Based on the theory of change, we gather, organize, and synthesize the evidence on the impact of three language of instruction (LOI) choices (teaching in mother tongue [MT] with later transition, teaching in a non-MT language, or teaching in two or more languages at one time) on literacy and biliteracy outcomes. We focus on quantitative and…

This critical systematic review of Australian research literature provides insights into the aspirations of Indigenous communities to collaborate with schools in establishing local Indigenous language and cultural programmes. This systematic review investigates the body of Australian research into the cultural, social and educational impacts on…

In 2015, approximately 70,000 children and young people immigrated to Sweden, including 35,000 unaccompanied minors who arrived without any legal guardian. The huge influx of young people has been a challenge for the Swedish school system. Newly arrived immigrant students are a diverse group, and their educational backgrounds vary. Those actively…

A major controversy in education in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been the choice of language for initial literacy education. It is now generally accepted by academics, education leaders, and politicians that this should be a language already spoken by the learner. Research suggests that this will contribute to better, not worse skills in English at…

Argues that bilingual education in developing countries represents an encouraging facet of efforts to improve primary schooling both quantitatively in terms of participation and qualitatively in terms of learning processes. Using examples from Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Mozambique, and Bolivia, demonstrates advantages of bilingual programming in…

Reviews the history of English and education in the Samoas. Discussion focuses on the social, political, economic, and educational factors that relate to levels of English and native language literacy in the two Samoas, and that help to explain the decline of native language literacy in American Samoa over the past several years. (Author/CB)

While most primary school education in Hong Kong (China) is in the native language, Cantonese, and most university-level instruction is conducted in English, the language of secondary school instruction has begun to shift from English to Cantonese. The decision to increase Cantonese use is controversial. Four studies of this situation are…

A teacher of deaf children responds to a treatise recommending expanded use of American Sign Language (ASL) in deaf education by addressing the immediate problems that parents, teachers, school authorities, and linguists will need to carefully consider in implementing an ASL-based bilingual approach to educating young children. (CB)

This study represents both a collection of information on the role of language in the instruction of Ontario's native people, and a setting forth of generalizations about the nature of language, society, and education that may be relevant to other, similar situations as well as native ones. In addition, particular pedagogical suggestions are made…

Schools in the United States that have always conducted classes in an ethnic language were studied in an attempt to correct a long-standing oversight in the development of bilingual education theory. Chapters are devoted to the critical examination of five of the assumptions that have guided ethnic communities in institutionalizing ethnic-language…

Discusses the progress made and problems still surrounding Greenland's Home Rule Act which established the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the instructional arena, covering attempts to make Greenlandic the native language while also encouraging bilingualism through mastery of Danish. (Author/CB)

Describes the Local Languages Literacy Project in the Southern Sudan; delineates the most important educational, socioeconomic, and linguistic variables affecting the success of large-scale literacy programs in Africa; and questions the widely held assumption that indigenous language literacy is essential to subsequent literacy in the prestige…

Describes several preschool, elementary, and high school Maori immersion and bilingual programs in New Zealand, focusing on how the programs define and establish Maori space in the schools, local and tribal concerns, and the basis for the revitalization of the language. (29 references) (Author/CB)

Presents a bibliography of approximately 130 books, journal articles, dissertations, and UNESCO reports (in English and French) about language usage and policies in education in subsaharan Africa. Most items were published in the 1980s. Examines the complexities and politics of language in South Africa, Nigeria, and Tanzania. (SV)

Assesses Nigeria's efforts to achieve mother-tongue literacy for its citizens. Describes Nigeria's complicated sociolinguistic landscape, national language policies, and the Ife experimental project, studying the use of the mother tongue in primary schools. Points to nonlinguistic factors in educational success, including parental background,…