Bilingual-bicultural education of immigrant children in Sweden

Current research emphasizes the importance of the mother tongue in second language teaching. This paper describes a longitudinal project which studies 4 groups of Finnish children in Malmö, Sweden, who are receiving a bilingual education starting from the pre-school.

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Zusammenfassung Die zeitgenössische Forschung betont die Rolle der Muttersprache beim Zweitsprachenerwerb. Dieser Artikel beschreibt eine Längsschnittstudie an vier Gruppen von finnischen Kindern in Malmö, Schweden, die eine zweisprachige Erziehung von der Vorschule an erhalten.

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Résumé Les recherches courantes soulignent l'importance de la langue maternelle dans l'enseignement de la langue seconde. Cet article décrit un projet longitudinal examinant quatre groupes d'enfants finlandais recevant à Malmö, Suède, un einseignement bilingue qui commence dans l'école maternelle.

     

An analysis of excellent early educational practices: Preliminary report

A substantial number of young children seem to reach age six very poorly prepared for future learning experiences, including formal education. This paper is a preliminary report of a large project designed to generate knowledge about how best to rear children during their first six years of life. The strategy has been to systematically and intensively observe how some families manage to do an unusually good job with their young children. Preliminary results are reported on (1) the details of the everyday experiences of well versus poorly developing one- and two-year-old children, (2) their developing competencies, and (3) environmental factors that appear to influence these processes of development in significant ways.

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Résumé Nombre d'enfants semblent atteindre l'âge de six ans malpréparés pour les expériences futures d'études, comprenant l'éducation formelle. Cet article constitue un rapport préliminaire d'un projet considérable dessiné à développer les connaissances concernant les meilleures méthodes d'élever les enfants pendant leurs premiers six ans. On a observé systématiquement et intensivement comment quelques familles parviennent à bien élever leurs enfants. On fait un rapport sur (1) les expériences courantes des enfants âgés d'un an ou deux qui se développent bien et de ceux qui se développent mal, (2) leurs compétences croissantes, et (3) les facteurs environnementaux que semblent influencer ces procédés du développent d'une manière significative.

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I wish to extend my gratitude to the past and present research staff of the Pre-School Project: Dr. E. R. LaCrosse, Jr., Dr. Patrick C. Lee, Mrs. Frances Litman, Dr. Daniel M. Ogilvie, Dr. Susan S. Stodolsky, Mrs. Jacqueline Allman, Miss Frances Aversa, Mrs. Ellen C. Banks, Mrs. Kitty Riley Clark, Mrs. Virginia Demos, Mrs. Marjorie Elias, Dr. John Guidubaldi, Mrs. Barbara Kaban, Miss Barbara Koslowski, Mrs. Mary Meader Mokler, Mrs. Meredith Stone Pandolfi, Mrs. Barbara Rich Bushell, Mrs. Bernice Shapiro, Mrs. Sylvia Skolnick Staub, Mrs. Jolinda Taylor, Mrs. Eleanor Wasserman, Mrs. Louise Woodhead, Mrs. Cherry Collins, Mrs. Nancy Apfel, Mrs. Itty Barnett, Mrs. Martha Carroll, Mrs. Mary Comita, Miss Christine Halfar, Miss Geraldine Kearse, Miss Maxine Manjos, Mrs. Janice Marmor, Mrs. Ingrid Stocking, Dr. Jean Watts, Mr. Paul Weene, Miss A. Elise Weinrich, Mrs. Martha Bronson, Mr. Andrew Cohn, and Dr. Melvin Zolot. Also the cooperation of several hundred families and many school personnel from nearby public and private institutions made this study possible.

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The research and development reported herein was performed in part pursuant to a contract (OE 5-10-39) with the U.S. Office of Education, under the provisions of the Cooperative Research Program as a project of the Harvard University Center for Research and Development on Educational Differences; The Carnegie Corporation of New York; and The Office of Economic Opportunity, Head Start Division. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.     

城市新移民子女教育:从概念到行动

在近十多年的城市化进程中,我国出现了一个数量巨大的城市新移民子女群体。然而,有关城市新移民子女教育的研究很不足,学校相应的教育干预措施也很缺乏。这既不利于城市新移民子女的健康成长,也不利于城市化进程的推进。     

关于设置新专业的调研与思考

师范院校的非师范化是其生存和发展的必由之路 ,增设与市场吻合或略具超前性的非师范专业显得尤其必要。应该遵循适应市场需求原则、循序渐进原则以及适度超前原则增设新专业。在增设新专业时应该注意 :加强师资队伍建设 ;打破条块分割 ,实现资源共享 ;建立激励机制 ,调动各方面的积极性。     

大学生寒假参加同学联欢会情况的调查

通过对西安市6所高校共553名学生问卷调查资料的分析发现,当代大学生假期回家参加同学聚会已经成为一种普遍现象,且一个假期内一般要参加1-2次同学聚会。他们聚会动机比较单纯,但也呈现多元化趋势;聚会形式多样,但以聚餐为主要内容;聚会多以1天时间为期、10人为限的短期小规模为主;每人每次聚会费用多在100元以内,且主要来自家庭。     

Educational progression of second-generation immigrants and immigrant children

This paper provides important new insights into the reasons for the observed gap in educational attainment between children of immigrants and natives in Denmark using a dynamic discrete model of educational choices to determine at what stages of their educational careers children of immigrants face barriers to educational progression and how background characteristics affect educational choices at different points in the educational system. The main findings of the paper are that dropout rates from vocational upper secondary education are much higher among children of immigrants and that strengthening family characteristics reduces the dropout rates. However, behavioral differences and/or differences in constraints and institutional factors are also important barriers and thus determinants of the observed educational gaps as is age at immigration.     

