This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Jerry Lipka, Drew Lent, Ina Jensen, Te Tuhi Robust, Stephen Rodriguez, Ruth Rechis, Jon Allan Reyhner, Lorie Brush, Kaye W. Nelson, and Stephen Provasnik.
(2002). Learning through Drama. This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. The chapter describes the ECDC's Learning through Drama program, in which children explore weekly concepts through movement and drama. Examples include movement and drama activities related to children's books, mime, field trips, geography, movies, and math, language, and science skills. The chapter includes a list of children's books. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Child Development, Child Development Centers, Childrens Literature
(2002). Language Shift among the Navajos: Identity Politics and Cultural Continuity. Despite public discourse affirming the importance of maintaining the Navajo language and despite extensive language maintenance efforts by Navajo schools, the Navajo people are experiencing a rapid shift from Navajo to English. This book draws on fieldwork conducted in the small community of Tsaile, on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona, and focuses on an ideological component in this language shift. Diverse and contradictory ideologies held by Navajo people about their subordination to the dominant American society have led to language and cultural choices and behaviors that contribute to this language situation and that will continue to erode the language. Language and cultural attitudes are organized around a dichotomy that represents the Navajos and the United States as essentialized opposites. The pervasive existence and consequences of the friction between the ideological positions represented by this dichotomy are substantiated through analysis of the contexts of language use by Navajos in their contemporary institutions, especially schools. The book suggests that the traditional Navajo paradigm valuing harmony and balance offers a way to acknowledge the conflicts and contradictions of life and to create a true and equal bilingualism/biculturalism. (Contains approximately 100 references.) Descriptors: Acculturation, American Indian Culture, American Indian Education, Bilingual Education
(2002). Nunavik: Inuit-Controlled Education in Arctic Quebec. Northern Lights Series. This book documents the debate among the Inuit of Nunavik (northern Quebec) over the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of public schools in their 14 arctic communities. The book begins with a summary of the history of education in Nunavik, including traditional Inuit methods and purposes of education. The 14 communities comprise the Kativik School Board (KSB), the first Inuit-controlled school district in Canada, which was created as part of the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) among Inuit and Cree communities and provincial and federal governments. In its first decade, KSB built new schools in all communities, designed and began a teacher education program for Inuit instructing primary grades in their own language, and developed Inuttitut curriculum materials for all grade levels. In 1989, an independent task force was established to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the education system in Nunavik. Rather than fine-tuning the existing system, the task force defined an entirely new system encompassing all regional organizations, not just the school board. The balance of the book focuses on the task force enquiry, community and school board responses, and the process of implementing task force recommendations in consultation with community members. A final chapter discusses aspects of indigenous education that might be drawn upon to strengthen Western schooling. Extensive appendices contain the education provisions of the JBNQA, task force recommendations and KSB responses, descriptions of the 14 communities, and other background documents. (Contains 51 references, an index, maps, and many photographs.) Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Canada Natives, Community Control, Educational Assessment
(2002). Use of Children's Literature in a Comprehensive School Guidance Program for Young Children. This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. Asserting that bibliotherapy, the therapeutic use of books, can play an instrumental role in comprehensive school guidance programs, this chapter describes how ECDC school counselors promoted health care literacy using children's literature as part of a comprehensive developmental guidance program for very young children. Children's stories were used to promote a more positive sense of self, to help children learn about the world, and to help children cope with stress, as well as to provide insight into problems, affirm thoughts and feelings, stimulate discussion about problems, create an awareness that others have similar problems, provide solutions to problems, communicate new values and attitudes, and to help children find meaning in life. The chapter defines comprehensive developmental school guidance programs and emphasizes practical school counseling applications for engaging children and families in health care literacy. The chapter includes a 25-item annotated bibliography of children's books, 28 references, and appendices with lesson plans for "Oh, the Places You'll Go,""The Rainbow Fish," and "Pig Will and Pig Won't." [More] Descriptors: Bibliotherapy, Bilingual Education, Books, Child Development
