School

“This article reviews the literature to determine the importance of immersion in language restoration (or preservation). The author argues that a new paradigm is needed to halt the decline in the number of Native Americans speaking their aboriginal tongue. The primary focus centers on displacing misperceptions related to language immersion that may inhibit an Indian community from implementing such a program.

“Jim Cummins and Merril Swain offer a coherent synthesis of recent theoretical and empirical work relating to the educational development of bilingual children from both majority and minority language backgrounds.”

“Aimed at "empowering" teachers and students in a culturally diverse society, this book suggests that schools must respect student's language and culture, encourage community participation, promote critical literacy, and institute forms of assessment in order to reverse patterns of under-achievement in pupils from varying cultures. The book shows that students who have been failed by schools predominantly come from communities whose languages, cultures and identities have been distorted and devalued in the wider society, and schools have reinforced this pattern of disempowerment.”

“This paper discusses the role of research and theory regarding language and literacy acquisition in planning for bilingual programmes involving lesser used languages. Three psycho‐educational principles are outlined: the additive bilingual enrichment principle, the interdependence principle and the sufficient communicative interaction principle. The role of these principles in the educational language planning process is discussed in the context of a procedural framework for problem‐solving in educational contexts.”

“The purpose of this literature review is to document transitions of Aboriginal persons to post-secondary education, along with the challenges they face and supports they need.”

“This article provides a research synthesis of studies that have examined language-minority students' academic achievement over a period of four or more years, for a comparison with the longitudinal findings on student academic achievement reported in the Ramirez study. One program variable is the focus of this synthesis--the use of a minority language for instructional purposes.

“Children in Nunavik are learning to live healthier, more productive lives, and having a lot of fun doing it. See how the Nunavik Youth Hockey Development Program is helping Nunavik youth stay in school and out of the penalty box.”

This document discusses “administrative data on students in grades 4 and 7 in British Columbia to examine the extent to which differences in school environment contribute to the achievement gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students as measured by standardized test scores. We find that segregation of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students is substantial, and that differences in the distribution of these two groups across schools account for roughly half the overall achievement gap on the Foundation Skills Assessment tests in grade 7.

“The Commentary discusses three institutional and policy differences between British Columbia and other provinces that may explain its superior outcomes: i) more comprehensive and regular monitoring of Aboriginal student performance in the core competencies of reading, writing and mathematics; ii) incentives for provincial school districts to innovate and consult with local Aboriginal leaders; and iii) the encompassing nature of First Nation institutions providing secondary services to reserve schools.”