Using the frameworks of critical discourse analysis, representation theory, and legitimization theory, this study examines the political discourse of the campaign for Proposition 227 in California--particularly, the key social representations of languages, their speakers, and the main political actors in the campaign. The analysis examines the…

CThe article is a study of Latino immigrant parents' agency toward primary language (L1) instruction in the face of restrictionist language policy. Certain attitudes and characteristics were associated with advocacy for Spanish L1 instruction. Interviews conducted in an urban California school district among parents with different background…

Drawing from multiple data sources collected during two ethnographic studies in a Latino immigrant community in Los Angeles, this study analyzes community members' perspectives on bilingualism and language uses--views that have largely been neglected in recent policy debates about bilingual education. (Author/VWL)

Provides background on and discusses the significance of Proposition 227, the California ballot initiative designed to reform the state's bilingual-education program that was approved by voters in 1998. Reactions to its approval by California voters are provided by Ron Unz, Stephen Krashen, and Mauro Mujica. (Author/VWL)

In 1998, California voters approved Initiative 227, requiring that all limited-English children be provided an English-immersion program for 1 year or longer as needed. Hispanic parents are leaders in the movement. Dire predictions that bilingual children in English-language classrooms would fall behind have not materialized. (Contains 18…

This paper examines the choices parents have made regarding language of instruction in their children's classrooms, particularly in California after the implementation of Proposition 227. The data for this study are drawn from a 2-year ethnography of eight Latino families from an urban immigrant Latino community. The parents in the study held a…

A survey of 100 parents in a California school district bordering Mexico examined relationships between the bilingual program parents chose for their kindergarten and first-grade children and parental demographic factors. Parents placed their children in settings that mirrored home language use. Parents with a higher level of education were more…

This document contains the 2000-2001 issues of the "NABE News," a magazine about bilingual education. The theme of each issue is: (1) "Back to School: Anti-Bilingual Ballot Initiatives To Affect Thousands of LEP Students"; (2) "Serving Emerging Populations: School Districts Re-Tool To Respond to New Students' Needs";…