(2002). Indigenous Languages across the Community. Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Stabilizing Indigenous Languages (7th, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 11-14, 2000). Conference papers examine efforts by Indigenous communities, particularly Native American communities, to maintain and revitalize their languages. The 27 papers are: "Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Maori: The Language Is the Life Essence of Maori Existence" (Te Tuhi Robust); "The Preservation and Use of Our Languages: Respecting the Natural Order of the Creator" (Verna J. Kirkness); "Maori: New Zealand Latin?" (Timoti S. Karetu); "Using Indigenous Languages for Teaching and Learning in Zimbabwe" (Juliet Thondhlana); "Language Planning in a Trans-National Speech Community" (Geneva Langworthy); "The Way of the Drum: When Earth Becomes Heart" (Grafton Antone, Lois Provost Turchetti); "The Need for an Ecological Cultural Community" (Robert N. St. Clair, John A. Busch); "Building a Community Language Development Team with Quebec Naskapi" (Bill Jancewicz, Marguerite MacKenzie, George Guanish, Silas Nabinicaboo); "Methods of Madness: The Tuscarora Language Committee" (Francene Patterson); "Daghida: Cold Lake First Nation Works towards Dene Language Revitalization" (Heather Blair, Sally Rice, Valerie Wood, John Janvier); "The Jicarilla Apache Language Summer Day Camp" (Maureen Olson); "Report on the Workshop 'World of Inuktitut'" (Janet McGrath); "Awakening the Languages: Challenges of Enduring Language Programs; Field Reports from 15 Programs from Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma" (Mary S. Linn, Tessie Naranjo, Sheilah Nicholas, Inee Slaughter, Akira Yamamoto, Ofelia Zepeda); "A Native Language Immersion Program for Adults: Reflections on Year 1" (David Kanatawakhon Maracle, Merle Richards); "The Importance of Women's Literacy in Language Stabilization Projects" (Jule Gomez de Garcia, Maureen Olson, Melissa Axelrod); "Teaching Reading with Puppets" (Ruth Bennett); "Assessing Lakota Language Teaching Issues on the Cheyenne River Reservation" (Marion BlueArm); "Incorporating Traditional Nehiyaw/Plains Cree Education in the University" (Myron Paskemin, Donna Paskemin); "Collecting Texts in Craho and Portuguese for Teaching" (Sueli Maria de Souza); "Early Vocabularies and Dictionary Development: A Cautionary Note" (Blair A. Rudes); "The Process of Spelling Standardization of Innu-Aimun (Montagnais)" (Anne-Marie Baraby); "Maintaining Indigenous Languages in North America: What Can We Learn from Studies of Pidgins and Creoles?" (Anne Goodfellow, Pauline Alfred); "Ojibway Hockey CD ROM in the Making" (Shirley I. Williams); "The Use of Multimedia and the Arts in Language Revitalization, Maintenance, and Development: The Case of the Balsas Nahuas of Guerreo, Mexico" (Jose Antonio Flores Farfan); "The Languages of Indigenous Peoples in Chukotka and the Media" (Galina Diatchkova); "Language Revitalization Using Multimedia" (Peter Brand, John Elliott, Ken Foster); and "Meeting of the Inuktitut and Yup'ik Family of Languages, May 12, 2000" (Guy Delorme, Jacques Raymond). [More] Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indian Languages, Bilingual Education, Community Action
(2002). Program Participation and Academic Progress of Second Language Learners: Texas Middle School Update. Policy Research Report. This study examined program participation and academic progress of second language learners, following a cohort of Texas public school students from the school years, 1992-93 to 1999-00 as they progressed through the elementary and middle grades. Researchers examined the following: changes in Texas policy related to students with limited English proficiency (LEP) that occurred during this time; demographic characteristics of middle school students once identified as LEP and their non-LEP classmates; special language program participation patterns over time; participation in the assessment program; and progress of cohort students toward passing the grade 10 exit-level test required for graduation. By the time they reached middle school, most Texas LEP students were receiving all of their instruction in the regular, all-English instructional program. Many factors influenced the patterns of special language services students received and the number of years they received those services. There were gaps between LEP and non-LEP students in progress toward meeting the grade 10 exit-level testing requirement. Most LEP students were economically disadvantaged, and performance differences between LEP and non-LEP students reflected, in part, performance differences between students who were economically disadvantaged and students who were not. Among LEP students, there were performance differences by pattern of special language services. (Contains 19 references, 13 tables, and 3 figures.) [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education, Disadvantaged Youth, Educational Policy
