The desire for academic success is shared by Haitian parents and their American-born children. Yet, despite this will to succeed, second generation Haitian students have been shown to fare poorly in school when compared to other ethnic groups. This qualitative study revealed that students' poor results in high school were not due to adversarial attitudes toward education; rather, they reflected inadequate foundations in basic academic skills. In particular, limited vocabularies hamper the academic achievement of many Haitian American students. Some students who expected that passing grades would lead to college are unable to pass the FCAT exam required to earn a high school diploma. Surprisingly, the highest levels of academic achievement were attained by the students with the poorest and least educated parents. They displayed extraordinary motivation attributed to a strong sense of familial obligation. / by Tekla Nicholas. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.

本論文探討來自中國內地和南亞國家的少年移民學生如何適應香港的教育和生活。他們是香港兩大移民群體，儘管他們的族群和文化背景截然不同，香港人一般都認為他們落後和貧困，與香港社會格格不入。本研究旨在了解他們的求學道路和身份建構過程。而在社會化的討論背景下，求學道路和身份建構是兩個相互關聯、相互重疊的概念。田野調查在香港四所收了大批移民學生的中學進行，時間由幾個月到一年多不等。 / 本研究發現，雖然兩組學生的背景不同，在香港的教育制度下，他們面對相似的限制及不利因素。本文指出，教師認為這兩組學生有類近的學習問題，但卻成因各異，教師亦對自己可以起的作用有不同看法。以上種種皆會影響青少年作為社會成員的身份認同。本文又指出，這兩組學生，在不同程度上自稱是香港的一份子。然而，他們的理由不一，理解也不盡同。 / 在學校層面發生的事情是重要的，因為它反映了在社會層面，大家如何界定誰是社會成員，如何在不同的歷史、文化和社經環境下，轉變想法和做法，以及社會和個人如何在過程中互動。在當前全球化的時代，人口遷移不斷影響世界各地的社會經濟和人口結構。本文提出一個新的角度，以重新思考移民和教育的理論。 / This thesis explores the immigration and schooling experiences of the teenage children of immigrants of the two largest incoming groups to Hong Kong: from Mainland China and from South Asia. Most people in Hong Kong think that both groups are culturally backward and economically impoverished, which means that both do not fit in, despite the fact that they have utterly different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I seek to understand the factors that are shaping their educational pathways and identity formation, which I consider to be two interrelated and overlapping concepts against the backdrop of socialization. Data are largely drawn from ethnographic fieldwork, from a few months to more than a year, in four secondary schools in Hong Kong which admit a large number of immigrants. / I argue that despite their different backgrounds, both groups of students face very similar structural constraints and disadvantages in Hong Kong’s education system. I also argue that teachers perceive very similar learning problems in these two groups of students, but they see the problems to have stemmed from different causes, and have different understandings how much teachers can do. This has implications on the teenagers’ identities as members of society. I further argue that both groups, albeit to different extents, claim their belonging to Hong Kong in terms of their identity. However, they seem to base their claims on different grounds, and have different understandings of their belonging to Hong Kong. / What goes on in the classroom is important because it reflects in the larger society how people understand and practice who they include and who they exclude; how the ideologies and practices at work change in different historical, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts; and how individuals negotiate the shaping and the inclusion or exclusion. My thesis adds a new perspective for us to rethink theories of migration and education in an era of globalization when the mass movement of people is defining and redefining the socioeconomic and demographic landscapes in many parts of the world. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Chee, Wai Chi. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 383-415). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / Abbreviations --- p.v / Language, Name, and Currency --- p.vi / Tables and Graph --- p.vii / Chapter 1. --- Introduction / Introduction --- p.1 / Research Questions and Objectives --- p.1 / Immigrant Students in Hong Kong’s Education System --- p.6 / Significance of Research --- p.9 / Literature Review --- p.15 / Methodology --- p.54 / Some Ethical Concerns --- p.63 / Chapter Overview --- p.67 / Chapter 2. --- Immigration Motivations, Trajectories and Predicaments: Positioning Teenage Immigrants in Hong Kong / Introduction --- p.74 / Ebbs and Flows of People from Mainland China into Hong Hong --- p.77 / Emergence of Hong Kong Identity --- p.79 / Situating Mainland Chinese Teenagers in Hong Kong’s Immigration Context --- p.82 / Situating South Asian Teenage Immigrants in Hong Kong’s Immigration Context --- p.87 / Immigration Motivations and Predicaments --- p.96 / Conclusion --- p.113 / Chapter 3. --- On the Threshold of the Mainstream: Initiation Program and its Completion Ceremony / Introduction --- p.115 / Initiation Program and Its Completion Ceremony --- p.119 / Form, Content, and Meanings of the Completion Ceremony: The Case of Lily School --- p.126 / Form, Content, and Meanings of the Completion Ceremony: The Case of Peony School --- p.141 / Dramatized Epitome of the Initiation Program --- p.159 / Conclusion --- p.166 / Chapter 4. --- Entering the Mainstream: From Initiation Program to Mainstream Education / Introduction --- p.169 / Looking for a Place in a Mainstream School --- p.172 / Entering the Educational Mainstream --- p.182 / Out of the "Greenhouse" --- p.191 / Future Educational Pathways --- p.198 / Conclusion --- p.208 / Chapter 5. --- Ideologies and Practices of Inclusion/Exclusion: Immigrant Students in Hong Kong’s Education System / Introduction --- p.211 / Perception, Inclusion, Exclusion: Mainlanders and South Asians in Hong Kong --- p.214 / Adapting to Education and Life in a "Greenhouse" --- p.229 / Educational Greenhouse Effect --- p.246 / Conclusion --- p.258 / Chapter 6. --- Socialization and Citizen-Making: The Role of Educators / Introduction --- p.260 / What an Ideal Student Should be Like --- p.264 / The Making of “Ideal Students --- p.267 / Double-Edged Teacher-Student Relationships --- p.300 / Paradoxical Effect of the Attempt to Create "Ideal Students" --- p.305 / Conclusion --- p.313 / Chapter 7. --- The Politics of Belonging: What Does It Mean to Be a Teenage Immigrant Student in Hong Kong? / Introduction --- p.318 / (Re)Evaluating Hong Kong --- p.323 / Positioning Hong Kong in Immigrant Children’s Migration Trajectories --- p.329 / Identity and the Politics of Belonging --- p.341 / Conclusion --- p.352 / Chapter 8. --- Conclusion / Introduction --- p.356 / Theorizing "Envisioned Belonging" --- p.358 / Theorizing the "Educational Greenhouse Effect" --- p.368 / Rethinking Theories of Migration and Education --- p.372 / More Supportive Educational Policies for Immigrant Students --- p.377 / Hong Kong and Immigration --- p.380 / References --- p.383

