Preschool policy and bilingual education in the United States

Abstract

In 1976, Head Start introduced a “Strategy for Spanish-Speaking Children.” The strategy provided support in four areas of activity, which included: (1) Basic and applied research on the developmental progress of Spanish-speaking children; (2) Regional Resource Centers intended to provide access to bilingual/bicultural materials and assistance in their implementation; (3) Head Start staff training; and (4) Curriculum model development in two languages, permitting individualized instruction in either language, and incorporating multicultural resources that facilitate cognitive and social growth. The most significant outcome of the strategy for the Spanish-speaking has been the curriculum development effort and its accompanying evaluation. The remainder of this paper will describe the curriculum development effort, th evaluation results, and some policy implications for national efforts in bilingual education.