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Thesis (Ph. D.)--St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, 2007. / "October 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-85) and appendices.

There is a paucity of research regarding language use among bilingual clients, particularly with Latino children. In order to provide culturally sensitive counseling for bilingual, Spanish-speaking, Latino children it is important to understand their experience of language use. The purpose of this study was to investigate how second generation, bilingual, Mexican American, 5th grade students experience language use in the two languages with which they communicate. I employed a phenomenological method to data collection and analysis and conducted semi-structured individual and group interviews with three boys and five girls (N = 8). Analysis of the individual and group interviews yielded four main structures: (a) dominant language determined perception of developing dual selves, (b) speaking two languages useful in language brokering and upward mobility, (c) dominant language determined experience of language use, and (d) language use and aspects of the complementarity principle. Findings from this study suggest that bilingual Latino children experience language brokering for their parents as difficult, speaking two languages as useful regarding upward mobility, and that their dominant language influences various aspects of their daily experiences such as with whom and where they use each language. Limitations to this research include insufficient time building rapport with participants and challenges related to unexplored dimensions of bilingualism in the counseling research literature. An overarching implication for future research, clinical practice, and counselor education is that bilingualism, language use, and the depth of experience of Latino children are largely understudied topics.

Mexican-American children are educationally disadvantaged, are at-risk for academic failure, and have not demonstrated the academic achievement that other immigrant groups have, even after they have lived in the U.S. for many generations. Today, parental involvement is being touted by government officials and the popular press as one mechanism through which academic achievement can be increased. If parental involvement is indeed effective, it may be one mechanism for improving the achievement of Mexican-American students. For this research, causal modeling (path analysis) was used to investigate the influence of parental involvement on overall academic achievement, and the reading, math, science, and social studies achievement on 1,714 eighth grade Mexican-American children. This research utilized the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS 88), the third major national longitudinal survey developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Parental involvement, defined as discussing school activities and having high educational aspirations for children, positively affected all academic achievement areas. SES (socioeconomic status) and previous learning also had strong influences on achievement. Interestingly, as parents' language proficiency increased, parental involvement decreased, when controlling for the gender of the student, SES, parents' birth place, and previous learning. Gender differences were evident in all academic areas, and females received more attention than males from their parents. Family rules did not influence academic achievement and may in fact have a negative influence on social studies achievement. Since a good education is necessary for all who live in modern society, educators and policy makers should continue to encourage Mexican-American parents to discuss school activities and have high educational aspirations for their children. Parental involvement is one potentially alterable variable which can positively influence the academic achievement of Mexican-American children. / Ph. D.

The problem of this study is that of comparing certain physical fitness and anthropometric measures for early adolescent Mexican-American and Anglo-American males. The purposes of the study are to determine if Mexican-American and Anglo-American males differ in physical fitness or anthropometric measures; to determine if the relationships between age and physical fitness, age and arthropometric measures, and anthropometric measures and physical fitness items are significantly different for Mexican-American and Anglo-American males; to compare the rate of maturation for pre-adolescent Mexican-American and Anglo-American males in physical fitness items and anthropometric measures.

The purposes of this study are: (1) to make a contribution to the increasingly urgent evaluation of an appropriate measure of the intellectual potential of South Texas Mexican-American children as studied through the community of Charlotte, Texas; (2) to gain some insight into the intellectual abilities of Mexican-American children of Charlotte, Texas when compared to the national norm; (3) to appraise the effects of bilingualism as it relates to the mental development of first through fourth grade children of Mexican- American parentage, particularly through the WISC from the standpoint of the language in which the test is given; (4) to ascertain the value of tangible (candy) and intangible (praise) reinforcement for each correct response yielded during the testing session.

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Adolescent immigrant English learners who enter U.S. schools at the secondary level are faced with challenges that distinguish their experience in second language acquisition from that of children and adults. Some of the challenges they face include limited time to acquire academic English proficiencey in reading and writing, difficulty in assimilating into English speaking American culture, and limited programs and services at the secondary level.

The parenting style, level of acculturation and incidence of stress, were explored in order to identify the likelihood of intervention by child protective services to prevent child abuse. Additionally, concerns of whether reports of child abuse were related more to the lack of information about American parenting rules, rather than intentionally abusive behavior.