The aim of this descriptive statewide study is to decipher reclassification practices in California -- the state that educates 20% of the nation's English language learners (ELL) and enrolls more language-minority students than any other state in the union. In the course of our investigation, we examined reclassification criteria from a…

Many K-12 teachers struggle to meet the needs of diverse learners as school reforms promote new disciplinary literacy requirements. In response, language education scholars have argued that teachers must develop "disciplinary linguistic knowledge" (DLK), or an understanding of language in their content area and an ability to design…

For English learners (ELs), reclassifying to fluent English proficient (RFEP) signifies reaching a milestone indicating the ability to function in mainstream classes without support. Little is known about the discrepancy between the number of ELs who meet reclassification criteria and the number who are reclassified as fluent English proficient,…

This inquiry highlights a research study with secondary teacher candidates (grades 9-12) in a teacher credentialing program in southern California that has been recognized for its effectiveness in preparing candidates to teach English learners. Within the frame of creating critical leaders, data collected in this inquiry show that teacher…

This paper describes the background, methodology, preliminary findings, and anticipated future directions of a large-scale multi-year randomized field experiment addressing the efficacy of ST Math [Spatial-Temporal Math], a fully-developed math curriculum that uses interactive animated software. ST Math's unique approach minimizes the use of…

This paper suggests that language training should be founded on an initial student familiarization with the dimensions of intercultural communication. Using as exemplars problems encountered by Japanese familiar with English but unfamiliar with communication theory, the paper argues that while limited linguistic competency may make it difficult…

This report summarizes the results of three studies concerning the Reading Recovery or Descubriendo la Lectura program with first-grade California students. Studies were conducted using state-wide data obtained during 1993-94 programs to determine if the program was an effective intervention for children with difficulty in learning to read. The…

This paper examines the intersection where migration and adult learning converge, exploring how a transnational social context of living relates to adults' formal and informal learning experiences. In-depth life-history interviews were conducted with 29 adults participating in two social networks that link the central coast region of California…

A study investigated how schools and teachers attempt to meet the needs of language minority students and to utilize literature as a means to teach English language reading to students while building their English language capacities. Language arts and reading instruction was observed in 12 third- through fifth-grade classrooms in three elementary…

The Culver City (Calif.) Schools' Spanish Immersion Program (SIP) offers an innovative and highly successful approach to the development of proficiency in a foreign language in the elementary grades. This approach differs from most bilingual programs in that for the first two years the students are completely immersed in Spanish. When the students…

This paper reports the initial findings of a survey of family and home literacy factors that may influence the development of phonological awareness skills for preliterate English learners during the acquisition phase of reading development in a second language (L2). Preliminary findings are from the first year of a 3-year longitudinal study of…

The effects of ideological assumptions about teaching, learning, and the labor market and the impact of differing funding sources on community-based organizations' efforts to prepare immigrant/refugee women for jobs in the United States were examined through a study of programs sponsored by two San Francisco Bay area community organizations--the…

This paper presents findings from a state-sponsored study of the adult education needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) adults in California. The findings relate primarily to the situation of the over 2.3-million Spanish-speaking LEP adults, and within this population, to Mexican immigrants. Data were gathered in household surveys in three…

This paper was written as a response to the political debate in California regarding the proper role of bilingual education in the state's kindergarten through high school public school system. Specifically, it examines, in light of the positions and prescriptions of Proposition 227 (an initiative holding that all California students be taught…

This is the first in a series of papers on research, development, and training for bilingual/multicultural education. The first two sections of the paper describe Task Force findings specifying remedies available for eliminating past educational practices ruled unlawful under Lau v Nichols, particularly the section dealing with identification of…