The 1980 California Case Studies Project for bilingual education

Theory into Practice: The Case Studies Project" by J. Crawford covers the 1980 California model for "theoretically sound" bilingual education, which they called the "Case Studies Project." The main beliefs of the Case Studies Project were intended to make bilingual education in the classroom more successful, and included language proficiency for bilingual students, basic communication skills in their second language (English), and suggestions for bilingual teachers to achieve the student competencies the project was intended to attain. Unfortunately, the project initially seemed quite successful in the classroom, but the methods used also created controversy throughout the state. Most of the controversy centered on the teaching of foreign students in their native language. Therefore, they actually grew more competent in their own language while they were attempting to learn English. Studies showed the children actually learned more effectively in their own language before they began to adapt their skills to English. The author notes that there are many different learning styles in children, and that many children benefited from he Case Studies Project, but many critics felt it was simply wrong to develop the native language skills of students who were attempting to blend into English classrooms and American society.