work Relationship, Educational Attainment
(1998). Professional Development for Language Teachers: Preparing Educators for the 21st Century. 1998 State Survey. The survey, using data gathered from state foreign language association presidents and state foreign language supervisors and a number of other sources, investigated issues in professional development for language teachers. Forty-six out of 50 states responded to the survey, but not all of the states responded to each quotation. The survey consisted of questions on teacher shortages, recruitment, certification, bilingual education, and American Sign Language. Results indicate that teacher shortages are affecting most states, and increasing student enrollments in elementary, middle, and high schools exacerbate this problem. Largest shortages are in Spanish and Japanese, followed by French, German, Latin, Chinese, Arabic, Italian, and Korean. Despite increased enrollment figures, foreign language requirements at any level are not common. Approximately 89 percent of all language teachers are certified; of the remainder, half are emergency certified and half are uncertified. Emergency certification is commonplace, and most school districts provide alternative methods for language teacher certification. While professional development is being addressed in the states, how it is supported and treated varies greatly. It includes training through workshops and conferences, inservice opportunities, and federally-funded programs. Obstacles faced by teachers in obtaining professional development include competition with other disciplines, treatment of languages as outside the core curriculum, poor program information dissemination, and lack of financial support. [More] Descriptors: American Sign Language, Bilingual Education, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second Language)
(1998). State Issues Report, 1997-98. This report profiles legislative action affecting pre-K-12 education in the 50 states during the 1997-98 school year. The information was collected from Lexis-Nexis, legislative staff, state newsletters, school board/teacher associations, and various media. The resulting report, compiled by the Education Commission of the States Information Clearinghouse, has not been analyzed and was rapidly processed to be released in printed form at the earliest possible date. The material is separated by topic and is arranged alphabetically. Each topic features the states affected by the legislation, the status of the legislation, and a summary of the legislation's content. The many topics addressed here include accountability, accreditation, administrators/principals, adult education, assessment/testing, at-risk youth, attendance, bilingual education, business/industry/education, charter schools, child abuse/protection, choice, collective bargaining, community education, community involvement, community service/volunteerism, compensatory education, correctional institution education, counseling guidance, curriculum, deregulation/waivers, discipline, early-childhood education, elementary education, enrollment, equity, extended day, finance, gifted and talented, governance, health, immigrants, incentives/sanctions, instruction methods, interagency collaborations, kindergarten, libraries, literacy, magnet schools, middle schools, neuroscience, nonpublic schools, official English, parent/family, partnerships, postsecondary, privatization, religion, safety/crime/violence, scheduling, school boards, school districts, secondary schools, sexual harassment, site based management, special education, teacher evaluation, technology, textbooks, urban schools, vocational education, and vouchers/tax credits. [More] Descriptors: Educational Legislation, Elementary Secondary Education, National Surveys, Political Issues
(2016). The Lost Generation: Students of Arizona's Structured English Immersion, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. This study examines Arizona's restrictive language policy from the perspective of English learners (ELs) and reclassified fluent English proficient students who have been enrolled in the structured English immersion (SEI) model. While multiple scholars in the USA have analyzed Arizona's policy impact since its enactment in 2008, none to date have presented a portrait of who the students are or students' perception of the policy as experienced. This study surveyed 1542 students three years post-implementation of SEI. It provides a portrait of the students who have been subjected to the SEI model and presents findings which support other research that students are not exiting the SEI model in the policy's stipulated one-year goal. Findings show that most students are emergent bilinguals who have always experienced an English-only schooling in the state of Arizona. This paper also presents findings on students' attitudes toward their involvement in the SEI model with attitudes decreasing over time. Discussion regarding the status of these students' bilingualism, their overall attachment to school and academic achievement, and long-term identification as ELs is included. The findings presented here support other scholars' critique of Arizona's SEI and concurs that the policy needs to change in order to promote these students' bilingual abilities. [More] Descriptors: Immersion Programs, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, State Policy
(1998). High Standards. IDRA Focus. This theme issue presents an overview of the standards movement, and examines some difficulties in implementing high standards in an equitable manner for all students. "Faster Than a Plymouth: Reflections on the 'Opportunity To Learn Standards'" (Bradley Scott) discusses the need to create similar experiences and opportunities for academic enrichment and support for all students, since all students are being held to the same standards of excellence and achievement. A sidebar gives a timeline of the modern standards-based reform movement. "Standards, Assessments and Accountability" (Albert Cortez) examines assumptions and realities of the standards movement and explores the challenges of implementing national and state standards at the local level. A sidebar lists five dimensions of learning incorporated in standards that reflect a comprehensive view of learning. "Standards, Tracking and the Reform of Our Public Schools" (Oanh H. Maroney) discusses societal problems that public opinion attributes to schools and the problems caused by ability grouping or tracking in standards implementation. A sidebar lists principles of equity in education. "High Achievement Zone: Reform at Work" (Olivia Evey Chapa) describes successful changes in a barrio middle school (Wynn Seale Academy of Fine Arts, Corpus Christi, Texas) as a result of academic standards. "Education Policy by Public Opinion Polls?" (Albert Cortez) points out the hidden dangers in misinterpreting public opinion polls and developing policy based on those polls, especially in bilingual education. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, Accountability, Bilingual Education, Educational Assessment
