This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Peter Martin, Nirmala Bhojani, Elaine Mo, Lisa Von Drasek, Geeta Ludhra, Renee Hayes, Angela Creese, Catherine Snow, Diane August, and Arvind Bhatt.
(2005). Teaching with Children's Books–Bi the Book, Teaching Pre K-8. In this article, the author presents the bilingual books suggested by Pistu Downey, a bilingual teacher that teaches Spanish to kids ages three to six at the Bank Street College School for Children. Downey claims that reading bilingual books–books that contain words in languages other than English–gives children a very good opportunity of exposure to multiple languages. Teachers who have bilingual and multilingual books in their classrooms are sending the message that they acknowledge the importance of those languages and home cultures. These teachers, by exposing their students to different alphabets and words, are also raising awareness of diversity for the English speakers in their classrooms. In addition, a selection of Web resources for teaching bilingual reading is presented. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Web Sites, Teaching Methods, Childrens Literature
(2005). Mother Tongue-Based Teaching and Education for Girls: Advocacy Brief. Background: A linguistic mismatch between school and community creates problems in both access to school services and the quality of those services. Consideration of mother tongue is the key for making schools more inclusive for girls. Purpose: To argue that education in mother tongue results in making schools more inclusive for disadvantaged groups, especially girls and women. Findings: The use of mother tongue is linked to improvements in girls' participation in education. To make these links more solid, researchers should collect data on school enrolment, repetition, dropout and graduation that clearly differentiate between boys and girls. Conclusion: Using the mother tongue for teaching and learning does not in itself equalize opportunities for female learners, but it does improve conditioners for all learners, especially girls. Citation: Mother tongue-based teaching and education for girls: advocacy brief. Bangkok, UNESCO, 2005. 10p. [This document was produced by the Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, UNESCO.] [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Language of Instruction, Females, Disadvantaged
(2008). Conveying the "Right" Kind of Message: Planning for the First Language and Culture within the Primary Classroom, English Teaching: Practice and Critique. This school-based reflective narrative explores how one inner London primary school raised their awareness of the language needs of Advanced Bilingual Learners (ABL) through an emphasis on developing and celebrating pupils' first language skills alongside English. It stresses the central role of the teacher in planning language learning environments which empower pupils to talk confidently in their first language without feeling marginalised. In this setting, no one language is viewed as being of a lower status than the other. This paper outlines the teacher's role in crafting this process by building on pupils' social and cultural experiences. It further highlights the role of senior management in developing a whole-school ethos which promotes linguistic and cultural diversity, where the identities of multilingual pupils are nurtured. Evidence was collected through participant observation work conducted over a one-year period. The study was predominantly focused within a Year Six classroom (pupils aged between 10-11 years) in a multicultural school where the majority of pupils had Punjabi as their first language. At the time of the study, the school operated within the support framework and principles of a DfES (Department for Education and Skills) National Pilot Project within the UK (2004-2006). The national project was designed to promote a heightened awareness of strategies to support ABL at Key Stage Two (pupils between 7-11 years). [More] Descriptors: Multilingualism, Cultural Pluralism, Students, Participant Observation
(2016). Implementing 15 Essential Elements for High Quality: A State and Local Policy Scan, National Institute for Early Education Research. This report explores the extent to which states (and several large cities) are positioned to provide high quality preschool education on a large scale. States and cities that are already doing so or that could do so with modest improvements offer opportunities for advocacy to advance access to high quality early education as well as for rigorous research on the outcomes of these programs. Research in such states and cities also could help to identify with more specificity the policies and conditions associated with strong educational outcomes for children. The framework for this assessment of state capacity consists of "15 essential elements" of high-quality pre-K identified by Jim Minervino based on a research review and case studies. Minervino concluded that all of these elements must be present to a considerable extent for high quality pre-K to be implemented at scale. From this perspective, each element should not be expected to contribute independently to pre-K effectiveness. These authors believe that their assessments of the extent to which each element is present in each state will be useful to those concerned with pre-K whether or not they fully agree with this perspective. Forty-one states, D.C. and three other large cities with established pre-kindergarten programs were assessed. For each state (or program within a state) the report presents an overview of the state, a table listing the conclusions regarding each element, and the evidence that was the basis for the authors' judgment on each element. The 15 elements are organized into three sections. The first is the "enabling environment," which includes two elements that were among the most difficult to assess: political will and the capacity of preschool's administering agency to provide vision and strong leadership. The second is "rigorous, articulated early learning policies," and it has eight elements, most of which were relatively straightforward to judge. The third is "strong program practices" and contains 5 elements. This last group of elements was the most difficult to assess, as they are rated based on actual implementation, and this requires information that is not always available. The 15 essential elements are: (1) Political will including support from political leadership and, more rarely, judicial mandates; (2) A compelling vision and strong leadership from early learning leaders; (3) Well-educated (BA & ECE expertise) and well-compensated teachers (K-12 pay parity); (4) Adult-child ratio of at least 1:11; (5) At least a full school day is provided to ensure adequate dosage; (6) Two (or more) adult teaching staff in each classroom; (7) Appropriate early learning standards for preschoolers; (8) Effective curriculum that has systemic support; (9) Strong supports for education of special needs children in inclusive settings; (10) Strong supports for dual language learners; (11) High quality teaching; (12) Child assessments that are appropriate and used to inform instruction; (13) Data-driven decision-making and independent evaluation; (14) Professional development (PD) to improve individual teacher performance; and (15) Integrated systems of standards, curriculum, assessment, PD, and evaluation. [More] Descriptors: Preschool Education, Educational Quality, Educational Improvement, Educational Policy
