Staying the course in times of change - Preparing teachers for language minority education

This article describes how passage of Proposition 227 (P-227), the popular California initiative restricting bilingual education, has influenced teacher preparation to authorize specialized instruction for limited English proficient students. The knowledge base for bilingual cross-cultural language and academic development teacher education is grounded in an additive acculturation model, in contrast to assimilationist philosophy, which underlies policies mandating English immersion for language minorities. Federal court rulings upholding P-227 establish a sequential program to address English language learning as well as content learning and require school districts to provide specialized instruction until language minority students reach academic parity. Legal mandates continue to require teacher education to provide effective teacher preparation programs for schooling linguistically diverse student populations. The response to P-227 by San Diego State University's College of Education is explored to illustrate the reaffirmation of a commitment to educational equity and ongoing program development to support multicultural teaching.