This digest examines criticism of bilingual education and its effect on public opinion, discusses the rationale underlying good bilingual education programs, and summarizes research findings that reveal programs' effectiveness. Quality bilingual education provides students with knowledge and literacy in their first language, which indirectly but…

The history of language policy in the United States is explored, focusing on the rights of language minorities. The first chapter presents constitutional and ethnolinguistic background information and gives an overview of the main categories of language rights. Chapter two describes the extent to which the federal government has or has not made…

Although a growing body of research points to the potential benefits of bilingual education, there are a number of commonly held beliefs that run counter to research findings. Based on current research, this digest clarifies some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding language use and bilingual education in the United States. The fallacies…

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…

This monograph describes implications for public schools of rapidly growing populations of Mexican-Americans and other language minorities and recommends ways to eliminate institutional barriers to equity and excellence in education. It presents current information about such issues as dropout rates, reading levels, and participation in advanced…