A Design for Bilingual : Bicultural Education: A Process for Cultural Pluralism / Manuel Reyes Mazon.

A design for bilingual/bicultural education should begin with the assumption that cultural, racial, and linguistic differences are an integral and positive part of American society. School districts that want federal assistance in bilingual/bicultural programs should be able to demonstrate a commitment to this philosophy. Program planners should anticipate variation not only among different ethnic groups, but also within any one group, such as differences in performance levels. Particular programs of bilingual/bicultural education, since they are targeted to a given group, should not be assumed to have generality across other ethnic groups. The training of bilingual/bicultural personnel involves capabilities not only for dealing with the primary languages of the children, evaluating their performance in both languages, and adapting teaching methods according to the children's background, but also for developing a range of insights regarding the children's cultural background. A vital component of any bilingual/bicultural program is the capability for self-evaluation. This design proposes that the logic of discrepancy analysis be applied so that programs can constantly be held accountable not only for the attainment of their stated objectives but also for their schedule for achieving them. No such evaluation can be carried out adequately without the participation of trained evaluators who by membership in the subcultural group will be its most accurate observers. (Author/KM)

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