ABSTRACT
The above vignette demonstrates the challenges many classroom teachers face when they try to understand children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in order to better facilitate learning in the classroom. These children bring with them diversity in language, culture, religion, and even academic preparation (Moll & González, 1994). The changing demographics in today’s schools pose unprecedented urgency for educators to understand children’s outside school social and academic experiences. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2001 population projection, in 2050, one of the greatest increases in the U.S. population will be Asian Pacific American (Asian-American) (from 3.7% in 2000 to 8.9% in 2050), an increase second only to that of the Hispanic population. In Canada, Asia and Pacific countries have become the leading source of immigrants since the 1990s (53.01% in 2001), with China (including Hong Kong) being the No. 1 source country (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2002). With the increase of the Asian population in North America, the number of school age Asian Pacific children has also increased tremendously, with a six-fold increase between 1960 and 1990. The growth is expected to continue at a high rate in the U.S. and Canada.
