Profiles in Two-Way Immersion Education

CHRISTIAN, DONNA; MONTONE, CHRISTOPHER L.; LINDHOLM, KATHRYN J.; CARRANZA, ISOLDA E.

Center for Applied Linguistics

Lugar: Washington, D.C.; Año: 1997 p. 128

1-887744-05-3

This book describes and evaluates Spanish/English elementary education programs which were studied with a combination of research techniques including measures of academic success. The three sites were Francis Scott Key Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia; River Glen Elementary School in San Jose, California; and Inter American Magnet School in Chicago, Ilinois. They distributed instructional time 50%-50%, 90% Spanish-10% English, and 80% Spanish-10% English, respectively. Classroom observations at Grades 1 to 6 were carried out over two years and those site visits provided data on the environment and the interactional behavior of teachers, students and other participants. Interviews were conducted with the principal, the program coordinator, teachers, and teacher aides at each site. These interviews followed protocols aimed at exploring the evolution of the program; perceptions of the strengths of the program; beliefs about effective instructional practices, and individual staff member`s background andexperience. In addition, several teachers completed a written questionaire geared at obtaining information about teaching in language and content in the programs. Data on student academic achievement were also gathered.Variations were found to reflect community needs and the populations served by the schools, but there were not major differences in long-term student outcomes related to percentage of language distribution or literacy instruction.