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Eugene E. García
Implementation of California's Proposition 227: 1998-2000 Proposition 227, known by its proponents as the "English
for the Children Initiative," passed by a 61% majority of California
voters on June 2, 1998. Although a range of motivations may have
contributed, the initiative was an example of "people making
law," written in response to apparent widespread discontent
with California's policies regarding the education of non-English-speaking
children in public schools. Its intent was to inject all English
instruction for these students in California's public schools. Some
25% of California's students currently fall into this student category
and are referred to as limited English proficient (LEP), English
language learners (ELL), and/or as language minority students. The
assumption behind the initiative was that teaching children in their
native language served only to hold them back in their acquisition
of English and therefore in their future educational success. A
parallel assumption was that learning English is the most important
in the education of these children.
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In the Aftermath of the Storm: English Learners in the Post-227 Era Patricia Gándara Abstract In 1998, California passed a voter initiative—Proposition
227—that severely restricted the use of primary language for
instructional purposes, and instead provided a transitional program
of "structured English immersion" that was not normally
to last more than one year. Now more than two years after the passage
of Proposition 227, the pundits and the policymakers are anxiously
making pronouncements about its effects on California's English
learners. However, the numerous reform efforts underway in California,
and the limitations of existing data, make it impossible to draw
conclusions about the independent effects of the passage of Proposition
227 on the academic achievement of English learners. Contrary to
the political statements and shoot-from-the-hip analyses being touted
in the press, the achievement scores of California's English learners
yield little evidence of long term benefits for these students.
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The Education of Limited English Proficient Students in California Schools: An Assessment of the Influence of Proposition 227 in Selected Districts and Schools Eugene E. García and Julia E. Curry-Rodríguez
Abstract Two separate but interrelated studies are reported regarding the implementation of Proposition 227 in California. The first "in-the-field" pilot study was conducted during a period of eight months after the passage of Proposition 227 in June 1998. The pilot study consisted of eight school districts selected in 1998-99 from a statewide group involved addressing issues of Proposition 227 implementation. The second study took place in 1999-2000. The purpose of this study was to gather information regarding the implementation of Proposition 227 a year after its passage from a more representative sample of districts throughout the state.
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Factors Influencing Implementation of Mandated Policy Change: Proposition 227 in Seven Northern California School Districts Julie Maxwell-Jolly Abstract Proposition 227 limits instructional use of students' primary languages but allows bilingual programs if adequate numbers of parents request an alternative to English-only instruction. Researchers interviewed district and school personnel at seven sites to determine influences on policy responses to Proposition 227 and observed the impact of these policies on classroom practice. The history of support for bilingual programs, disposition of district staff toward primary language instruction, and community attitude and involvement, influenced district policy. Researchers concluded that district decisions largely determined school policy; policy responses varied to a surprising extent; change occurred at all sites and was most evident in the classroom; and Proposition 227 policy contributed to the existing inconsistency in programs for English learners.
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Informed Parent Consent and Proposition 227 Augustine García Abstract After the passage of Proposition 227 in California, the State Department of Education issued specific regulations for informing the parents of English language learners (ELLs) about program options so that they could decide, as the new law permits, whether to accept English language immersion or request a parent exception waiver. This study was conducted among parents in three geographically-distinct school districts which did their utmost to inform them. The study compared the responses of parents who requested waivers and bilingual education with those of parents who did not request waivers. Parents were asked for their level of agreement with factual statements on language acquisition/ development and each program option (English language immersion, mainstream, and bilingual education). They also responded to open-ended questions, which were later categorized for analysis. The results clearly show that the best informed parents in an atmosphere of complete disclosure were those who chose a waiver and bilingual education.
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Education of Limited English Proficient Students in California Schools: An Assessment of the Influence of Proposition 227 on Selected Teachers and Classrooms
Tom Stritikus and Eugene E. García Abstract This pilot study provides documentation on policy-and
practice-based questions regarding the implementation of Proposition
227 in eight selected but representative districts. Focusing on
teachers' reactions to Proposition 227, this study examines how
teachers both shape and are affected by Proposition 227 implementation.
Proposition 227 was intended to place a premium on English language
development in a highly uniform and prescriptive manner throughout
the state. Our initial study reveals that the nature of Proposition
227 implementation has a great deal to do with teacher ideology.
