John J. Attinasi, Ph. D.

Professor of Teacher Education &

Linguistics, CSULB

Personal Information

& Accomplishments

College of Education

Office: ED2-182, E-mail: jattinas@csulb.edu

John Attinasi is Professor of Teacher Education & Linguistics at California State University , Long Beach . His experience in bilingual teacher preparation and multicultural education spans 20 years as Director of Bilingual Education, at Indiana University Northwest (Gary 1981-91), and CSULB (1993-2006). He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Chicago (1973).  Attinasi was Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University (1972-77), and Associate Professor and Director of Urban Teacher Education-a professional development school collaborative-at Indiana University (1991-93).  He was the Language Policy Research Director for the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, C.U.N.Y., (1977-80), investigating language socialization, attitudes, and code-switching. He was also Research Director at Latino Institute (Chicago, 1986-88), leading projects in demographics, philanthropy, health care, education and employment.  Attinasi has directed grants from private foundations, the US Dept. of Education and the California State University system.

Attinasi was a middle school English teacher in Gary , Indiana . He has worked collaboratively on research projects, compliance reviews, and school-university projects in New York , Chicago , Milwaukee , Ohio , Indiana and California . His research interests include community demographics, language attitudes, educational collaboration in an international context, and the role of language in discrimination. He recently competed successfully for funding to support community service learning regarding ESL and citizenship, and for international teacher education. Student growth regarding diversity is a current research and curriculum development interest.

Attinasi speaks Spanish, French and Chol Maya fluently, and has studied several other languages, including German, Bengali, and Italian. He lived for two years in Tila , Chiapas , studying contemporary Mayan language and culture. Dr. Attinasi was founding Chair of the International Teacher Education Council, which cooperates with la Secretaría de Educación Pública, la Escuela Normal & Tec de Monterrey in Querétaro (México), and is a member of the Asian BCLAD Consortium, a multi-campus pathway for Asian language bilingual teacher preparation in the Los Angeles area.

John Attinasi was a member of the Leadership Long Beach class of 2000-2001. He was the CSU Bautzer Faculty representative from the Long Beach campus in 2001, and was honored with the CSULB Faculty Community Service Award in 2002.

Selected Publications and Manuscripts

Kuhlman, N. A, Alfaro, C., Attinasi, J., Dreisbach, M., & Merino, R. (2003, in press). Transforming California teachers: A biliteracy program in México. Mexico City : MexTesol Journal, Spring.

"Meeting the English Learner Authorization in the Era of 2042 Credentials. 2001. (with Margaret Olebe & Joel Colbert). California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Summer Title II Workshop. August.

"Teachers in Post-Proposition 227 Southern California : Implications for Teacher Education." 2000. (with Olga Rubio). Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27,4,273-287.

 "English Only for California Children and the Aftermath of Proposition 227." 1998. Education Journal. 119 (2), 263-283.

"Racism, Language and Urban US Minorities: Issues in Bilingualism and Bidialectalism," in Race, Steven Gregory and Roger Sanjek, (eds), Rutgers University Press, 1994, reprinted in Darder, Antonia, Rodolfo Torres and Henry Gutierrez, (eds.) Latinos and Education, New York: Routledge, 1997

"Una Nueva Experiencia de Evaluación: Programa Bilingüe de Lenguaje Transcultural y Desarrollo Académico," in Diversidad en la Educación, conference proceedings: Encuentro--Educación y Diversidad Cultural: el Reto ante la globilazación (Education and Cultural Diversity: the Challenge of Globalization). Mexico City : Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, 1994.

"Professors and teachers working together to develop instructional teams in an urban teacher education program," Contemporary Education, issue on Professional Development Schools , Vol. LXIV (4), Summer, 1993, 243-48, (co-authored with Pamela Sandoval and Charlotte Reed).  

Attinasi, John J., Pedro Pedraza, Shana Poplack and Alicia Pousada. Intergenerational Perspectives on Bilingualism. Final Report to National Institute of Education. New York : Center for Puerto Rican Studies, C.U.N.Y., (1983).

"Puerto Rican Language and Culture in New York City ," Caribbean Life in New York City : Sociocultural Dimensions, C.R. Sutton and E.M. Chaney (eds.) Staten Island , N.Y. : Center for Migration Studies of New York , 1987. 221-234. Republished from "La Carreta made a U-Turn: Puerto Rican Language and Culture in the United States ." Daedalus, Vol.110, No. 2, 1981. (co-authored with Juan Flores and Pedro Pedraza.)