The purposes of this exploratory case study were twofold: (1) to understand the strengths and challenges teachers experienced when designing and delivering language interpretation tasks for use with second- and third-grade bilingual students, and (2) to ascertain what teachers perceived to be the benefits and drawbacks of the instructional…

Federal law requires states and school districts to institute accountability systems that report disaggregated student data to ensure that all children make academic progress. However, one of the mandated categories for disaggregation -- English Learner (EL) -- is reported as a single group despite representing students who are beginning,…

The Bilingual Education Act (BEA) was a signature piece of legislation and was especially significant as a legislative accomplishment for Latinos and Native Americans as part of the Great Society programs and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. While Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas and President Lyndon Johnson have historically been credited…

This longitudinal study examines the biliteracy results of Spanish-English emerging bilingual students who participated in a K-5 paired literacy model in a large school district in Oregon. Spanish and English reading and writing data show longitudinal gains in students' biliterate development, demonstrating the potential of the model in developing…

Students participated in a 2-week intensive program in the city of Puebla, Mexico. The experience included university course work, cultural field trips, and teaching and observing in Mexican elementary schools. It also included many opportunities to interact and participate in daily life in Puebla. The study examined changes in attitudes about…

Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) results in third- and fourth-grade reading and writing, 1999-2001, were compared for Latinos taking the English or Spanish CSAP and all Colorado students. Latino students had equivalent or higher scores on the Spanish CSAP compared to the English CSAP, but had lower scores than all students, regardless of…

During a 3-year project, a Colorado graduate teacher education program used Latino children's literature in field experience seminars to help 70 preservice teachers gain background knowledge of Hispanic cultures, language, and issues. The teacher candidates then used the same literature in their field experience classrooms, tapping into students'…

This study examined the results of a case study of a school that labels itself as a bilingual school. The study examines and describes language use in bilingual classrooms in the school and language use in the larger school environment outside of the classroom. (52 references) (JL)