| assimilation (enculturation) | The process of acquiring a culture; a child's acquisition of the cultural heritage through both formal and informal educational means.
|
 |
|
|
| bilingual education | Educational programs in which students of limited or no English-speaking ability attend classes taught in English, as well as in their native language. There is great variability in these programs in goals, instructional opportunity, and balance between English and a student's native language.
|
|
|
|
| cultural difference theory | A theory that asserts that academic problems can be overcome if educators study and mediate the cultural gap separating school and home.
|
|
|
|
| cultural pluralism | Acceptance and encouragement of cultural diversity.
|
|
|
|
| culturally responsive teaching | An approach to multicultural education that recognizes that students learn in different ways, and that effective teachers recognize and respond to those differences. This approach also mediates the frequent mismatch between home and school cultures and honors cultural heritages.
|
|
|
|
| culture | A set of learned beliefs, values, and behaviors; a way of life shared by members of a society.
|
|
|
|
| deficit theory | A theory that asserts that the values, language patterns, and behaviors that children from certain racial and ethnic groups bring to school put them at an educational disadvantage.
|
|
|
|
| demographic forecasting | The study and predictions of people and their vital statistics.
|
|
|
|
| English as a Second Language (ESL) | An immersion approach to bilingual education that removes students from the regular classroom to provide instruction in English.
|
|
|
|
| English language learners (ELL) | Students whose native language is not English and are learning to speak and write English. Also referred to as limited English proficiency or LEP.
|
|
|
|
| ethnicity | A term that refers to shared common cultural traits such as language, religion, and dress. A Latino or Hispanic, for example, belongs to an ethnic group, but might belong to the Black, Caucasian, or Asian race.
|
|
|
|
| expectation theory | First made popular by Rosenthal and Jacobson, a theory that holds that a student's academic performance can be improved if a teacher's attitudes and beliefs about that student's academic potential are modified.
|
|
|
|
| generalizations | Broad statements about a group that offer information, clues, and insights that can help a teacher plan more effectively. Generalizations are a good starting point, but as the teacher learns more about the students, individual differences become more educationally significant.
|
|
|
|
| immersion | A bilingual education model that teaches students with limited English by using a "sheltered" or simplified English vocabulary, but teaching in English and not in the other language.
|
|
|
|
| language submersion | A bilingual education model that teaches students in classes where only English is spoken, the teacher does not know the language of the student, and the student either learns English as the academic work progresses or pays the consequences. This has been called a "sink or swim" approach.
|
|
|
|
| maintenance (developmental) approach | A bilingual model that emphasizes the importance of acquiring English while maintaining competence in the native language.
|