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Carlos J. Ovando
Arizona State University
Bilingual education in the United States
has been contested and reformulated within varying historical, political,
social, and economic contexts. Guided by three interrelated research
questions on ideology, policy, and politics, this article examines
the various interpretations of the historical forces that have determined
language policy in the United States by first briefly discussing
the permissive, restrictive, opportunist, and dismissive periods
and then focusing on the current challenges to bilingual education.
The author argues that changing political, social, and economic
forces, rather than any consistent ideology, have shaped the nation’s
responses to language diversity. He concludes that language ideology
in the United States has shifted according to changing historical
events, and the absence of a consistent U.S. language ideology has
enhanced the role of symbolic politics—the resentment of special
treatment for minority groups.
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Kathy Escamilla, Elizabeth Mahon,
Heather Riley-Bernal, and David Rutledge
University of Colorado, Boulder
In Colorado, the Colorado Student Assessment
Program (CSAP) has been created as the performance standard to determine
progress that Colorado students are making toward meeting content
standards. This study utilized results of the CSAP across 3 years
(1999–2001) to determine the impact that standards-based education
in Colorado is having on Latino students in general, and on Latino
English language learners (ELLs) specifically. CSAP results in reading
and writing in English and Spanish were compared for Latinos taking
the CSAP in Spanish, Latinos taking the CSAP in English, and all
Colorado third and fourth graders. This study also examined the
extent to which school report card grades were affected in schools
with large numbers of ELLs. Results indicate that the percentage
of Latinos meeting state standards as measured by the Spanish CSAP
is equivalent to, and in some cases higher, than the percentage
of Latinos who are taking the CSAP in English. However, a gap exists
between Latinos, no matter what their language of instruction and
testing, and all Colorado third and fourth graders. This study found
that school report card grades are lower in schools with large numbers
of ELLs; this raises questions about the negative impact of school
report card grades on schools that have high numbers of ELLs.
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Paul E. Green
University of California, Riverside
Immigration is not a new phenomenon in
America. The education of undocumented or migrant children, however,
continues to pose unique social, political, and educational problems
for America’s schools. Social and educational opportunities
are typically hindered by frequent moves, poverty, gaps in previous
schooling, and language barriers. Poverty, language, and cultural
differences add to the challenges posed by mobility, the identifying
characteristic of migrant students. Moving from place to place makes
it difficult to attend school regularly, learn at grade level, accrue
credits, and meet all graduation requirements. It is also difficult
to participate in socializing activities and create the social networks
critical to social mobility. Mobility makes it harder to receive
the adult support most young people need academically, socially,
psychologically, and emotionally. Migrant students also confront
serious societal and institutional barriers. Anti-immigrant fears
are stoked by allegations that undocumented immigrants increase
the costs of social services, including education. Whatever their
circumstances, undocumented children are entitled to receive an
education in the United States.
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Calliope Haritos
Hunter College
This study examined memory organization
of story events presented in different languages to Greek-English
bilingual children in Grades 2 and 4. Study results showed that
recall was organized more by event than by language. The cognitive
processes that comprise bilingual memory, including encoding, storage,
and retrieval strategies, are examined within the context of children’s
daily language experiences.
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Sally Nathenson-Mejía
University of Colorado, Denver
Kathy Escamilla
University of Colorado, Boulder
Teachers generally come out of teacher
education programs with very little background in multicultural
issues and instructional techniques. This study documents the use
of Latino children’s literature in field experience seminars
to help preservice teachers (teacher candidates) gain background
knowledge of the cultures, traditions, language, and issues surrounding
Latinos in the United States and the elementary students with whom
they will be working. The teacher candidates then use the same literature
in their field experience classrooms, tapping into the children’s
funds of knowledge and encouraging the children to respond in a
personal way. This experience enriches the teacher candidates’
work with children and broadens their personal perspective and understanding
of cultures different from their own. This study found that using
Latino children’s literature in a university teacher education
program benefited both the preservice teachers and their students.
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Monica Roaché, Jane Shore, Eirini Gouleta,
and Ester de Obaldía Butkevich
The George Washington University
The purpose of this study was to investigate
and report the perceptions, practices, and needs of educational
professionals as they relate to service delivery to culturally and
linguistically diverse and exceptional (CLDE) students. For this
study, the Collaborative Survey for teachers working with Culturally
and Linguistically Diverse and Exceptional students (CS-CLDE) was
developed and completed by a sample of 125 educational professionals
(25 English as a Second Language teachers, 25 general educators,
25 counselors, 25 speech pathologists, and 25 special education
teachers) in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Quantitative
data were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics and frequencies.
Qualitative data were analyzed and formulated into themes and then
into clusters. The majority of the participants’ responses
indicated that they had the training and skills to work with CLDE
students. However, they did not know the roles, responsibilities,
and practices of other school professionals who worked with CLDE
students, they did not receive appropriate training on ways to collaborate,
and they did not have adequate support from the administration in
order to collaborate with other school professionals in serving
CLDE students. The qualitative analysis indicated that there is
a need for professional training on collaboration, support from
the administration, and time for collaboration, resources related
to CLDE students, and information on the other school professionals’
roles and responsibilities.
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Steven Root, Anthony Rudawski, Matthew Taylor,
and Ronald Rochon
University of Wisconsin–La Crosse
This paper is a descriptive study that
addresses student attrition in two Title VII Bilingual Education
Career Ladder Programs for Hmong paraprofessionals and traditional-age
college students working towards teacher certification in Wisconsin.
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) funded these projects. One
project is now in its fourth programmatic year, and the other is
in its third year. After reviewing the literature regarding Hmong
Americans and providing an overview of the two projects, the authors
assess the primary factors leading to student attrition in the two
USDE projects. They also suggest some strategies that might be employed
to maximize retention.
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Isabel Schon
California State University, San Marcos
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Review
By Teresa L. McCarty
Reviewed by Linda Knudsen Hawes
Arizona State University
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