This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Silver Spring Comsis Corp., Diana L. Duque, Virginia Jama, Barry E. Quimper, Mary Savelsbergh, David W. Stewart, Lou Ferroli, Barbara Ann O'Kelly, Timothy Shanahan, and Richard N. Claus.
(1992). The Quality of Life for Hispanics in Michigan. A Report of Hearings Conducted by the Michigan Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs, July 10-August 7, 1990. There was general agreement among the more than 200 people testifying at hearings held by the Michigan Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs in the summer of 1990 that the quality of life is lower for Hispanic Americans in Michigan than for the population as a whole. Hispanic Americans lag in average educational attainment, high school graduation rates, college attendance, and occupational status, and they have the poorest attendance, the lowest scores in state and national achievement examinations, and the highest dropout rate. They are denied access to remedial and accelerated programs and are cut off from bilingual education after 3 years. Of the total Michigan enrollment in higher education, Hispanic Americans represent only 1.54 percent and attain only 0.94 percent of the bachelor's degrees. Improving the quality of the education offered to this ethnic group can begin with systems to obtain more information about the educational needs of Hispanic Americans. Among the many specific recommendations for improvement in elementary and secondary school are more Hispanic role models (teachers and administrators) in school systems, better dropout prevention, better bilingual programs, some language immersion programs, improved teacher education for cultural sensitivity, and improved curricula and funding. Three tables present findings from the hearings. An appendix gives enrollment and graduation rates for Hispanic Americans in the Michigan public university system. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Access to Education, Achievement Tests, Bilingual Education
(1992). Deaf Literacy Program. Final Section 353 Project Report Summary. Fiscal Year 1992. The Deaf Adult Literacy program was created to meet the educational needs of deaf and hearing-impaired adult learners. The program was structured by an advisory committee of learners and teachers and was based on a model of bilingual education. All instruction was provided in American Sign Language (ASL) by teachers who were themselves deaf-native speakers of ASL. The curriculum emphasized basic academic skills, and its primary objective was to improve deaf adults' skills in using print and print media for purposes of communication and self-expression, gathering information, and accessing community and employment-related resources. During the program, 33 learners made significant progress in their ability to perform basic academic skills as measured by assessment instruments developed at Gallaudet University. Participation rates remained high throughout the program year. The participants produced a newsletter called "The Deaf Connection." The program has received endorsements and support by a broad coalition of community leaders, deaf persons, and providers of services to the adult deaf community. (This document includes a profile of the program, a working paper describing its instructional strategies and materials, a group evaluation, and a copy of the student newsletter.) [More] Descriptors: Adult Basic Education, Adult Literacy, American Sign Language, Basic Skills
(1993). Bilingual Beginnings: An Evaluation of the Title VII Special Populations Preschool Program. Final Report. In fiscal year 1990, the Bilingual Education Special Populations Program of the Department of Education awarded grants to 30 programs serving children of limited English proficiency. These programs were preschool projects, special education projects, or projects that served gifted children. This document reports the results of a survey, conducted by means of site visits and telephone interviews, of 15 of these programs. Chapter 1 describes the issues examined in the survey and explains the data collection process. Chapter 2 reports the survey results relating to six areas: (1) project goals, including goals for children's language development, cognitive skills, and school readiness, and for parents and staff; (2) project operation and services, including recruitment, enrollment, group size, retention, instructional methods, language usage, materials and equipment, noninstructional services, and parent involvement; (3) project linkages with educational institutions and the community; (4) project staff, including staffing patterns, child-staff ratio, and instructor characteristics and training; (5) participant evaluation, including evaluation of the progress of participating children, children's language development, and analysis of kindergarten enrollment; and (6) fiscal operations. Chapter 3 discusses the implications for policymakers and program managers of survey results that relate to project operations, services, and fiscal operations. Appendixes include tables of data for preschool projects not reported in the document and detailed profiles of the 15 projects surveyed. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Enrollment, Financial Support, Gifted