(1998). School Finance in Washington State 1997-98: Emerging Equity Concerns. Forty-six percent of Washington's state operating budget is devoted to K-12 education. This paper provides an overview of key features of Washington's school finance system. It examines sources and levels of revenues and expenditures for K-12 public education and outlines major principles of Washington's revenue distribution system. An examination of interdistrict equity of state aid distribution during the period 1974-94 reveals three emerging equity issues: (1) increased dependence on local revenue sources; (2) unknown extent to which local revenues fund basic education services; and (3) the challenge of aligning the state's finance system with the provisions of the statewide education reform effort. Additional information regarding sources of revenue and distribution is current through 1999 projections. The paper examines general and categorical revenue generation for special-education programs, Learning Assistance Programs (LAP), Transitional Bilingual Education, and school construction. Revenue distribution is looked at with respect to guidelines for distribution to school districts, the Levy Lid Act, Levy equalization aid, and distribution of state equalization aid. Emerging equity issues and their relationship to property wealth, and local levy funding, are also examined. [More] Descriptors: Educational Equity (Finance), Educational Finance, Elementary Secondary Education, Financial Policy
(1998). Perspectives and Resources for Addressing Educational Needs of Linguistically Diverse Students. Outlined are factors in effective instruction for linguistically diverse students in the public schools, particularly when those students are not enrolled in English-as-a-Second-Language or bilingual education programs but are integrated with English-proficient students in the regular classroom. The term "mainstreaming" is defined as it is applied to this population, and guiding principles for effective classroom mainstreaming are presented. Classroom instructional behaviors and techniques found to be effective in supporting the learning process of linguistically diverse students are specified, most concerning classroom communication and presentation of information. Classroom activities recommended for use with this population are listed, and common characteristics of urban children are noted. A series of useful strategies to be used individually or combined for effective instruction are detailed, and a checklist of questions the teacher can ask himself concerning the students, syllabus, instructional materials, and teaching techniques is included. Individual and classroom factors affecting second language acquisition are described, and considerations in assessment are examined. [More] Descriptors: Access to Education, Bilingual Education Programs, Class Activities, Classroom Techniques
(2016). "Cultivando Confianza": A Bilingual Community of Practice Negotiates Restrictive Language Policies, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Drawing from an ethnographic study of how one school community negotiates English-only policy in Arizona, we investigated how a bilingual community of practice was established at one school. Integral to establishing this bilingual community was the mobilization of Spanish-speaking families in the school's daily life and operation. This school-parent mutual engagement cultivated feelings of "confianza," or trust, between educators and families, and ultimately facilitated the use of parent waivers to opt out of the state's mandated English-only program. Implications include the significance of establishing bilingual communities of practice and the need to engage the entire school community, especially families, in policy negotiation. [More] Descriptors: Communities of Practice, Bilingual Education, Language Planning, Ethnography
(1998). The Verbal Academic Self-Concept Structure of University Students in a Colonial Population. A study examined the verbal (Chinese and English) self-concepts of 274 university students in Hong Kong 3 months after the end of the colonial era. The students' self-concepts in Chinese, their native language (L1), and in English, a second language (L2), were measured by two domain-specific academic self-concept scales, and were found to be two distinct constructs. The data were then tested against an internal/external frame of reference model of self-concept development that has served as a possible explanation of self-concept formation in verbal and math domains but has not been tested in the bilingual education context where the medium of instruction is the L2. Structural equation models relating Chinese and English achievement to Chinese and English self-concepts partly replicated the model. The paths leading from prior achievement to subsequent self-concept in matching language domains were positive and significant, indicating a strong external comparison with other students in forming self-concepts. However, the paths leading from prior achievement to subsequent self-concept in non-matching domains were negative, indicating that higher prior English achievement had a significant negative impact on formation of L1 self-concept. Implications are discussed. Contains 20 references. [More] Descriptors: Chinese, College Students, Colonialism, Comparative Analysis
