The education of Cambodian American students in the Long Beach Unified School District: A language and educational policy analysis.

摘要

The purpose of this study is to describe the experience of the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) with its Cambodian American student population as the District struggled to comply with California language and educational policies for language minority students. Fundamental, federal, and state policies for language minority students are described to serve as a yardstick by which to measure the LBUSD's accomplishments. Interviews with District staff members and former students were conducted to document policies and programs and their effectiveness for Cambodian American students. Student data were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of current District policies and programs for Cambodian American students. The findings suggest that the District's struggle with compliance has led to mostly English-only programs for Cambodian American Students, which have resulted in primary language loss without the full mastery of the English language.