Thursday, January 28, 2010

1/28/10

So, here I am staring at the same paper for the past 5 days. It's the two page proposal that I wrote to my advisor with all his comments. I'm suppose to revise, edit, and resubmit...ASAP. Sounds unthreatening since it's only TWO pages, but that hasn't been the case.

What I think I'm having an issue is with framing the whole situation. I tend to look into all the political debate other bilingual education and then start thinking to myself, my research isn't remotely related to public education... Then I start to realize that every article defines "bilingual education", "immersion education", "dual language education", etc. all differently so it's a pain to figure out what they are actually referring to.

Anyway, here are some preliminary research questions.

What are the main features in program models that deliver English and Japanese bilingual education in Japan?

What academic achievement differences exist between program models in the early dual language phase of language acquisition of English and Japanese in Japan?

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

1/12/10

It is a new year with many new beginning! This is it! Or so I would like to think.

So, what happened between then and now? Well, I was awarded a scholarship. The scholarship is for a year study in Japan along with $45,000! WoW! So, how am I going to use all that money? Well, I'm thinking of using it as an opportunity to collect data for my dissertation. Grand idea.

Grand idea and all, but it entails loads of work. What kind of work?

*Finish last course work EDCS 768
*Field Study
*Gather 4 more professors for my committee
*Write my dissertation proposal
*Get my proposal approved by my committee
*IRB approval
*Comprehensive Exam

...all before I leave to Japan in August. Possible? Well, it's not a matter of possible. It's a matter of it MUST be done.

So, here is my preliminary research question.

What are the perceptions of parents and students towards whether or not the program goals and expectations are being met at English-Japanese two-way immersion schools in Japan?

Reasonable? Understandable? I know it needs work, but it's a start!