Bridging research and practice to develop a two-way bilingual program

Abstract

Received 1 April 1999; received in revised form 1 May 2000; accepted 1 October 2000 The development of a two-way bilingual program for children in preschool through second grade is described. The program was developed through a partnership between researchers and teachers. Researchers shared findings from previous studies, which were used to guide basic decisions about the nature of the program. They then collected systematic classroom observation data the first year of the program to guide programmatic fine-tuning for the second year. Observation data showed some gaps between the instructional program that was planned and the one that was implemented, especially in the amount of Spanish spoken. Data on children’s academic achievement showed very few differences in the academic gains of native English- and native Spanish speakers in the bilingual program, and native English speakers in the English-only classrooms. The discussion focuses on how teacher-researcher partnerships can be used to improve educational programs.