Research Evidence for the Effectiveness of Bilingual Education

Although over half a billion dollars has been spent on bilingual education since 1968, less than one-half of one percent has been spent for research. Criticisms of the effectiveness of bilingual programs should take into account the lack of basic and operational research needed to improve program quality. Despite the need for research, funds appropriated for this purpose have been reallocated. The present study provides evidence from 12 programs attesting to the effectiveness of bilingual education. In several instances, student achievement in English has risen to or above national norms, while the students have additionally acquired skills in their native language. The conclusion is reached that a quality bilingual education program can be effective in meeting the goals of equal educational opportunity for minority language children, and if a program is not doing so, something is wrong with the program (though the locus of the problem may be external to the instructional program itself). Research on Finnish immigrants in Sweden is cited to show the effect of social and cultural subordination in producing subtractive bilingualism unless strong native language instruction is provided through age 10.