(2002). Schooling for Self-Determination: Research on the Effects of Including Native Language and Culture in the Schools. ERIC Digest. This digest briefly reviews the impacts of assimilationist education for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) and describes recent examples of successful AI/AN schools that incorporate students' native language and traditional culture into the curriculum. Beginning in the 1870s, federal policy emphasized assimilation as the goal of AI/AN education. Assimilationist policies had the effects of separating AI/AN students from their communities, weakening Native languages and cultures, driving students toward a marginalized identity, alienating students from schooling, and producing subtractive bilingualism. The past 3 decades have seen many efforts to restore and revitalize Native languages and cultures through the schools and to use Indigenous knowledge and language to meet both local and Western educational goals. Concurrently, the notion of appropriate academic knowledge has been reevaluated, and some teachers and elders have found ways to connect local practical and cultural knowledge to the school curriculum. Four exemplary AI/AN programs are described that involve community or tribally controlled schools, use Indigenous culture and language, and have resulted in a significant gain in academic achievement. These include Navajo programs in Arizona, a Native Hawaiian program in Honolulu, and an Inuit-controlled school using Inuktitut in Nunavik (northern Quebec). (Contains 20 references.) [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Achievement Gains, American Indian Education, Biculturalism
(2002). Developing a Curriculum Framework in Technology for Young Children. This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. The chapter describes a project at the ECDC to develop standards for the integration of technology into the school curriculum. The standards were synthesized from teacher concerns, examination of instructional materials, and review of national and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) state standards. The project resulted in several products, including a set of tables describing each TEKS technology strand, corresponding performance objectives or tasks for each grade level, suggested student activities from thematic units, and required software. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, Bilingual Education, Child Development, Child Development Centers
(2002). Changing Girls' Education in Guatemala. Guatemala's school completion rates are among the lowest in Latin America and are particularly low in rural indigenous areas ravaged by 36 years of civil conflict. In 1997, USAID launched the Girls' Education Activity, known as Proyecto Global in Guatemala, to increase the percentage of girls who complete fifth grade, especially in rural areas and among indigenous (Maya) populations. For 4 years ending August 2001, the project promoted a national discourse on girls' education; developed materials crafted to promote girls' education in the Guatemalan social and cultural context; and pursued four strategies, focusing on the department of El Quiche. First, materials and teacher workshops were developed to increase teachers' sensitivity to gender stereotypes and roles and to introduce instructional methods that engage children and make them agents in their own learning. Adoption of these "interactive and dynamic" teaching methods by rural teachers has been slow. Second, community "sensitizing" workshops were held in 15 communities to raise awareness of the importance of girls' education and female literacy and to promote community involvement. Third, a national media campaign aimed to influence social attitudes impeding girls' access to education. Finally, small monthly scholarships were provided to about 50,000 girls over 3 years. Analysis of systemic changes suggests that the project made varying degrees of progress in legitimizing its goals with policy makers, creating stakeholders, and mobilizing resources in favor of girls' education. However, the constituency for girls' education in Guatemala remains limited to certain sectors of society and is robust only in pockets where community work was carried out. [More] Descriptors: Access to Education, American Indian Education, Bilingual Education, Community Attitudes
(2002). Nature Study: A Science Curriculum for Three and Four-Year-Olds. This chapter is a part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. The chapter describes a curriculum model tested during a summer "discovery camp" for 3- and 4-year-olds at the ECDC. The chapter aims to illustrate key components of a developmentally appropriate and need- satisfying early childhood science curriculum model. The chapter discusses the curriculum's objectives, content, scope and sequence, and assessment. The chapter also describes evaluation of the curriculum, which revealed that the children benefitted from the opportunity to explore the natural world, and that teachers developed a greater awareness of the benefits of an inquiry-based science program. (Contains 12 references.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Child Development, Child Development Centers, College School Cooperation
(2002). Multicultural Literature: Broadening Young Children's Experiences. This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. The chapter briefly discusses multicultural children's literature and provides criteria for selecting high-quality multicultural children's literature. The chapter also discusses ECDC's commitment to selecting and using high-quality multicultural literature, particularly Latino and Spanish-language literature, in the classroom environment. (Contains 25 references and lists 5 children's books.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Child Development, Child Development Centers, Childrens Literature