(1998). Title VII REFORMs: Rethinking Education for Minority Students. Evaluation Report, 1997-98. Publication Number 97.19. In 1997-98, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) (Texas) received a 2-year Title VII Enhancement Grant to serve limited-English-proficient (LEP) students and their teachers at Fulmore Middle School. The Rethinking Education for Minority Students (REFORMs) grant was intended to enhance the existing English-as-a-Second-Language/Transitional Bilingual Education (ESL/TBE) Program through professional development, materials acquisition, and parent education. An evaluation shows that 29 teachers participated in at least 30 hours of professional development, and 24 of 26 tested teachers earned ESL certification, meaning that more than half of Fulmore's teachers have ESL certification. Professional development was facilitated through a variety of traditional and nontraditional activities. Fifty-four parents participated in adult ESL/General Education Development test activities, and seven parents participated in monthly meetings. In 1997-98, LEP students had higher percentage passing rates on four of nine comparisons from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, and project students in grades 6 through 8 scored at or near the national median on a Spanish test of content knowledge in mathematics, social studies, and science. Student attendance and dropout rates were also better than for comparable schools in the district. Recommendations are made for program improvement. Appendixes contain the professional development model, a description of professional development materials, and supplementary instructional materials. An outline of second-year activities is also attached. (Contains 11 tables.) [More] Descriptors: Achievement Tests, Adult Education, Attendance, Bilingual Education
(2000). Preparing Limited English Proficient Persons for the Workplace. ERIC Digest No. 215. This digest describes cultural considerations and effective approaches for limited English proficient (LEP) individuals' workforce development, including the impact of recent training legislation. LEP persons often come from both a different language background and a very different cultural background; so English-language instruction must provide cultural and linguistic orientation. Four specific cultural factors may influence learner and teacher in the classroom: roles of learners and teachers; gender-related issues; appropriate topics for instruction; and appropriate behavior at school. One set of instructional approaches is used to provide English-language instruction: English as a second language (ESL), vocational ESL, and workplace literacy programs. Approaches to content-area instruction are bilingual/bicultural education, multilingual/multicultural approaches,"sheltered" content instruction, immersion, and submersion. Changes under the 1998 Perkins Act are provisions balancing greater state flexibility in administering, allocating federal funds with greater accountability for results, and allowing state and local agencies and programs increased flexibility. Given the Workforce Investment Act's (WIA's) recognition of the need for basic literacy, recurring aspects of the WIA system could be of benefit to LEP individuals, including Core Services and Training Services. (Contains 16 references.) [More] Descriptors: Adult Education, Bilingual Education, English (Second Language), Federal Legislation
(2000). Language and Literacy Development in Children Who Are Deaf. Second Edition. This text provides preservice and inservice teachers with comprehensive information regarding how children who are deaf learn to use language in face-to-face communication, reading, and writing. Individual chapters address the following topics: (1) acquisition of linguistic knowledge in the child who is deaf, language goals for classroom instruction, techniques for using informal approaches and formal tests to assess language, and development of individualized language goals; (2) language as a curricular base on which the full school day is organized, methods of embedding each child's language goals into daily learning experiences, teaching models and strategies, the use of conversation, interdisciplinary curriculum, and issues surrounding bilingual/bicultural education; (3) rationale for using whole language principles, current views of reading and writing development, and reading materials that can enhance literacy development; (4) link between theory and practice concerning literacy development, and literacy teaching activities; (5) strategies for helping children with deafness read and write in the content areas, including reading and study strategies, use of organizers and overviews, and the role of writing across the curriculum; (6) assessment in reading and writing, including portfolio assessment, informal approaches, and standardized tests; and (7) the role of parents. Lists of suggested readings accompany each chapter. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Communication Skills, Content Area Reading, Content Area Writing
(1998). Transforming Classroom Practice. The Best of ASCD's "Update" Newsletters. A consistent lesson from the literature on school change is that no single method exists for improving schools. In that spirit, this book presents a collection of short articles that address a wide sampling of ideas and trends in educational change. All the articles were originally published in "Education Update," the official member newsletter of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and "Curriculum Update," a quarterly supplement focusing on trends and issues in curriculums. The volume is divided into 12 parts. It focuses on bilingual education and English as a Second Language programs, with discussions on keeping native languages alive; character and values education and the importance of morality and service; conflict resolution, constructivism, and the need for problem-based learning; early childhood education, which includes strategies for supporting families and teaching young children; inclusion; ways to integrate the curriculum; multicultural education and choosing multicultural literature; multiple intelligences; strategies for preparing students for the workplace, such as school-to-work programs and tech-prep programs; thinking skills; and tips on moving students out of tracking programs. Numerous examples of schools that are initiating changes are provided throughout the text. Descriptors: Change Strategies, Classroom Environment, Constructivism (Learning), Early Childhood Education