The Education Coordinating Group Organization Chart includes important subgroups/foci (e.g., literacy/language, special education, and disability). Given the growing immigrant populations in many countries where work is desirable, a fourth subgroup should focus on second language acquisition. This would also address issues of language and biliteracy among indigenous language groups. No longer is it possible to frame any country as "one nation, one language" and abide by the UNESCO rights of the child. A second language acquisition focus would also be broad enough to include biliteracy research in Africa and lingua franca acquisition research in regions with high multilingualism and language contact. Rigorous second language acquisition research in Sub-Saharan African countries is virtually non-existent, while the linguistic diversity of the region has been well researched in sociolinguistics, lexicography, and anthropology. Consequently, there is a moral argument to be made in framing a fourth focus: It raises the importance of the this work in educuational research to subgroup status rather than subgroup of a subgroup status.

Ari Sherris, research associate, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C.

I am interested in research on effective teaching strategies and school strategies which raise the achievement of boys from low-socio-economic groups.

Is there a way through working with the Campbell collaboration of finding others with like interests?