(2002). Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Maori: The Language Is the Life Essence of Maori Existence. This paper discusses the impact that recent educational reforms by the New Zealand government had on Maori individuals involved in community decision-making processes, focusing on one predominantly Maori rural community. Three strands of recent educational change in New Zealand are the move to self-managing institutions; ongoing debate over student and parental choice of school; and development of Maori initiatives, such as Maori language nests, Maori total-immersion schools, and tribal universities. A study of the rural community of Motatau and its school in the late 1980s shows how the community took responsibility for its school and established goals of a high-quality education and fluency in both English and Maori. Discussion focuses on the role and challenges of the school's new board of trustees, the creation of computer-based information networks linked to traditional family networks, school-community communication issues, issues of teacher workload and financial problems, and need for teacher education and professional development relevant to small rural schools. Ten years later, the hardships of rural schools had not abated. Governments devolved the responsibility of school governance and management but did not provide sufficient financial and human resources to pursue local interests. Nevertheless, Motatau has maintained an innovative learning environment with a balanced education unique to the community. (Contains a glossary of Maori terms and 11 references.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Boards of Education, Community Control, Decentralization
(2002). Building outside the Box. Public-Private Partnership: A Strategy for Improved Public School Buildings. This publication describes the creation of a new school building for James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School in Washington, DC. Despite the success of its academic program, the school's 70-year-old building had become unsafe and unsuitable for teaching and learning and was threatened with closure in 1993 because of the district's fiscal crisis. This publication discusses how the 21st Century School Fund, working with the Oyster Community Council (the school's PTA), the local school restructuring team, the principal, and neighborhood residents, formed a public-private partnership that saved the school and increased city revenue. The District of Columbia agreed to divide the school property in half to make room for a new school and a new residential development. They also agreed to dedicate property taxes and revenue from the sale of the land to repay a revenue bond. In exchange, LCOR, the private developer of the new 211-unit apartment building, agreed to design and build a new school and repay the Oyster revenue bond. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Community Support, Corporate Support, Educational Facilities Planning
(2002). Adaptations of Euro-Canadian Schools to Inuit Culture in Selected Communities in Nunavut. Formal schooling is less than 100 years old in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. In the last three decades, efforts to reflect and value Inuit culture in northern schools have increased, in light of concerns over whether the dominant culture's education system was appropriate or effective for Inuit children. These efforts have resulted in varying "adaptations" to the Euro-Canadian school, but it is uncertain whether schools based on a Western model can be adapted effectively to meet the needs of indigenous peoples. Interviews and informal conversations about such adaptations were conducted with 28 educators in five communities in Kivalliq region, Nunavut. Almost all participants were southern Canadians. Participants reported very few instances where community input was solicited, noted as desired, or used in determining a school's direction, and few instances where schools explicitly taught Inuit values. Many examples were given of incorporating "Inuit curricula" into schools, and many practices were documented in which teachers attempted to structure classroom interaction to mirror cultural expectations of Inuit students. The most common adaptations reported did not directly move schools toward Inuit culture, but reflected the reality of the English-as-a-second-language environment. Recommendations focused on community ownership of schools, indigenous teachers, hiring practices and cross-cultural orientation for non-Inuit teachers, and development of bilingual culturally sensitive curricula and materials. (Contains 64 references.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Canada Natives, Community Attitudes, Culturally Relevant Education
(2002). A School Healthcare Program for Low Income Families of Very Young Children. This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. The chapter details development of a wellness model for children enrolled in the ECDC. Specifically, the study implemented a screening program that included physical assessment, diet evaluation, personal histories, biochemical tests, and anthropometrics; and designed, implemented, and evaluated a series of educational presentations for children and parents. Preliminary findings included detailed health statistics for participating children and parents. A nutrition and exercise camp was conducted, and the health status of 43 students will be tracked. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Child Development, Child Development Centers, Child Health