In the absence of governmental programs which facilitate and support integration, this study looks at strategies that migrants, and in particular migrant children themselves, develop and the experience they have of the process of integration into the South African host society. Thereby, this study assesses the role that informal social networks play for migrant learners at inner-city schools in Johannesburg with regards to their integration into the school environment in particular and into the broader host society in general. Following a case study approach, I primarily focused on the school, namely Jules High School, as an environment where such networks exist since the school environment is considered as a place where social contacts and interactions with the host population necessarily occur that can be vital in support of integration. In order to explore the role of informal social networks for migrant learners, quantitative interviews with 98 Jules High School students (survey) were conducted, complemented by a focus group discussion as well as qualitative interviews with three key informants.

No description available.

This study was an investigation into factors that influence the dropout rate of migrant students in central Indiana in May-June 2003. Migrant students are children of migratory workers who travel across school and district boundaries to obtain seasonal or temporary employment in agriculture. These students have been considered historically as educationally disadvantaged, with a migratory lifestyle that impedes educational achievement.The researcher developed two questionnaires: one for the students and the other for the parents. The researcher translated both questionnaires into Spanish. The purpose was to investigate how parental influence, mobility and lack of permanency, poverty, and the migrant/school relationship affected the dropout rate. The data were collected from 39 migrant students, ages 11-20, enrolled in central Indiana middle and high schools and 58 adult migrants who had children in school. Even though this study was quantitative, many conclusions were drawn from the informal conversations, in Spanish, that the researcher had with migrants sitting in front of their cabins in the camps. The researcher attended also parent meetings and cultural activities in the Migrant Centers. Many ideas, feelings and perceptions were shared during this time.The data collected were grouped in eight categories: Subject demographics, family educational influences, educational and career goals, migrant mobility, attitudes toward school, financial considerations, acceptance as migrants, role models, and dropping out of school. Seventy-six tables compared the results between the two groups, migrant parents and students. Conclusions and recommendations were made based on those results. Common trends were identified including several that disagreed with conventional common perceptions. Migrant parents and students have the same desires for a better lifestyle just like any other group in our society. Recommendations were made to promote instructional continuity, the importance of education, and the acceptance of migrants into mainstream society. Mobility, poverty, and language barriers were less to blame for migrant educational dropout than were parental and familial influence, lack of participation in extra-curricular activities, disassociation from school and society, severe discrepancies between career goals and educational preparedness, and a marked decline in the student perceived value of education as compared to the adult sample. / Department of Educational Leadership

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The Migrant Education Program was enacted by Congress in 1966 as an amendment to the Elementary and Second Education Act of 1965. Today Title 1, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 provides funding to states and subsequently to local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide educational programs and services to children of migratory farm workers. These funds are intended to enable these unique children to have access to state standards-based curriculum and to find success on standards-based assessments. This study examined the LEA utilization of funds awarded to the State of Florida under Title 1, Part C, from AY2007-09, identified the specific activities implemented by LEAs to meet the unique educational needs of the migrant students, and analyzed the impact of total student membership, total migrant entitlement, and concentration of migrant students relative to the total LEA student membership on the utilization of the funding. The study demonstrated that the Federal Office of Migrant Education policies and rules promulgated by the State of Florida channel funding away from educational activities for the students to non-academic expenditures. / by Robert W. Murray. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

The education of the children of migrant farmworkers is difficult to manage because of their mobile lifestyle. The dropout rate of these children is extremely high and remains the highest of any group in the United States. This project offers an historical overview of the creation and development of the migrant education programs of today. After examining sample distance learning programs and their important components, this project features a model distance-learning program for migrants. The goal is to create distance learning programs that will allow migrant children to continue school as they travel, guide them to graduation, and lead them toward higher education.