Attitudes towards bilingualism of project administrators in the federally funded bilingual programs of Texas

A review of literature written prior to World War I, indicated many educators held views that bilingualism was detrimental to the learning process. Bilinguals appeared to score lower on tests of intelligence. This was accepted as prima facie evidence of the inherent harmful effects of bilingualism on young children. After World War I researchers began to question the validity of the earlier studies and the construction of tests of intelligence rather than the bilingualism of the child. Although educational institutions and their policies tend to reflect the views of professional educators, a general acceptance of bilingual education seems to be slow in coming in spite of a general enthusiasm for bilingualism. Bilingual education is advocated by some professional educators as a solution to the difficulties encountered in the education of the non-english speaking child. Studies show that the self concept a child and his school achievement are related to the attitudes and expectations of significant others. It has been found by some studies that a disproportionate number of children in the United states who come from non-English speaking backgrounds have low self-concept and progressive retardation in grade level as they advance through the school. Other studies reveal that teachers tend to have a negative attitude toward groups which differ from the norm. However, research also indicates that the values an administrator holds is an important influence on teacher behavior and can also influence pupil behavior. The attitudes toward bilingualism held by administrators working directly with bilingual education needed to be investigated as part of an effort to determine whether bilingual programs should be more widely adopted and whether more college courses for administrators of such programs would be feasible.