Immigrant children and the politics of English-only : views from the classroom / Tom Stritikus.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stritikus, Tom.

Contributor:

James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

Series:

New Americans (LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC)

The New Americans

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Immigrant children--Education--California--Case studies.

Immigrant children.

Hispanic Americans--Education--California--Case studies.

Hispanic Americans.

Education, Bilingual--California--Case studies.

Education, Bilingual.

English-only movement--California--Case studies.

English-only movement.

Education, Bilingual--Government policy--California.

Education, Bilingual--Law and legislation--California.

Education, Bilingual--Law and legislation.

Education, Bilingual--Government policy.

Hispanic Americans--Education.

Immigrant children--Education.

California.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

viii, 193 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : LFB Scholarly Pub. LLC, 2002.

Summary:

Stritikus examines the effect of California's anti-bilingual initiative, Proposition 227, on the education of Latinos. He highlights the teachers' role in enacting the policy, studying two schools which developed their own Proposition 227 implementation plans. One ended its bilingual program and began a program of English immersion, and a second maintained its bilingual program through obtaining parental waivers. Using sociocultural analysis of classroom observation data, Stritikus shows how Proposition 227 implementation legitimized questionable educational practice and made effective teaching more difficult. His research documents how teachers' actions under the policy were closely connected to their political and pedagogical ideologies.

Contents:

From Demographics to School Decisions 2

Bilingual Debate and the Research Context 4

Research Base Supporting Bilingual Education 5

Beyond Research on Program Types 6

Proposition 227: The Attempt to End Bilingual Education 7

Proposition 227 and Language Ideology 10

Chapter 2 Teachers' Place in the Local Enactment of Language Policy 13

Research Questions and Purposes of the Study 14

Theoretical Background 16

Proposition 227 and Teachers' Roles in the Reform Process 17

Sociocultural Perspectives on Context, Practice, and Literacy 19

Plan for the Book 21

Chapter 3 Research Method, Research Site and Participants 23

Ethnography: Through the Eyes of the Teacher 23

Research Site, Participants and Method 27

Walton Unified School District 27

The Schools 28

The Four Focal Teachers 28

Gaining Access 31

A Note on Terms 32

Data Collection 33

Data Analysis 36

Chapter 4 The Proposition 227 Policy Context: Teacher Perceptions and Behavior 41

District Level Decisions: Enablers and Disablers 43

Westway: English Only and Open Court 45

Celia: Tensions, Contradictions, and the Search for Safe Space 48

Connie: Doing English Only, Doing Open Court 56

Summary: Proposition 227 at Westway 61

Open Valley: Charting the Course for Bilingual Education 62

Angelica: Fighting for Bilingual Education 65

Elisa: Mas Rebelde Meets Instructional Insecurities 70

Teachers Actions in the New Policy Context 74

Chapter 5 Proposition 227 and Teachers' Work: English-Only and Open Court 77

Learning In Celia's Classroom 77

Tensions, Realities, and Celia's Individual Characteristics 82

Reading/Writing Connection 83

The Nature of Teacher-Student Interaction 89

Individual Qualities of Celia and Classroom Practice 99

Connie: A Different Teacher, A Different Enactment of Practice 101

Enactment of Practice 103

The Nature of the Basics 105

Writing Events in Connie's Classroom 109

Reading: Who Talks and What They Talk About 114

Connie's Individual Qualities and the Enactment of Practice 118

Chapter 6 Literacy Practice at Open Valley 121

Angelica: A Committed Bilingaul Educator 121

Angelica: Literacy Her Own Way 124

Reading Groups 124

Multidimensional Student Participation 126

Putting the Students in the Story 131

Summary of Classroom Practice: A Culture of Meaning 137

Angelica's Individual Characteristics 138

Elisa: Looking for Guidance in Instruction 141

The Nature of Literacy Instruction 144

Guided Reading: A Mixed Context 145

Summary of Classroom Events in Elisa's Room 160

Local Enactment of Practice and Individual Qualities 160

Conclusion: Teacher Positioning and Literacy Instruction 162

Teachers Are More Than Policy Conductors 167

Individual Qualities of Teachers Play a Large Role In Policy 169

Proposition 227 Was Not the Answer to School and District Concerns 171

Meaningful Student Participation 173

Appendix Focal Events and Literacy Materials 177.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-188) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

ISBN:

1931202281

OCLC:

49495014