| Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) are those students who qualify for English as a New Language (ENL) service delivery, who have had at least two or more years of disruption in their educational attainment and are born outside of the United States. They are at least two years or more behind their peers in reading and math, and may be preliterate in their native language. Current research has revealed that while schools have been adopting several instructional strategies to address the educational needs of SIFE, there is also evidence that some SIFE are misidentified and misplaced in special education programs. Such placement decisions have been reported to have adverse effects on SIFE. Using a qualitative approach at a major urban school district in the United States, this study discovered instructional strategies that have been successful at improving the educational experiences of SIFE. Implications for the accurate identification of SIFE are discussed and a SIFE success roadmap is recommended. |