Engineering Courses Taught in English: An Experience from Denmark

The article gives a brief review of the internationalization of Danish higher education and engineering education in particular. It addresses the questions of why it is important to develop courses in English with regard to the process of internationalization, impact on the curricula and impact on students. Finally, it shows the necessity for higher education institutes in minor language areas to develop courses in English, and new keywords in the internationalization process are discussed.     

The education of new Chinese immigrant children in Hong Kong: challenges and opportunities

In describing the current status of the education of new Chinese immigrant children (NCIC) in Hong Kong and to provide data useful for designing new policies, this article highlights the region's rise of new Chinese immigrants and the characteristics of the NCIC. Challenges to improve access to and equity in education in Hong Kong, overall quality of education for the NCIC and future possibilities are discussed. Implications from other countries are also included.     

The immigrant paradox and math self-concept: An SES-of-origin-country hypothesis

The immigrant paradox is the phenomenon where recent immigrants have better outcomes than individuals from native-born families. Although limited past research has shown the paradox to exist for math self-concept, neither its exact nature nor a theoretical explanation for its existence have been reported. Using Australian cohort data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 (N = 12,551) and 2012 (N = 14,481), we first establish that immigrant students have higher math self-concepts than native students, controlling for gender and absolute parental socioeconomic status (SES), and show that it is similar to—albeit weaker than—the expectation-achievement gap. We then provide an SES-of-origin-country hypothesis as a contextual explanation for this effect; we show that the immigrant paradox for both math self-concept and educational expectations substantially reduces when accounting for parents' SES relative to their country-of-origin. Our findings suggest that the paradox for math self-concept and educational expectations may partly result from immigrant parents’ socioeconomic advantage in their home countries.     

丹麦终身学习政策探析

为了推进终身学习、建设学习型社会,丹麦政府制定并实施了一系列发展终身学习的政策.本文系统阐述了丹麦的终身学习政策,并对其特点、成效和问题作了分析.     

An observational investigation of two elementary-age autistic children during free-play

Two observational systems were employed to measure the behavior patterns of two elementary-age autistic children and their classroom peers during a free-play period. Results obtained from the total behavior repertoire system indicated that the subjects spent the majority of the free-play period manipulating various toys and objects. Data obtained from the social interaction system revealed that the subjects' encounters with peers typically were negative. Additionally, the subjects were observed to respond more frequently to vocal-verbal social behavior by peers, than they were to motor-gestural responses. The observational methodology employed and the results obtained were discussed in terms of their significance for the clinical treatment of autistic behavior, and the evaluation of such treatment.     

Fostering the academic success of their children: Voices of Mexican immigrant parents

Latinos, particularly Mexican immigrants, are the fastest-growing population in the United States but lag behind others in educational attainment. Parent involvement in their child's education has been linked to positive student academic outcomes, but few studies have focused specifically on Latino/a parents. To identify and promote culturally salient parent involvement approaches for Mexican immigrant parents, this qualitative strength-based study investigated motivations, actions, and culture of 11 Mexican immigrant parents of students who attended a selective college preparatory high school. The study found that a parent's effort to help their children succeed is not dependent on high levels of parent education or income. Rather, the home-based strategies, many of which are rooted in the Latino culture, and specific outreach by educators influenced parent involvement.     

The educational performance of immigrant children at Czech schools

The integration of immigrant children into the education system is a process that is accompanied by serious debate, especially in advanced countries, which have large shares of immigrants and a long history of immigration. The poorer educational outcomes of foreign-born children are largely explained there through their socio-economically disadvantaged background compared to the native-born population. This article examines whether the observations for those countries also apply to the Czech Republic—a country with a relatively short immigration history and immigration flows from different source countries than those in Western Europe. Regression analyses conducted on PISA 2012 data focusing largely on the maths skills of 15-year-olds reveal that the performance of immigrant children in Czech schools roughly compares to that of their counterparts in Western Europe. While their PISA outcomes were lower than those of Czechs, this was because immigrant children have poorer conditions at home or in the classroom.     

Assessment in early childhood education: threats and challenges to effective assessment of immigrant children

Research indicates that early childhood professionals gather assessment information to monitor child development and learning, to guide curriculum planning and decision making, to identify children who may have special needs, to report and communicate with others, and to evaluate programmes. A review of literature indicates that immigrant children have low achievement assessment scores as compared with mainstream American children, also immigrant children enter kindergarten already behind their mainstream American peers. The current study explored early childhood teachers' perceptions of assessment measures used with immigrant children and the challenges faced when assessing immigrant children. Findings of the study reveal that there are several factors that make early childhood teachers fail to gather effective assessment information from immigrant children. Unless the factors are addressed, planning for effective curriculum for immigrant children using assessment data will continue to be a challenge for early childhood teachers. Factors that continue to affect gathering effective assessment data from immigrant children include language barriers, cultural clashes, socio‐economic factors, and culturally and linguistically biased assessment measures.