(2006). Interculturality for Afro-Peruvians: Towards a Racially Inclusive Education in Peru, International Education Journal. Intercultural education policy and programs in Peru emerged as a response to the right of education for marginalised indigenous populations. Under the influence of international dialogue regarding education for all, Peruvian policy has recently proposed interculturality as a guiding principle of education for all Peruvians. In this context, institutions advocating for the rights of people of African descent are proposing intercultural education as a right for Afro-Peruvian marginalised populations. This paper discusses the challenges facing interculturality and racially inclusive education in Peru. [More] [More] Descriptors: Multicultural Education, Inclusive Schools, Indigenous Populations, Foreign Countries
(2008). A Cross-Linguistic Investigation of English Language Learners' Reading Comprehension in English and Spanish, Scientific Studies of Reading. This study investigated the associations of oral language and reading skills with a sample of 282 Spanish-speaking English language learners across 3 years of elementary school. In the 3rd grade, the English and Spanish decoding measures formed two distinct but highly related factors, and the English and Spanish oral language measures formed two factors that showed a small positive correlation between them. The decoding and oral language factors were used to predict the sample's English and Spanish reading comprehension in the 6th grade. The decoding and oral language factors were both significant predictors of reading comprehension in both languages. The within-language effects were larger than the cross-language effects and the cross-language effects were not significant after accounting for the within-language effects. [More] Descriptors: Reading Comprehension, Oral Language, Second Language Learning, Correlation
(2005). Conversation, Negotiation, and the Word as Deed: Linguistic Interaction in a Dual Language Program, Linguistics and Education: An International Research Journal. In dual language programs, children who speak a majority language are grouped with children who speak a minority language, and instruction is delivered in both languages. This focus on structural rather than instructional design can lead to a recipe approach to design: add the ingredients (native-speaking children, content language instruction) in the proper amounts and expect the desired product (bilingual children). However, a certain type of linguistically mediated interaction is implicit in the equation, since children with different language proficiencies are expected to guide each other in the mutual process of language acquisition. The teacher is faced with the task of fostering these interactions. Based on a year-long ethnographic study of a dual language Kindergarten classroom, this paper describes and analyzes one teacher's efforts to design a physical environment to afford children's Spanish language conversation, the failure of these efforts, and the unexpected emergence of conversation through conflict and negotiation. [More] Descriptors: Spanish, Kindergarten, Interaction, Second Language Learning
(2008). The Effects of an Infant-Feeding Classroom Activity on the Breast-Feeding Knowledge and Intentions of Adolescents, Journal of School Nursing. This study examined the impact of an infant-feeding classroom activity on the breast-feeding knowledge and intentions of adolescents living in Nova Scotia, Canada. One hundred twenty-one students attending two high schools were administered one pretest and two posttest questionnaires. Students were arbitrarily assigned to a control or intervention group. The intervention group partook in a 60-minute classroom activity on infant feeding. Findings indicated that students in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater breast-feeding knowledge at Posttest 1 and at 10 weeks postintervention. Students in the intervention group reported a significantly greater intention toward breast-feeding their own future children; an increase was sustained at 10 weeks. These findings suggest that adolescents' knowledge of and intention toward breast-feeding may be positively influenced during their teen years. School nurses are well positioned to support and encourage the inclusion of breast-feeding content in school curricula to enhance adolescents' knowledge and intentions toward breast-feeding. [More] Descriptors: Intervention, School Nurses, Bilingual Education, Intention
(2006). Report: The Japanese Bilingual Program at Huntingdale Primary School, Melbourne, Babel. Over a period of twenty years, Japanese language teaching has firmly established itself within primary school programs in most Australian States and Territories. Today the question is how to develop Japanese language education further in innovative ways suitable for learners' needs in the 21st century. In this report, the author examines the bilingual approach to primary Japanese language education through the case of Huntingdale Primary Bilingual School in Melbourne. [More] Descriptors: Japanese, Bilingualism, Foreign Countries, Educational Needs
(2006). Managing Bilingual Interaction in a Gujarati Complementary School in Leicester, Language and Education. This paper focuses on teacher-student interaction in two Gujarati complementary school classrooms in one school in the East Midlands city of Leicester, UK. To date, little work has been published on interaction in complementary schools, and little is therefore known about the cultures of learning and teaching in such contexts. Our study of complementary schools in Leicester has shown how the classroom participants manage bilingualism and bilingual learning and teaching. One of the most noticeable features of the discourses of the two classrooms is the way two languages are juxtaposed to create learning opportunities. This uncontested use of two languages through the pedagogic strategy of code-switching goes against the perceived notion of bilingual learning/teaching as being a deficient strategy. Classrooms in complementary schools offer a highly significant, though under-researched, context in which to study language choice, and specifically the multilingual experiences of classroom participants. By exploring the educational pedagogies and classroom discourses, it is the aim of the paper to extend theoretical insights into the way complementary schools might help to transform, negotiate and manage the linguistic, social and learning identities of the participants in the classroom. [More] Descriptors: Indo European Languages, Teacher Student Relationship, Bilingualism, Bilingual Education
