Improving schooling for language-minority children: A research agenda

Bilingual Research Journal, Spring 1997 by Julie Maxwell-Jolly, Patricia Gandara

August, D. & Hakuta, K. (Eds.). (1997).Improving schooling for languageminority children: A research agenda. Washington, DC: National Research Council.

The National Research Council project is an ambitious attempt to synthesize the prevailing knowledge about the schooling of linguistic minority students. A primary goal of the project is to take stock of the current state of the field in order to form the foundation for the next generation of research. In so doing, the 487 page report, Improving Schooling for Language Minority Children: A Research Agenda, reviews the principal threads of research in a number of key areas related to the education of linguistic minority students and indicates the research needs in each of the areas.

The polemic surrounding this issue makes the report vulnerable to criticism from all sides in its attempt to extricate the research from its political context and shed light on the state of knowledge and practice in the schooling of linguistic minority students. As noted in the report, debate regarding the education of English language learners has been viewed "as a contest between two alternative strategies - some use ofthe native language versus an Englishonly approach - whose coherence in practice was illusory (since they were implemented differently at each site), but whose electrical charge in politics was potent" (August & Kaestle, 1996: 371-372). Therefore, this project is ambitious not only because it covers a large body of research, but also because it attempts to do so in an impartial and intellectually honest fashion. Unfortunately, the authors' attempt to steer clear of the political debate concerning the instruction of English-language learners sometimes results in conclusions that fall short of the mark because they are based on an incomplete representation of the facts. Moreover, the report begs for an explanation of the difference between what we know versus what we do.

The report does not come to any new or unexpected conclusions, but does reaffirm the value of incorporating students' primary (non-English) language in instruction, as found in the research over the last three decades. At the same time, the authors point out what is missing in the current knowledge and outline a research approach and priorities for expanding the understanding of this issue. Contrary to conclusions drawn in other published reviews of the NRC report, nowhere do the authors contend that any particular program for second language learners has failed. Nor do they make evaluative statements concluding that research in bilingual education and second language learning is uniquely flawed, invalid or that the work done over the last three decades has not added valuable knowledge to the field. In fact, the authors' discussion of problems with current research and the challenges for future investigations generally pertains to all social science research.

Researchers in the field will find the volume to be a useful commentary accompanied by thoughtful reflection regarding strengths and weaknesses in the research. However, the authors have missed some of their potential opportunity to bring about the improvements they recommend by focusing their report too narrowly on an audience of researchers and not adequately addressing the concerns of policy makers and practitioners. Nonetheless, the authors have rendered the field a valuable service. They have in most cases successfully managed to separate the rhetoric from the research and to frame discussion of the issues in an open and honest fashion.

ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT

The NRC report includes eleven sections and four appendices. Section 1 is an overview of the report and Sections 2 - 8 synthesize the major areas of research pertinent to the schooling of language minority children. Research topics addressed in the report include bilingualism and second-language learning, literacy development and content learning, the social context of school learning, student assessment, program evaluation, studies of school and classroom effectiveness, and preparation and development of teachers. The last three sections of the report (9 - 11) focus on issues related to the current foundations of research in the area: estimating population parameters, the research infrastructure, and priorities for research. These latter two sections are fundamental to a primary goal of the authors which is to establish a research agenda based on what has been learned to date. The appendices of the NRC report contain information that should not be overlooked by the reader, including an overview of the history and current state of the infrastructure for research on the schooling of linguistic minority students. The discussion of the research foundations is central to the authors' thesis that significant changes must be made in this infrastructure in order to improve the state of research and resulting knowledge in the field.

REVIEWERS' BACKGROUND TO THE REPORT

The NRC report comes nearly thirty years after the passage of the first major legislation funding program development for English language learners. The passage of the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 marked the beginning of a new attitude and approach to the education of linguistic minority children and signaled a growing concern of educators and policymakers with the education of second language learners. Up until this time, the governmental policy approach to the many Americans whose first language was not English was principally one of English-only instruction and services. Between 1910 and 1970 most states had education laws requiring that all instruction be in English (Leibowitz,1970).