Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Developing Academic Confidence to Build Literacy: What Teachers Can Do.

1998; Wiley; Volume: 41; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

1936-2706

Carolyn Colvin, Linda Schlosser,

Education and Technology Integration

their developing sense of sell and how middle school teachers can support their students' academic competence. ■■■The school day is about to begin at Southwestern Middle School (pseudonym), a neighborhood school in an older, low-income urban area in southern California, USA. The school's main office is a hub of activity in the minutes just before the bell rings to signal the start of the first class. As one enters this aging stucco structure, the scene might resemble that of many schools. What makes this one unique is the ethnic and linguistic mix of the local neighborhood as represented by the approximately 850 students in Grades 7-9. Many families are recent immigrants from camps in Laos and Vietnam. Almost half of the students are Asian or Asian American, with a substantial number who are of Mexican origin or Latino/a. The majority of neighborhood families speak English as their second language. Approximately 45 minutes before the first bell, a phone call from a parent rings through the school switchboard, the first of many calls that continue well into the morn-