Since 1975, the United States has experienced the largest wave of immigration since the beginning of the century. This demographic fact holds important implications for education in the 1990s. First, because the birthrate among recent immigrants is relatively high, an increasing number of first generation Americans will enter the school system. As a result, bilingual education will take on a new importance. The English monolingual preparing to enter a global economy will be at a distinct disadvantage. Because the job market will be entwined with other cultures and languages, current controversies over bilingual education will disappear. Similarly, new immigrants will find it easier than earlier groups to maintain their culture and language. The decline of network television (with the introduction of cable and satellite transmission) is one factor that is permitting an increase in media support for cultural diversity and is encouraging different groups to maintain their ethnicity. The school curriculum of the 1990s will be forced into a multicultural social studies format to meet the demand for the globally educated. Furthermore, as time spent teaching basic skills is replaced by computer-based instructional systems, more time will become available for human interaction activity that stresses communication and understanding and fosters diversity. To meet these changes, teachers will have to be educated to assume a more dynamic role. (KH)