Costs and benefits of bilingual education in Guatemala: A partial analysis

Patrinos, Harry Anthony; Velez, Eduardo

doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2009.02.001

Cited by 42 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The usefulness of a comparison between the costs and benefits of alternative language policies has already been stressed by Jernudd (1971) and more recently, among others, by Grin (1994), Vaillancourt (1995) for bilingualism in Canada, Patrinos and Velez (1995) for bilingual education in Guatemala, Mühlhäusler and Damania (2004) for indigenous languages in Australia, and by several contributions in Ricento (2006). Take for example the hypothetical case of the introduction of an immigrant language in the school system of a given country.…”

Section: The Limits Of Cost-benefits Analysis For Language Policy Evamentioning

confidence: 97%

Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication

Gazzola

Grin

2007

AILA

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The comparison between various language policies that aim to manage multilingual communication ought to rely on some robust methodology for evaluation. This paper discusses the possibility to found such a methodology on the well-established concepts of efficiency and fairness. Assessing efficiency implies comparing how resources are allocated under alternative policy options (or scenarios) in order to identify the policy promising the best overall allocation. Assessing fairness calls for the evaluation of the distributive effects of each scenario on the linguistic groups involved in communication — that is, ascertaining who benefits and who loses (and how much) under alternative policy options. This paper provides the background for developing indicators of effective and fair communication, which synthesise some desirable characteristics of communication processes. They enable us to compare different ways of handling communication in multilingual settings. In order to assess effectiveness and efficiency, we work with three (not mutually exclusive) definitions of communication, namely, informatory, cooperative and strategic communication. These definitions reflect the different (main) communicational intents of the actors. In order to assess fairness, we establish a distinction between communication in terms of access, process and outcome

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Section: The Limits Of Cost-benefits Analysis For Language Policy Evamentioning

confidence: 97%

Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication

Gazzola

Grin

2007

AILA

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“…The reports on the success of this program usually have been positive in terms of enrolment and dropout rates, but inconsistent in terms of adherence to the use of the language in the classroom and the achievement of pupils (Enge & Chesterfield, 1996;Patrinos & Velez, 2009;Rubio, 2004). It is unclear whether this is due to a mismatch of teacher and pupil language, or that the teacher needs to translate the lesson or curriculum materials because pupils are not fluent in the language assumed to dominate the communities served by the school, or a combination of these and perhaps other factors.…”

Section: Ethnicity Language and Education Deliverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Guatemalan Pupils’ Exposure to Spanish and Educational Achievement: A Study across Ethnic Groups and Socioeconomic Status in Urban and Rural Schools

Morales

Vijver

Poortinga

2016

PRU

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We investigated the relationship of exposure to Spanish and socioeconomic status (SES) with reading and math standardized test scores among third and sixth grade pupils in Guatemala. The results of a multi-group structural equation model and multivariate analysis of covariance led us to conclude that SES and exposure to Spanish are associated to achievement across grades, ethnicities, and area of residence. Exposure to Spanish is more relevant in lower grades whereas area of residence is a consistent predictor across grades. Analysis of equivalence for the various groups suggests a set of consistent relationships across ethno-linguistic groups. Our results confirm previous research indicating that SES is a positive predictor of school achievement and that the compatibility of the pupil's familiarity with the testing language is positively related to achievement results. We recommend that linguistic competency heterogeneity in terms of competency level in each language be considered and that bilingual interventions be developed, as opposed to adopting models that assume homogeneous linguistic ability across ethnicities.

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“…Although at first glance it might seem easier and more cost-effective to immerse children as early as possible in the national and/or international languages they will eventually need for accessing wider opportunities and participating in national life beyond their communities, especially when school provides the only context for learning them, research shows otherwise. Using more of children's first language in school is likely to lead to more effective learning of additional languages and to reduced repetition and drop-out rates, resulting in significant cost savings to the country's education budget (Benson 2002, Patrinos & Velez 2009. Despite some examples of good practice and efforts on the part of intergovernmental organizations like UNESCO, UNICEF among others, as well as donors and development agencies to prioritize the issue of language of instruction (e.g.…”

Section: Why Language Mattersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Keeping the promise of the Millennium Development Goals: Why language matters

Romaine¹

2013

Applied Linguistics Review

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Abstract:The adoption of the Millennium Declaration in 2000 by 189 memberstates of the United Nations defined a critical moment for global cooperation as leaders committed themselves to achieve eight specific development objectives known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. As the largest and arguably most ambitious initiative on the international development agenda, the MDGs have become the normative framework for human development, and the MDG language of goals and targets now shapes the global debate about how to define and measure development. Examination of the progress achieved thus far towards the MDGs pinpoints language at the very heart of major fault lines in the development process: those most often left behind are language minorities. Keeping the promise of the MDGs requires a new understanding of the critical role of language in human development. Because there can be no true development with linguistic development, only by putting language at the center of development can we close the gaps and meet key targets of the MDGs and other global agendas such as Education for All (EFA) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This article issues an urgent call for linguists to make their voices heard.

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Costs and benefits of bilingual education in Guatemala: A partial analysis

Cited by 42 publications

References 9 publications

Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication

Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication

Guatemalan Pupils’ Exposure to Spanish and Educational Achievement: A Study across Ethnic Groups and Socioeconomic Status in Urban and Rural Schools

Keeping the promise of the Millennium Development Goals: Why language matters

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