(1992). Voicing in Spanish to English Spelling Knowledge Transfer. A study investigated spelling error patterns in native Spanish-speaking students of English as a Second Language to determine the degree to which errors can be attributed to phonological patterns. Specifically, it examined (1) which spellings can be attributed to differences in voicedness of consonants, and (2) whether the voicedness can be used to identify a progression of spelling strategies that characterize Spanish-influenced English spelling. Subjects were 47 second- and third-grade children in a transitional bilingual education program just beginning to receive English instruction. Spelling proficiency in English and Spanish was pre-tested with 18-word developmental spelling tests, then weekly spelling samples were collected over 20 weeks. Five new words incorporating key spelling features were included with regular spelling words each week. Patterns of individual phonemes and corresponding spelling were analyzed. Results indicate that whatever conceptual knowledge children had of the spelling system in their native language was applied to English. The need to attend to voicedness in English spelling, not an issue in Spanish, remained problematic for students. A sequence of four spelling strategies was identified and implications for classroom spelling instruction are drawn. Analysis results are appended.(Contains 12 references.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Classroom Techniques, Elementary School Students, English (Second Language)
(1993). Harmony in Career Learning and Scholastic System (Project HI-CLASS). Final Evaluation Report 1992-93. OREA Report. Harmony in Career Learning and Scholastic System (Project HI-CLASS) was a Transitional Bilingual Education Title VII-funded program in its fifth and final year in 1992-93. The project offered instructional and support services to 641 students of limited English proficiency (LEP) at three sites, all of which had many immigrant students, in Manhattan and Queens (New York). Project HI-CLASS provided individualized instruction focusing on basic skills, career development, and preoccupational training, with instruction in English as a second language (ESL) and native language arts. Bilingual instruction was offered for content areas. A summer program for remediation, staff development, ESL and high school equivalency classes for parents, and a Parent Advisory Committee were additional program components. The program met many of its objectives, but it did not meet some objectives with regard to ESL, native language arts, and some content areas. The project director reported that the instructional objectives were unreasonably high, and because the program was in its final year no recommendations were made. Eleven tables present evaluation findings. Three appendixes describe instructional materials and schedules and present evaluation questionnaires. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Career Development, Educational Objectives, English (Second Language)
(1993). Immigration and Education: The Crisis and the Opportunities. This book describes and analyzes the educational and training needs of immigrants in the new and distinctive inflow that currently characterizes immigration to the United States, and the effects of pressures exerted by the newcomers upon institutions and agencies of education and training that are often unprepared for the task that is being presented to them. Twenty chapters discuss the following topics: the history of immigration in the United States; the dynamics of immigration; immigration law; immigrant education and the courts; refugees' special needs and issues in education; educating illegal and newly legal immigrants; pressures on schools; programs that respond creatively to immigrant children's educational needs; teaching in a multicultural population; adult education for immigrants; learning English as a Second Language; bilingual education; the politics of language in education; immigrants and higher education; financing immigrant education; the politics of immigration and education; and diversity, unity, and opportunity in educating immigrants. A central theme of the volume is the immigrants' commitment to the values of democracy and the importance to the nation's democratic future that immigrants' educational needs be met. Contains over 200 references. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Adult Education, Bilingual Education, Children
(1991). Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation. Ultimately, Hispanic Americans will choose whether they wish to become part of the larger American society, or remain separate from it, but public policy can and does influence that choice. Chapters 1 and 2 show how public policy in the form of two federal laws, the Bilingual Education Act and the Voting Rights Act, encouraged Hispanics to reject assimilation. Chapter 3 describes how the organizations involving in promoting policies favoring separatism evolved, and how groups outside the Hispanic community influenced the process. Chapter 4 considers the backlash that developed as Hispanic leaders continued to push for special treatment, including protected language rights for Hispanics. The second half of the book deals with the present conditions of Hispanics living in the United States. Chapter 5 shows that native-born Hispanics are moving into the economic mainstream and explains why most analysts fail to recognize this phenomenon. Chapter 6 describes Hispanic immigration patterns; and chapter 7 examines why Puerto Ricans are failing to advance, and what role public policy has played in discouraging Puerto Rican achievement. The concluding chapter outlines why Hispanics must adapt to a new politics of assimilation. Hispanics can mimic the success of other ethnic groups in becoming full participants in this nation, but only if they heed the lessons of the past. Descriptors: Acculturation, Bilingual Education, Cultural Differences, Economic Factors
(1993). COMSIS. Mid-Atlantic Multifunctional Resource Center. Contract Year One, 1992-1993. Annual Report. This report describes major activities of the Mid-Atlantic Multifunctional Resource Center (MRC) during 1992-1993. Chapter 1 includes a state by state description of the service area (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia). A description of the MRC and staff and other resources used to facilitate the implementation of the service delivery plan is also provided. Chapter 2 describes major accomplishments and the progress made in collecting and sharing information with other MRCs in the area of developmental bilingual education programs. The following environmental issues are discussed in chapter 3: the effects of budget cuts on funding, increasing diversity of ethnic and language groups creating a shift from urban communities to rural areas, and increased interest in national goals and standards. Appended are a Summary report of Training and Technical Assistance, the program for a regional workshop, the program from a superintendents' workshop, an MRC evaluation form and service feedback form, and an impact of MRC services form. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Demography, Federal Programs, Language Research
