Author discusses the origins and development of the Leicestershire Community College in England and states his view of the role and responsibility of a community college. (GB)

Presents evidence contradicting previous findings regarding the relative academic superiority of recent Mexican immigrants over native-born Mexican Americans. Discusses the problem of the relative achievement levels of the two groups in the context of three possible explanations: socio-economic differences; teacher expectancy effect; and native…

In a study of developmental reading behaviors, errors of 75 Spanish-English bilingual students (grades 2-9) on the McLeod GAP Comprehension Test were categorized in an attempt to ascertain a pattern of language difficulties. Contrary to previous research, bilingual readers minimally used native language cues in reading second language materials.…

Discusses the bilingual education-ESL (English as a Second Language) controversy, revealing similarities between accepted definitions of both approaches. Explains ESL theory and essential elements of bilingual education programs from an ESL viewpoint. Describes possible contributions to bilingual education programs from ESL teachers. Calls for…

Provides an overview of the approximately 1200 Ethnic Community Mother Tongue Schools (ECMTS) in the United States, describing some of their salient characteristics and noting relationships between these schools and the United States bilingual education movement. Explains six assumptions commonly made by ECMTS teachers and leaders. (Author/SB)

Reports the results of a 1977 survey of instructional supervision in many bilingual programs in California, Arizona, and Texas. Presents state-by-state profiles revealing common characteristics of the programs and the indadequacies of program supervision, which are corroborated by national study findings. Briefly discusses program evaluation and…

Discusses possibly significant effect of social acceptance and the negligible effects of culture and sex on attitudes of 271 bilingual and monolingual fourth grade students towards occupational groups. Discusses children's early awareness of society's attitudes towards occupations and the probable existence of a reasonably stable hierarchy of…

Illustrates ways in which science activities that utilize culturally familiar materials can help bilingual students gain insight into the scientific concepts which underlie the functioning of cultural artifacts and tools. Specifically indicates how nine categories of materials familiar to Chinese and Hispanic cultures can be used in science…

Maurice Peston is Professor of Economics at Queen Mary College, University of London. He examines a number of crucial issues in the economics of education today in the United Kingdom. (Editor)

Political calls for accountability reflect a desire for real evidence on effective teaching, but these proposals tend to focus on the teacher, not teaching. Educators should create their own structure for the intraprofessional evaluation of teaching, emphasizing empirical examination of teaching intentions, processes, and outcomes. (SJL)

The author reviews the 1978 report, "Primary Education in England: A Survey by HM Inspectors of Schools." (SJL)

This scheme for a core curriculum rejects central control over the precise body of knowledge taught or the teaching methods used but advocates some control over experiments in education and the early assessment of their results. (Author/SJL)

The author defends the progressive teaching methods of the British Primary school against recent calls for "literacy" and "evaluation." He asserts that language and writing develop best from personal exploration and student-teacher trust, not from rote learning and surveillance. (SJL)