Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Abstract

The structure of American public schools has altered within the past 30 years due to receiving extensive number of linguistically diverse students. The fact that culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students often experience academic failure within the U.S. public schools creates a subgroup of students who cannot achieve their educational goals. The purpose of this study is to explore ideal practices in order to enhance teachers' and policy makers' perceptions and awareness on the unique needs of CALD students. The findings of this study reveal the fact that ineffective methods for teaching CALD students and short-term goal-oriented educational policies fall short of meeting the academic needs of CALD students, and this research offers a conceptual framework that could contribute to CALD students' intellectual growth through effective and constructive language learning practices.