The Education of Minority Populations
In researching this subject it was found that inequality still exists in our educational institutions among minority groups. The findings show that a large gap still remains between the economics of whites and that of minority groups such as African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans. While identity development is a complex task for all youths, it is particularly complicated for children and adolescents belonging to ethnic and racial minority groups in the United States.
Language Minorities
Students are defined as “language minority” when a language other than, or in addition to, English is used in their home, a circumstance raising the possibility that their English proficiency may be limited. Once identified as English Learners, students are placed in a program intended to address their second language needs and academic needs. Although programs go about it in different ways, in theory, the primary goals of any special services provided to English Learners are two-fold: ensuring that students develop adequate English language skills to enable them to benefit from content instruction delivered in English, and helping them progress in academic core subjects (Linguanti, R. 2001).
When considering the services necessary to ensure appropriate success in school, English language development and academic content tend to fall into two categories: sequential and simultaneous. The sequential approach initially focuses on intensive English language development. Grade level curriculum is postponed until the student is considered to have attained adequate English to participate in mainstream classroom or a class where instruction, though in English, is specially designed to make academic content accessible to English learners. This contrasts with a simultaneous approach in which the students are taught English as a second language while at the same time receiving access to grade-level (or near grade-level)...