(1987). The Bilingual Test Information System. A resource is presented for those who work in bilingual education and who are involved in test selection. Initial information is provided regarding tests that might be used for student identification, placement and diagnosis, progress monitoring, exiting decisions, and program evaluation purposes. No endorsement or recommendation is implied and no test should be selected based on these reviews. An overview of testing and test selection discusses: the importance of testing in program evaluation; functions of norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests; and four categories of test summaries. Test reviews are grouped in four categories: standardized achievement; standardized placement or diagnostic; oral language proficiency; and affective. The individual test summaries, when completed, will provide the following information as appropriate and available: (1) descriptive information about the category; (2) test description; (3) test structure; (4) language skills chart; (5) test administration; (6) norming information; (7) scoring information; (8) out-of-level testing; (9) equivalent tests; and (10) sources for test documentation information. This document contains a complete overview, and information on 12 standardized achievement tests, one standardized placement/diagnostic test, and 6 oral language proficiency tests. [More] Descriptors: Achievement Tests, Affective Measures, Bilingual Education, Criterion Referenced Tests
(1992). State Bilingual and ECIA Chapter 1 Migrant Product Evaluation Report, 1991-92. The State Bilingual Education Program and the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 Migrant Education Program are used to meet the special education needs of bilingual and migrant students in the Saginaw (Michigan) city school district. These programs operated at 24 elementary schools, 4 junior high schools, and 2 high schools during the 1991-92 school year, the sixth year that students in both programs were assessed in reading and mathematics using the California Achievement Tests (CAT) for program evaluation purposes. Approximately 855 students in kindergarten through grade 12 participated in the 1991-92 program. State bilingual results show a decrease from the previous year in the percent of grade levels meeting performance standards in both reading and mathematics, with a 25 percentage point decline in reading, to 41.7 percent, and a 34.8 percentage point decline in mathematics, to 34.8 percent. Migrant results also show a decrease from the previous year, although much smaller, in the percent of grade levels meeting the standard. When reading data were examined by objective from the CAT, students in both programs show a decline from the previous year. Recommendations for program improvement are grouped into four general areas: (1) reduce program variations between sites; (2) increase parent participation; (3) increase and improve teacher inservice training; and (4) consider establishing a centralized site for program services. Ten tables summarize evaluation findings. Five appendixes, with 25 additional tables, add information about program procedures and student achievement. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Compensatory Education, Educational Improvement, Elementary Secondary Education
(1995). Meeting Changing Rural Needs: Recruitment and Preparation of Culturally Diverse Specialist Cadres in an Award Winning Rural Internship Program. California State University (CSU) at Chico developed a teacher credentialing program to provide culturally diverse, certified special education teachers for 12 rural counties in northern California. These counties are sparsely populated; include remote areas with difficult access; and contain large Hmong, Meo, American Indian, and Hispanic populations. The CSU-Chico program focuses on recruitment, training, and placement of trainees from underrepresented ethnic minorities as special educators that can meet the needs of rural multiethnic multilingual pupils with disabilities. Highlights of the program include integration of knowledge and skill bases of special education, bilingual education, and general education; early field experiences and career exploration; group or cadre affiliation; research-based instruction; student teaching under the guidance of a professional role model; and mentoring during teacher induction. Application requirements are rigorous, but culturally diverse students are eligible for substantial scholarships. After meeting special education prerequisites, students begin a three-semester credentialing program. Each semester consists of 16 credit hours of coursework plus field experience at a practicum training site. Students may then be hired as teacher interns within the 12 counties, have mentor support, and have 5 years to complete a fourth semester of coursework. Includes an outline of program requirements. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, College Programs, College School Cooperation, Elementary Secondary Education
