Todd Fletcher

Bilingualism for the Children: Implementing a Dual-Language Program in an English-Only State.

In November 2000, Arizona voters passed Proposition 203, a law that replaced bilingual education with a 1-year program known as Structured English Immersion (SEI). Although SEI has little support in the educational or applied linguistics research literature, all English-language learners (ELLs) in Arizona are automatically placed in SEI classrooms. This article examines the effects of SEI on the teachers, administrators, and students at an urban school serving a large number of ELLs. The study found that SEI teachers are largely unaware of the model and unprepared to teach it effectively, that training in SEI strategies has been haphazard, that interpretation of the laws waiver system by State education officials has seriously reduced the number of students eligible for the schools dual-language program, and that forcing English learners into SEI is traumatizing some of them and distressing their parents. The study raises questions about the civil rights implications of the law.

Inclusion in Mexico: Ensuring Supportive Attitudes by Newly Graduated Teachers.

The inclusion of students with special education needs in regular schools in Mexico is slowly gaining momentum. Likewise, teacher training for inclusion is increasingly becoming an important aspect of preservice training. This research investigates the perceptions of 286 preservice teachers who are about to complete their general teacher training regarding their dispositions towards inclusion and their self‐efficacy in being prepared to engage as inclusive practitioners. While greater training, experience and engagement with people with disabilities are all associated with more positive dispositions and higher levels of self‐efficacy, many preservice teachers are about to complete their courses with nil or very limited experiences in these areas. The discussion focuses on the need for localised teacher education reform to address the different needs of preservice teachers within the highly rigid centralised curriculum that Escuelas Normales are required to implement. Without the flexibility to modify this national curriculum, it will remain extremely challenging to provide appropriate preservice teacher training for inclusion in Mexico.

Paraprofessional-Led Phonological Awareness Training With Youngsters at Risk for Reading and Behavioral Concerns

This study examined the efficacy of a paraprofessional-led supplemental early intervention for first-grade students with poor early literacy skills and behavioral concerns. The goal was to determine if (a) the relatively brief intervention was effective in improving phonological skills, and (b) improvements in academic skills would be accompanied by behavioral and social improvements. The results indicated that the students in the treatment condition experienced significant, lasting increases in phonological awareness and moderate improvement in word attack skills. However, significant collateral effects on social and behavioral performance were not observed. Limitations and directions for future investigation are offered.

COMPARATIVE VALIDITY OF THREE ENGLISH ORAL LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTS

Abstract The validity of three English oral language proficiency tests was examined in terms of Cummin’s BICS/CALP distinction. The tests studied included the Idea Oral Language Proficiency Test (IPT-I; Ballard, Tighe, & Dalton, 1989), the Language Assessment Scales (LAS; De Avila & Duncan, 1991), and the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery--Revised (WLPB-R:Woodcock, 1991). An examination of test content and pattern of correlations between subscales is used to describe the way oral language proficiency has been conceptualized and operationalized for each of the three oral language proficiency tests. These three tests measure similar and dissimilar aspects of oral language proficiency. Some of the similar and dissimilar aspects support the BICS/CALP distinction. Implications for evaluating oral language proficiency tests are discussed.

The Changing Paradigm of Special Education in Mexico: Voices From the Field

Abstract Mexicos new model of special education integrates children with special needs into the regular classroom. In this model, a team called Unit of Support Services for Regular Education (USAER) is assigned to a number of schools, and the USAER team works with regular classroom teachers to meet the needs of special needs students. This study examined the integration process of this new model and its ramifications for elementary and special education teachers. Results revealed concerns about a number of issues, including the lack of preplanning; lack of inclusion of special and regular education personnel in the integration process; lack of communication between regular and special education teachers; and the need to create a community of learners among all of the participants dedicated to the common goal of providing quality education for special needs children. This focus group study of educational integration in Mexico revealed that it is difficult to achieve fundamental changes on a national level in long-entrenched educational practices and beliefs.

Special education and education reform in Mexico: providing quality education to a diverse student population

This paper discusses the reform of basic education in Mexico and the restructuring of special education services that is occurring within the context of that reform. Recent developments in the transformation of educational services for diverse populations are identified and discussed. The activities of the General Directorate of Special Education of the Public Education Secretariat in the Federal District of Mexico City, and the new service delivery models for individuals with special educational needs currently being implemented, are featured.

Attending to diversity: A professional learning program in Mexico

How teachers might best be prepared to work in schools with an increasingly diverse pupil population is of concern to educational academics, professionals and governments around the world. Changes that have taken place in legislation and practice often fail to taken into account how practitioners can ensure that all children and young people are able to achieve

Special education today in Mexico

Abstract This chapter is a presentation of Mexico’s efforts in advancing inclusive education as a vehicle to provide children with special needs a quality and equitable education. It provides a detailed description of the development, realignment of educational practices, and polices necessary to allow inclusive education to succeed. The chapter begins with the origins of special education in Mexico via four stages. Next, the chapter provides a comprehensive classification of disability and the prevalence rates in Mexico. Then, the chapter delineates legislation and public policy that are essential components in providing a quality and equitable special education system. Next, a comprehensive description of special education intervention models follows along with how these models are incorporated in current teacher preparation endeavors. The chapter concludes with a summary of the progress that Mexico has attained in moving toward inclusive education as well as challenges to inclusive education.

New Visions for Preschool Inclusive Education in Mexico

In the last two decades, the Mexican government has made various legal reforms regarding the provision of special education services and the scope of preschool mandatory education. The General Education Law issued in 1993 that replaced the previous Federal Education Law, made explicit the non-exclusion of students with disabilities from attending and participating in general education settings. In 2002, the Mexican government amended Article 3 of the Constitution and mandated that all children ages three to five years old be provided with a preschool education. These changes have provided the momentum and legal basis for the transformation of educational rights and services to preschool children with special educational needs.