English language--Study and teaching

This study began with an investigation of Mexican American
adult literacy rates and socioeconomic status in the U. S. A
review of the literature revealed the Mexican American ethnic
minority, in comparison with other ethnic minorities in the U. S.,
to have the lowest levels of educational attainment, socioeconomic
status, health and nutrition rates, and political participation.
Mexican American immigration and U. S. residency rates were shown
to be higher than other immigrant groups, but their U. S. naturalization
rates were disproportionately low. Mexican American
participation rates in U. S. Adult Education literacy training programs
were also lower than other ethnic groups. Based on these findings, the author assumed that there were
special competencies for teaching English to Mexican American
adults. In an attempt to identify these assumed competencies, the
opinions of teachers actively involved in teaching English to Mexican American adults were sought. The Delphi survey technique was the main tool used in gathering data. The study was limited to
Florida because of evidence of increasing Mexican American immigration
in this state and the author's accessibility to the school
system. The implications of the study were that personal concern is
an important competency for teaching English to Mexican American
adults, there is a lack of awareness of the Mexican influx into the
U. S., and there is a need for more emphasis on cultural and
linguistic pluralism in American education.

The purpose of the study was to develop and apply an instrumented
procedure for deciding the relative importance of a tentative set of
professional competencies proposed for middle school teachers of English,
using the judgmental ratings by individuals in the general school community
as the decision-making base. The results of this rating procedure
were intended to demonstrate one way in which the broader educational
community could be involved in expressing choices and in setting priorities
for programs of competency-based teacher education. A selected group of 50 senior high school students, 50 teachers of middle school English, 50 educational leaders, and 50 patrons of middle
schools in the south central administrative area of the Broward County,
Florida, public school system were asked to rate a set of 12 general competencies
and 60 subcompetencies according to their perceived importance
for training and/or certificating teachers of English who work with middle
school pupils of ages 10 through 14. The subjects used a forced-choice
rank order rating system that resulted in a rank value for each of the
general competencies and subcompetencies in the study. Strategies, administrative
steps, and public relations materials for reaching each of the
targeted groups were incorporated in the details of the procedure. The procedure developed by the study proved feasible and useful for determining the relative order of importance assigned to the proposed
teacher competencies for middle school English by the vested
interest groups who served as raters. Applications of the procedure
are recommended for use by collaborative bodies which seek systematic
ways to broaden the base of public involvement in decision-making for
teacher education.
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