This regional dossier aims to provide concise, descriptive information and basic educational statistics about minority language education in a specific region of the European Union--the Basque country of northern Spain. Aspects that are addressed include features of the education system, recent educational policies, main actors, legal…

An increasing number of students entering California's schools come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Although some of these language minority students enter school already proficient in English, the majority do not. These students are now referred to as English learners. There are several reasons why Californians need to pay careful…

The annual report of the U.S. Department of Education includes the Secretary of Education's report, and program-by-program analysis of the agency's principal operating components: the Office of the Secretary; the Office of the Under Secretary; the Office of Inspector General; the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; the Office of Special…

This study examined the importance of several factors hypothesized to influence teachers' attitudes about language diversity (experience with language minority students, region of the country, formal training, graduate study, and grade level taught). Surveys of teachers from three states indicated that attitudes differed significantly by…

Recommendations are provided for the development of multicultural competence in order for collaborating teachers to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students who are at risk of failing. Four general competencies are identified: understanding one's perspective; using effective interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving…

This article examines issues in bilingual special education in the context of moving from a skills-based approach to a whole language approach. Classroom observations in a self-contained elementary classroom for students with learning disabilities revealed the role of the native language and background experiences, the teacher's role in assessing…

The action research case study of the introduction of a Somali refugee child to a London (England) primary school illustrates the importance of finding ways to communicate with the child, who spoke no English, and preparing the other students to accept cultural and linguistic difference. (SLD)

A study examined minority-language use at a Tucson (Arizona) dual-language school and shifting patterns of language dominance in the surrounding Mexican American neighborhood. The minority-language resources most immediately available--held by fluent bilingual elders and recent Mexican immigrants--were less used than those of majority-language…

Discusses results of an action research project done in a Grade 4 classroom. Students were taught to provide verbal feedback on compositions written by their peers. Results suggest that elementary students were not only able to provide constructive peer feedback but also that they succeeded in improving the quality of their compositions after…

Advocates change within the Indian-controlled schools from a mainstream, European-American education system, to a culturally relevant curricula that involves instruction of native languages and heritage. Lists schools that can serve as models for educational change, asserting that knowledge of one's native culture will allow for mainstream…

Most of the nation's public schools are becoming increasingly diverse. Children from every corner of the globe--representing a multitude of languages, cultures, economic, and social backgrounds--can be found in our classrooms. It therefore becomes incumbent on care-giving adults to set in place effective and qualitative measures to ensure that…

Three Southeast Asian polities, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand share much of their geography, history, culture, religion and language. Not all speakers of more than 100 languages spoken in the area have a sufficient knowledge of the respective national languages, Khmer, Lao and Thai. Yet, for the most part, the national languages are the only…

Compartiendo Culturas/Sharing Cultures, a Title VII Two-Way Developmental Bilingual Education Program at the Gary L. Herod Elementary School in the Houston Independent School District (Texas) was designed to end the isolation typically experienced by language minority students in traditional bilingual education and to provide language majority…

Ten themes were explored at the Fifth World Conference on Adult Education: (1) adult learning and democracy; (2) improving the conditions and quality of adult learning; (3) ensuring the universal right to literacy and basic education; (4) adult learning, gender equality and equity, and the empowerment of women; (5) adult learning and the changing…

This document discusses strategies for meeting the special education needs of Colorado students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) and who may have a disability. It begins with a case example of the challenges of serving CLD children with disabilities, a glossary of acronyms and key terminology, and basic principles underlying…