This dissertation explored the perspectives of stakeholders within a university-level Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) program in Arizona, focusing on their language ideologies and critical language education efforts. The study, rooted in Critical Language Awareness (CLA) and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) frameworks, challenges deficit-based…

For decades, the O'odham language has been in decline. But like many tribal nations, the Tohono O'odham are working to reclaim their language. Located on the campus of Tohono O'odham Community College (TOCC), the center was founded in 2020 and is for all O'odham, including those from other O'odham speaking nations. Creating opportunities where the…

Preserving the Navajo language, or "Diné bizaad," is of profound importance for all Indigenous people in the United States, as Navajo is one of the more widely spoken Native languages yet is still facing the early stages of endangerment. Currently, the Navajo Nation, like other tribes, lacks a significant presence of community-based…

Given the growing number of Latino English learners and the lack of evidence-based educational opportunities they are provided, we investigated the impact of one potentially effective literacy intervention that targets struggling first-grade Spanish-speaking students: Descubriendo La Lectura (DLL). DLL provides first-grade Spanish-speaking…

Given the growing number of Latino English learners and the lack of evidence-based educational opportunities they are provided, we investigated the impact of one potentially effective literacy intervention that targets struggling first-grade Spanish-speaking students: Descubriendo La Lectura (DLL). DLL provides first-grade Spanish-speaking…

This research examines three American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) participants who registered and completed the "Computer Applications for Indigenous Language Communities" course at the University of Arizona between summer 2003 and summer 2007, at a time when digital technology was emerging, particularly in Indigenous…

This essay traces the bilingual education movement that began in Tucson through the efforts of local teachers, university faculty and educational leaders. It is argued that Mexican Americans and their allies played a crucial role in promoting the merits of bilingual education at the local, state and national levels. Their advocacy of…

This brief provides an overview of three federal laws that address native-language education and illustrates how these federal laws produce different results when coupled with state laws and other regional circumstances. For the purposes of this brief, native-language education refers to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and…

This article presents a variety of issues related to the effects of restrictive language and educational policies that ultimately limits important resources for English language learners (i.e., services, funding, time, and information). The authors spotlight the state of Arizona as an unfortunate case of language control through policies, which…

This paper describes the historical and social foundations of the Navajo Headstart Immersion program. The researchers have worked as teachers, teacher educators, and parents in these programs. They reflect on the need for new partnerships among tribes, tribal colleges and universities to prepare teachers and to develop curriculum materials for…

Though much of the research looking at the issue of language in the Spanish heritage language field is intended to guide the Spanish heritage language teacher in the classroom, students' voices are often stifled. This article fills this gap by giving voice to students' opinions on language use in the Spanish heritage language classroom. Survey…

This publication contains Arizona public schools' academic standards for grade 4. The contents of this document include the following: (1) The Arts Standard 2006--Grade 4; (2) Comprehensive Health Education/Physical Activity Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (3) Foreign and Native Language Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (4)…

There is a growing recognition of the need for Americans who are proficient in languages other than English; however, there is a great disconnect between these needs, state English-only education policies, and current federal education policy as realized through the No Child Left Behind Act (NLCB) of 2001. These policies are moving the country in…

Across Indian Country, people can hear voices speaking ancient words, in a Cochiti extended family in New Mexico, a Navajo community school on the Arizona desert, a Native Hawaiian kindergarten, a Salish/Kootenai summertime ceremony, on the North Dakota plains, and in a Blackfeet math classroom in Montana. Unlike other language instruction…

Among over 600 Arizona students in grades 1-8 in maintenance bilingual programs, fluent Spanish-speaking students outperformed limited-Spanish-speaking students on a measure of Spanish reading, mathematics, social studies, and science achievement; girls achieved higher reading scores than boys; and 16 of 18 grade mean scores were equal to or…