A Sociolinguistic Critique of Bilingual Education Curricula and the Bilingual Education Act in Terms of Adequacy for the Puerto Rican Collectivity.

The study was conceived as a critique of the bilingual education curricula generated by the Bilingual Education Act, with specific reference to the Puerto Rican collectivity in the United States. Six criteria were developed, drawing from the integration of theories of social action and language usage. The criteria were then applied to specific bilingual education programs and to the Bilingual Education Act itself. The study took a critical science approach for the analysis of the social role ascribed to bilingual schooling within the existing social system. It explored the relationship between value orientation and communication codes. It also examined the theoretical assumptions underlying the Bilingual Education Act and its expressed rationale within the concept of compensatory education. The study includes a review of the social and historical background of bilingual schooling in the United States and in Puerto Rico. It also advances some of the implications of presently existing bilingual programs for the educational experience of Puerto Ricans in the United States. Areas for further research are noted in closing. (Author/JM)