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"English for the Children": The New Literacy of the Old World Order, Language Policy and Educational Reform
Kris D. Gutiérrez
Patricia Baquedano-López
Jolynn Asato Abstract Proposition 227 is perhaps the single most important language policy decision of this last century—one that may have profound consequences on schooling in the 21st century. Documenting the ways school districts, the local schools, teachers, and parents make sense of this new policy is central to understanding its short- and long-term effects on the education of English language learners (ELLs). Using qualitative approaches to inquiry, we have studied how three different school districts in Southern California interpreted and implemented the new law. A second concurrent strand of research examined how teachers interpreted and implemented the new law in classroom practice. Three case study classrooms were observed across the first academic year implementing Proposition 227: (a) one English immersion classroom, (b) one alternative bilingual classroom, and (c) one structured immersion classroom. Participant observation and interview methods were used to capture the evolution of classroom practices, literacy practices in particular.
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"I Used To Know That": What Happens When Reform Gets Through The Classroom Door Carol Dixon, Judith Green, Beth Yeager, and Doug Baker María Fránquiz Abstract This article places Proposition 227 in the context of the policy web formed by a series of legislative acts and policies at the national, state, and local school board levels; federal judicial decisions; state and local elections; changes in the local school district board and superintendent. We draw on our ongoing ethnographic study of a fifth-grade classroom to illustrate what happens when policies get through the classroom door. Through this analysis, we illustrate how policies constrained the bilingual teacher's ability to make learning opportunities available to her linguistically diverse students in 1998-99.
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Proposition 227: Tales from the Schoolhouse
Elsa Schirling, Frances Contreras, and Carlos Ayala
Abstract This article explores the impact of Proposition 227
on students and teachers based on interviews with parents, teachers,
and administrators of a school in the Bay Area. We discuss four
themes that emerge from the data: parent involvement, academic impact
on students, the instructional challenges posed by Proposition 227,
and the emotional impact on teachers and students. Connecting these
themes is an overemphasis on language of instruction, which we found
to overshadow other issues critical to the education of language
minority students.
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Inadequate Conclusions from an Inadequate Assessment: What Can SAT-9 Scores Tell Us about the Impact of Proposition 227 in California?1 Yuko Goto Butler, Jennifer Evelyn Orr, Michele
Bousquet Gutiérrez, and Kenji Hakuta Abstract Proponents of Proposition 227 in California have argued for the effectiveness of English-only instruction over bilingual programs based on the increase in SAT-9 scores in the years since its implementation. Based on analyses of SAT-9 scores from 1998 to 2000, this article argues that: scores increased for all students, not just for English-learning students; scores increased for most districts regardless of the types of programs implemented; increases could be attributed to a number of possible factors, but it is not possible to separate out the impact of Proposition 227; and SAT-9 is not an appropriate measure for assessing English-learning students.
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Reflections from the Classroom: Teacher Perspectives on the Implementation of Proposition 227
Laura Alamillo and Celia Viramontes Abstract This study provides a cross-sectional analysis of 77 teachers' perspectives on the second-year implementation of Proposition 227. The paper considers three instructional settings: (a) teachers who continued teaching bilingual education, (b) teachers who switched from bilingual education to structured English immersion, and (c) teachers who remained in a structured English immersion or English-only setting. Within these three scenarios, we identify four key areas of concern related to the implementation of Proposition 227. This study reveals that teacher response to and implementation of Proposition 227 was mediated by multiple factors including high stakes testing and increased accountability.
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Voices from the Field: Bilingual Educators Speak Candidly About Proposition 227 Deborah K. Palmer and Eugene E. García
Abstract This paper presents findings from a mini-study on the reactions of California bilingual educators to the implementation of Proposition 227. Overall, the concerns of these educators are consistent with those reported in other studies of educators throughout California. Teachers worry about the erosion of primary language programs, about the imposition of English-only standardized testing, and about the lack of clear leadership on policy and practice for language minority students. Administrators are concerned mainly with issues of interpretation of the law, of accountability, and of communication with parents and community. The authors conclude that, not surprisingly, teachers and administrators continue to be pragmatic, serving their students as best they can despite adversity.
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How Proposition 227 Influences the Language Dynamics of a First- and Second-Grade Mathematics Lesson Sara Micaela Paredes Abstract This small scale study of a first/second-grade English language development classroom describes the influence of Proposition 227 on the language practices and appropriation of content knowledge among limited English proficient (LEP) students and their bilingual teacher. Interviews and fieldnotes from the math lesson conducted in English only were the sources of data used for the analysis and findings. How the school districts' implementation of Proposition 227, which reduced native language instruction to only 20% of the school day, influenced the teacher and her students on both an ideological and practical level are described.
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The politics of multiculturalism and bilingual
education: Students and teachers caught in the cross fire. Reviewed by Kellie Rolstad
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Chicano empowerment and bilingual education:
Movimiento politics in Crystal City, Texas. Reviewed by Angela Valenzuela
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