(1992). Federal Language Policy and American Indian Education. Revised. In the past 25 years, American Indian education has undergone tremendous changes in both content (curriculum and pedagogy) and context (institutional framework). Centered on the issue of control, changes at both levels have resulted from a dynamic interplay between federal language policy and local initiatives. The federal Bilingual Education Act (BEA) of 1968 (Title VII) supported nearly 70 Native American projects by 1978. The Rough Rock Demonstration School on the Navajo Reservation was the first Indian-controlled school to teach through and about the Native language and culture. Title VII grants supported Rough Rock and other Navajo schools in forming a center to produce Navajo instructional materials. The program brought university courses directly to Rough Rock, facilitating the certification of large numbers of Navajo teachers. For smaller indigenous groups, bilingual programs such as the Hualapai project at Peach Springs (Arizona) public school not only improved the education of Indian children, but also halted the process of language extinction and generated major structural transformations in Indian education. BEA funds also fostered the evolution of 16 multifunctional resource centers, which have grown into a national university-based network providing training and technical assistance to Indian bilingual programs. There is now a political power base in this cadre of Indian education professionals. It is influencing local-level curricular change, tribal language policies, and federal policies. Contains 38 references. [More] Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian Education, American Indian Languages, Bilingual Education
(1992). Integrating English as a Second Language Instruction with the Regular Elementary and Middle School Curriculum: Can It Work?. A discussion of elementary and middle school curriculum design to meet the needs of students learning English as a Second Language (ESL) focuses on the ways in which ESL instruction can be incorporated into the curriculum. It begins with a brief review of statistics on the population of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in the schools and their educational needs. Several options for organizing programs are described, including transitional bilingual education programs, pull-out ESL instruction, and self-contained ESL classrooms. All are seen as segregating LEP students from their peers. The rationale for "bridge" programs combining ESL with content area instruction is explained and considerations in "bridge" curriculum design are reviewed. Grouping issues are also addressed, including the advantages and disadvantages of homogeneous, heterogeneous, and cooperative learning groups. Computer-assisted instruction is discussed briefly. Finally, one integrated primary school program that has the ESL teacher preparing LEP students for curriculum topics a week in advance of the rest of the class is described. It is concluded that certain strategies are particularly promising for productive mainstreaming, including computer-assisted instruction, bilingual and pull-out programs, the whole language approach to English teaching, and cooperative learning. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Case Studies, Computer Assisted Instruction, Curriculum Design
(1989). Socio-Cultural and Linguistic Integration of the Children of Migrant and Former Migrant Workers. Meeting of Specialists, Final Report. Proceedings (Bled, Yugoslavia, June 7-11, 1989). This report summarizes a meeting of national managers of experimental projects designed to encourage the socio-cultural and linguistic integration or reintegration of children of migrant workers and former migrant workers. The report describes the procedures of the meeting and presents experimental projects undertaken in three host countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) and in three countries of origin (Greece, Portugal, and Yugoslavia). It also briefly summarizes participants' reports on activities and experiences in their respective countries and organizations. Projects and reports focus on the renewal of teaching methods, the production of innovative teaching materials, the training of teachers responsible for multicultural classes, and improvement of relationships among schools, parents, and cultural associations. The report summarizes trends and views relating to bilingual education, cultural diversity, cultural adaptation, and cultural identity. The report lists specific recommendations for UNESCO, the host countries, and the countries of origin in collaboration with UNESCO. Appendices include a list of participants, a list of papers contributed, an agenda of the meeting, and a summary of the 1973-85 UNESCO educational program for migrant workers and their families. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Cultural Differences, Elementary Education, Experimental Programs
(1994). Special Issues Analysis Center Annual Report: Year Two. Volumes 1-7. The Special Issues Analysis Center (SIAC), as a technical support center, provides assistance to the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) of the Department of Education. Its purpose is to support OBEMLA in serving the needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. In this role, SIAC carries out data entry and database development, data analysis and reporting, database management design, design of project accountability systems, and policy-related research and special issues papers. This report describes activities carried out by SIAC in the second year of its contract. It consists of seven volumes: (1) an executive summary and a review of nine task accomplishments; (2) compilations of data on populations served by Title VII programs–"short turnaround reports 18-41"; (3) a summary of information submitted by state education agencies on LEP persons served and available services; (4) a review and analysis of estimates of the LEP student population, a manual for teachers, and data on characteristics of secondary-school-age language minority and limited-English-proficient youth; (5) a biennial report to Congress on the Emergency Immigrant Education Act program and a report on the status of the program; (6) a study of assessment practices for LEP students; and (7) and findings of a study of school district master plans for improving services to LEP students. [More] Descriptors: Annual Reports, Bilingual Education, Databases, Educational Improvement