The Organization of Instruction in Migrant Education: Assistance for Children and Youth at Risk

Abstract

The Migrant Education Program is a major provider of instructional services to students whose schooling has been interrupted and who need to learn English as a second language. As part of a statewide evaluation of the program, a study focusing on the organization of instruction and interactions among participants was conducted in 11 school districts in California. A range of qualitative and quantitative data-collection and analysis methods was used. It was found that migrant supplementary instruction, focusing mainly on basic skills, was provided almost entirely by teacher aides. Migrant aides worked in the regular classroom in 68% of the instructional sessions observed and in a pullout setting in 32% of the sessions. Examination of the instructional context of migrant instruction revealed that when students were pulled out of the regular classroom for instruction, the regular teacher showed a very low level of awareness of the migrant students' activities or progress in the migrant program. Collaborative planning and strong administrative support for such planning were found to be critical features of high-quality supplemental programs. INSTRUCTION IN MIGRANT EDUCATION 441

Mixed Methods Research in TESOL: Procedures Combined or Epistemology Confused?

“…In TESOL research, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches dates back at least three decades, when Chaudron (1986) discussed their interaction and D. A. Johnson (1987) used both types of data to investigate the language learning of young migrants. Mixing the two approaches in TESOL was also reported in the 1990s, though not under the title of mixed methods (e.g., Ferris & Tagg, 1996;Klassen & Burnaby, 1993).…”

A Mother's Tongue

“…When children begin to exhibit a preference for the culturally dominant language after beginning to speak it at school, parents sometimes respond by shifting to English themselves. At other times, teachers may recommend to parents that they speak English in the home to facilitate their children's language development (see, e.g., Dolson, 1985;Johnson, 1987;Kouritzin, 1999;McGroarty, 1992;Pan & Berko-Gleason, 1986).…”