UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

LINGUISTIC MINORITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

A University of California Multi-Campus Research Unit
Resources
UC LMRI does not necessarily endorse the contents of these sites nor the viewpoints of individual organizations.
Affiliated Research
  • California Dropout Research Project   Research on the nature of, and potential solutions to, the dropout problem in California.
  • Biliteracy Research Initiative
  • UC Faculty Steering Committee research:
    • The Children of Immigrants in Schools.   Margaret Gibson
      This Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE) links researchers from five U.S. universities with five European counterparts to examine the drivers of success or failure of immigrant children in schools which ultimately lead to incorporation of immigrant communities into society. Richard Alba of State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany heads what may be called a networked group of five-bilateral teams that are matched to investigate specific aspects of the central question.
    • Investigating State, District, and School Variability in the English Learner Achievement Gap.   Russell W. Rumberger
      According to the 2000 Census, almost 18 percent of the school-age population in the United States spoke a language other than English at home. Many of these children are not proficient in English when they enter school and are referred to as Limited English Proficient (LEP) students or simply English learners (ELs). There is a sizeable achievement gap between these students and English only students across all subjects and grade levels, but the size of the gap varies widely among states and districts. This study will investigate the achievement gap between English learners and English only students and the variability in the achievement gap related to the policies and practices of schools, districts, and states.
lmresearch

Mailing list announcing news on linguistic minority, race/ethnicity, and immigration research

Organizations

Resources with a primary or major focus on English learner issues

CALIFORNIA

    Policy
  • English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)   California State Board of Education
  • Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE).   Independent, non-partisan research center based at the University of California – Berkeley, the University of Southern California, and Stanford University. PACE seeks to define and sustain a long-term strategy for comprehensive policy reform and continuous improvement in performance at all levels of California’s education system, from early childhood to post-secondary education and training.

NATIONAL

    Policy
  • Consortium for Language Policy and Planning
  • SRI International's Center for Education Policy   Conducts research and evaluations on the design, implementation, and impact of a variety of educational programs, especially improvement efforts targeted on traditionally underrepresented students.
  • The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute   One of the nation's premier policy institutes, examining timely issues such as education, political participation of ethnic minorities, information technology, access to healthcare, economic well-being, media, and immigration.

Other resources

  • Campaign for Children's Healthcare   Dedicated to making high-quality, affordable health insurance coverage for all of America's children a top national priority. Consists of organizations representing health care providers, educators, parents, advocates, and others. The Campaign coordinates public education efforts across the country to demonstrate the importance of health insurance for children and families and to show why national action is needed to expand coverage for children.
  • The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles   Formerly the Harvard Civil Rights Project. Leading organization devoted to civil rights research. Focusing initially on education reform, it convenes national conferences and roundtables; commissions new research and policy studies; produces major reports on desegregation, student diversity, school discipline, special education, dropouts, college access, and No Child Left Behind. CRP directors and staff testify and provide technical assistance on Capitol Hill and in state capitals. Its research has been incorporated into federal legislation, cited in litigation, and used to spur Congressional hearings.
  • Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)   ERIC provides free access to more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials and, if available, includes links to full text. ERIC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
  • National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University
  • Sociology of Education Association   An informal group of scholars and educators from both the fields of sociology and education, who meet annually to engage in discussion of issues at the intersection of sociology and education.
Educators

Links for K-12 teachers, administrators, and other educators. (In alphabetical order.)

  • California Dept. of Education: English Learners Programs   Programs and information to improve language proficiency of English learners and help them meet content standards adopted by State Board of Education.
  • National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA)   Resources for teachers provided by NCELA and Language Instruction Educational Programs. Formerly National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE).
  • The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)   Devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum for the profession, an array of opportunities for teachers to continue their professional growth throughout their careers, and a framework for cooperation to deal with issues that affect the teaching of English.
  • National High School Center   Serves as a central source of information and expertise on high school-related issues for all students, with a special focus on students with disabilities, students with limited proficiency in English, and students at risk of school failure.
  • New Teacher Center   (University of California, Santa Cruz) National resource focused on teacher and administrator induction. Mission is to "improve student learning by supporting the development of an inspired, dedicated and highly qualified teaching force."
  • Reading Rockets   National multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. Includes many resources for teachers.
  • Realize the Dream   "Quality Education is a Civil Right" - highlights successful education reforms from around the nation, and provides parents and teachers with the tools they need to make a difference in their own community.
  • Teaching Diverse Learners   A resource dedicated to enhancing the capacity of teachers to work effectively and equitably with English language learners (ELLs). Web site provides access to information--publications, educational materials, and the work of experts in the field--promoting high achievement for ELLs.
  • What Works Clearinghouse: Practice Guides   The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) publishes practice guides in education to bring the best available evidence and expertise to bear on the types of challenges that cannot currently be addressed by single interventions or programs. IES practice guides consist of a list of discrete recommendations for educators that are intended to be actionable. These recommendations taken together are intended to be a coherent approach to a multifaceted problem. Each recommendation is explicitly connected to the level of evidence supporting it (e.g., strong, moderate, low). IES practice guides are written by panels of nationally recognized experts and are subjected to rigorous external peer review.
Prop 227
  • Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on the Education of English Learners, K-12 Findings from a Five-Year Evaluation: Final Report.   WestEd, 2006. How should English learners be taught? What can state and local education leaders do to better support these students' academic progress? Conclusions from a five-year evaluation have been released by a team of researchers from AIR and WestEd.
  • Reclassification of English Learners.   Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 12, No. 36. James B. Grissom, July 30, 2004.   Ron Unz, originator of Proposition 227, claimed, prior to the passage of Prop. 227, that the five percent annual reclassification rate of English learners to fluent English proficient indicated bilingual education was a failure...
  • Implementation of California’s Proposition 227: 1998-2000   Special Issue of the Bilingual Research Journal, Winter & Spring 2000   Proposition 227, passed by a 61% majority of California voters on June 2, 1998—severely restricted the use of primary language for instructional purposes, and instead provided a transitional program of “structured English immersion” that was not normally to last more than one year. This special issue of the Bilingual Research Journal contains a number of research papers that examine the impact of 227 in the first two years of its implementation.
 
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