The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Woodcock-Johnson-Revised Cognitive test is biased when used with a Hispanic population of school-age children. Norming data, provided by R. Woodcock, Ph.D., for grades three, five, eight, and eleven were used for the study. Three hypotheses were explored. The first hypothesis called for a comparison by gender. The second hypothesis called for a comparison of non-Hispanics and Hispanics. The third hypothesis called for comparisons between all combinations of grade levels using only the non-Hispanic subgroup. Using the results of confirmatory factor analysis from LISREL VIII (1993), the chi-square difference test, and three goodness-of-fit indexes provided evidence of similarity in factor patterns between target groups. Hypothesis 1 stated that there were no differences between male and female factor patterns. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the acceptance of hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 2 stated that there were no differences between non-Hispanic and Hispanic students. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported a qualified acceptance of hypothesis 2. The relationships between the latent variables are significantly different. Age, therefore, may have been a confounding variable in this study. Hypothesis 3 stated that there were no differences in patterns between grades. Only one of the six grade comparisons, 3-5, found model 1 to be the preferred model. All other comparisons found model 3 to be the preferred model. The residual or error terms were variable in matrix patterns, indicating that a factor other than age may be influencing the relationships. A fourth analysis was utilized and determined model 1 to be the preferred model. The results of the analysis indicate that differential patterns of processing, rather than age, may be the variable influencing the relationship of latent variables.

The purpose of this study was to explore some of the factors White educators need to teach Black students effectively. It examined what role the race of the teachers may play in Black students' academic success and whether White teachers are able and willing to meet the educational needs of Black students. Eight White teachers were interviewed. In this study, race is defined as a grouping of individuals who display the same phenotypic skin color by which people in the United States identify themselves and are identified by others. Today's reality is that more and more Black students are being taught by White teachers in public schools even where Black students are a majority. There are still marked disparities in the academic achievement between Black and White students. The gap between the academic achievement of White and Black students in public secondary schools is increasing. White teachers have not been properly prepared by their pre-service education programs and in-service training to teach Black students effectively. White teachers recognized that their preparation and training for teaching came out of their own cultural background for the traditional students, either White students or students who conform to mainstream Eurocentric standards, and that they are not being held responsible and accountable for the productive academic achievement of the Black students they teach. White teachers did not identify with their Black students, and they dealt with Black students from their "White privilege" perspective. This study revealed the presence of racism in the public school and that the race of the teacher did affect the achievement of Black students. It pointed out that White teachers fear the Black students they teach. White teachers need to be antiracist educators. They must understand racism and how different forms of racism affect their belief systems and their philosophies of teaching. Also they should know and understand how these forms of racism affect the academic achievement of the Black students they teach. The concept of "customer" being applied to teaching Black students might encourage White teachers to be more responsive, accountable and productive in teaching Black students. / Graduation date: 1997

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I interviewed twenty-four International students from the following countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Spain. Hereafter I shall refer to the respondents as Hispanic International students. My primary interest was to learn the way in which Hispanic International students defined themselves in view of ethnic definitions imposed on them by the administrative system in the U.S. First, Hispanic International students defined themselves primarily by their nationality. The second finding dealt with the usage of language. The Hispanic International students spoke Spanish with relatives and friends. They spoke English when a non-Spanish speaker joined the conversation. The third finding was related to the problems and adaptations encountered by Hispanic International students.

Community colleges and for-profit institutions are considered open-access institutions and serve a large proportion of the United States student population. Furthermore, research confirms that students who are minorities, disadvantaged, and nontraditional attend these institutions in greater numbers than highly selective institutions. However, little is known about how these students choose between these two types of open-access institutions. The purpose of this study was to acquire a deeper understanding of the discriminating factors that influence these pathways and determine a predictive model of choice that is generalizable to undergraduate students choosing to attend open-access institutions. The study used the undergraduate portion of the 2011- 2012 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12) as its data source. NPSAS:12 contains a sample of about 95,000 undergraduate and about 16,900 graduate students enrolled between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012 in approximately 1,690 Title IV-eligible institutions of higher education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The results of the study indicate that the odds are higher for students attending for-profit colleges and universities than public two-year colleges to: be female; have independent status (24 years of age or older); have dependents; be Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander; use higher amounts of financial aid; either not have a job or work fulltime; be less likely to attend college part-time; have higher college GPAs; and attend larger institutions. When restricting the sample for at-risk and non-traditional students, the odds for Hispanic and Latino and American Indian or Alaska Native students attending FPCUs increased, whereas the odds of Black or African American students attending FPCUs decreased. The results, implications for policy and practice, and recommendations for future research are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Global student mobility has become a dynamic force in American higher education. Integrating international students into diverse campus environments provides domestic as well as foreign students with enriched learning opportunities. However, a diverse campus climate itself will not make college students interculturally competent. Intentional curricular design is critical for overcoming issues such as resistance and reinforcement of stereotypes, but the research literature is extremely limited on effective pedagogical strategies for cultivating college students' intercultural sensitivity. This paper explicates a research study to investigate college students' development of intercultural sensitivity through an intentional course design utilizing Kolb's (1984) learning styles cycle and Hammer's (2009) Intercultural Development Continuum (IDC). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to explore domestic and international students' intercultural learning experiences and to potentially identify pedagogical approaches that facilitate students' intercultural competence. These findings show that the four pedagogical strategies associated with Kolb's learning cycle were effective and crucial when designing an intercultural course in order to develop college students' intercultural competence. This study also revealed a gap in intercultural development through the intentional intercultural course between American students and Japanese exchange students due to their vastly different intercultural experiences.