(2008). Children's Development and Societal Divisions, NHSA Dialog. Everyone in the United States lives in multiple worlds including work, home, community, school, and social and religious groups. Individuals also have a number of identities and behavioral repertoires that shift among contexts. However, some children and families experience more discontinuities between school and home than others. These gaps are exacerbated when children are targets of negative stereotypes and assumptions. Moreover, resources among groups vary enormously; while some parents are able to provide their children with an abundance of material goods and opportunities, others struggle to raise theirs in extreme financial and material deprivation. In this article, the author examined various research and theories on child development. The author divided the research review by specific social divisions, namely, race, economics, culture, gender, and ability differences. As long as these patterns of advantage and disadvantage remain deeply imbedded in the society, efforts to create equity in schools will have a limited effect. [More] Descriptors: Religious Cultural Groups, Poverty, Stereotypes, Child Development
(2005). Across the Divide: Teaching a Transnational MBA in a Second Language, Higher Education Research and Development. China is a growing market for the provision of transnational programs. However, there are many challenges associated with providing good–quality learning opportunities while ensuring cost-effectiveness, particularly in bilingual programs. This paper describes the experience of business academics teaching a postgraduate MBA program in Mandarin to students located in China. The academics found that their attempts to provide an effective teaching/learning environment while teaching through translators led to many additional challenges, including increased rigidity of teaching processes and difficulties in monitoring learning outcomes. The paper identifies some ways in which staff teaching transnationally might be supported, while also suggesting that teaching across a language divide needs to be carefully considered before universities venture into this complex educational setting. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Teacher Effectiveness, Mandarin Chinese, Bilingual Education Programs
(2005). Students with Visual Impairments in a Dual-Language Program: A Case Study, Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. Dual-language education, or dual immersion, is an educational model that is used in public school districts in the United States to provide education to English-speaking and non-English-speaking children with the goal of having each group of students learn a second language. Over the past 30 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of dual-language programs in the United States. The increasing number of dual-language programs and the benefits that have been shown from attending these programs were the motivating factors for this study. The goal of the study was to examine how students who are visually impaired (that is, are blind or have low vision) can be successfully included in a dual-language program, the necessary factors for the students' success, and the benefits they can derive from participation. [More] Descriptors: Visual Impairments, Immersion Programs, Second Language Instruction, Public Schools
(2008). Building the Bridge as You Walk on It: Didactic Behaviors of Elementary Teachers in a Dual Language Program, Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies. While there is evidence that the dual language model has the potential to raise the academic achievement of English language learners (ELLs), the policies mandated through the No Child Left Behind Act do not support maintenance of the student's heritage language which is an integral part of the model. Using symbolic interactionism as a framework, this study explored the experiences of dual language elementary teachers as they operate under the authority of current educational policy. The findings, presented as a concept model, reveal the didactic behaviors exhibited by teachers and suggest a dynamic process of negotiation is at work which informs their professional identities. [More] Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Second Language Learning, Educational Policy, English (Second Language)
(2006). The Influences of Language of Literacy Instruction and Vocabulary on the Spelling of Spanish-English Bilinguals, Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. The relation of language of instruction and vocabulary to the English spelling of bilingual first graders receiving either English or Spanish literacy instruction and of monolinguals in English literacy instruction was explored. Only bilingual students in Spanish literacy instruction (SLI) exhibited Spanish-influenced spelling, indicating a powerful effect of language of literacy instruction. SLI without English literacy instruction (ELI) may be a prerequisite for the appearance of Spanish influences in English spelling. Spanish-influenced spelling appears to be a normal developmental phenomenon only for those bilingual first graders who have received no ELI. The students in ELI, on average, wrote more orthographically plausible English pseudowords than students in SLI, indicating that the students in SLI simply had not yet learned conventional spelling patterns in English. In addition, children with good Spanish vocabulary showed more Spanish-influenced spelling, while English vocabulary predicted more orthographically plausible English spellings. The relationship between English vocabulary and English spelling was similar for children instructed in Spanish and English. English vocabulary and literacy instruction both made unique, positive contributions to English pseudo-word spelling, while Spanish literacy instruction played a more important role than Spanish vocabulary in the production of Spanish-influenced spelling in English. [More] Descriptors: Literacy Education, Language of Instruction, Bilingual Education, Vocabulary