The results showed that the students' Chinese language ability is low, especially their literacy skills. There was significant discrepancy between the students' oral and written language competence. Further analyses were conducted in accordance with models derived from the simple view of reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986), in which reading comprehension is assumed to be the product of decoding and linguistic comprehension. The analyses showed that the language-literacy discrepancy was related to the students' poor decoding ability. The students' reading comprehension performance was related more closely to Chinese character recognition ability than their linguistic comprehension competence. Moreover, the students' Chinese orthographic awareness and knowledge was found to be related to Chinese character recognition. The effect of the former on reading comprehension was mediated through the latter. / The study supports the relevance of the simple view model for understanding learning to read Chinese by second language learners. Studies of reading in alphabetic languages adopting the simple view have shown that the importance of decoding relative to linguistic comprehension depends on the developmental stage and proficiency of the readers, as well as orthographic transparency of the language. These results are consistent with our finding that for the participants in this study who were in upper primary level learning a deep orthography (i.e., Chinese), decoding accounts for more variance in reading performance than linguistic comprehension. Furthermore, just like understanding of the alphabetic principle helps reading in alphabetic languages, awareness and knowledge of the structural properties of Chinese characters, that is, the componential structures of the orthography and their phonetic and semantic functions, have a facilitative effect on Chinese character recognition and reading performance. Educational implications for the Hong Kong ethnic minority students and for Chinese second language learning were discussed. / This study investigated acquisition of Chinese literacy by ethnic minority children in Hong Kong primary schools. Ninety-seven primary-four ethnic minority students from four schools participated in the study. Their Chinese orthographic awareness and knowledge, Chinese character recognition ability, Chinese listening comprehension and reading comprehension competence were assessed. / Wong, Yu Ka. / Advisers: Pui Wan Cheng; Ling Po Shiu. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-02, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-131). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; some appendixes also in Chinese.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The underrepresentation of minority students in gifted programs is well documented, and is due, in large part, to limited definitions of giftedness and inadequate identification techniques. New methods of locating and identifying gifted minority students must be developed. The peer referral procedure has been cited as one method for locating students who may be gifted but are overlooked by the most common referral source--classroom teachers, but researchers have not investigated directly the use of peer referral for locating minority students in any ethnic group. The subjects were the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students (N = 1564) and their teachers in nine selected schools, divided into three groups: (a) schools with a Hispanic population of over 75%, (b) schools with an equal proportion of Hispanics and Anglos, and (c) schools with less than 25% Hispanic students. Students completed a peer referral form designed to reflect traits of gifted Hispanic students. Also, the number of teacher referrals using the traditional school district procedures was collected. Primary areas of investigation included the (a) relationship between the ethnicity of the nominator and nominee, (b) relationship between the gender of the nominator and nominee, (c) usefulness of peer referral to locate Hispanic students who may be gifted and (d) sensitivity of the peer referral instrument to Hispanic students. Qualitative and quantitative statistical techniques were used, including stepwise logistic regression, cluster analyses, odds ratios, and content analysis. Findings indicated that peer referral was a useful technique for locating Hispanic and Anglo students that teachers did not refer. Few differences were discovered between the Hispanics and Anglos on the instrument. Students referred peers who matched a stereotypical profile of the academically gifted student. In the balanced schools, Anglos tended to nominate other Anglos and Hispanics tended to nominate other Hispanics. Gender nomination patterns varied, depending on the question focus. Peer referral is a promising practice for locating some Hispanic students who may be gifted; however, if minority students who are different from the majority gifted student are going to be found, other methods of referral, besides teachers and peers, are needed. Researchers must continue to explore the differences and similarities between majority and minority children who are gifted.

If we define language fluency as more than simply a way of speaking, but also a way of thinking, acting, and being, then we enter a conversation of language as ‘Discourse’ that was sparked by James Paul Gee. This conversation invokes discrete designations of Discourse as home-based, school-based, dominant, and non-dominant. These designations reveal divisions between Discourses that are believed to manifest themselves in the identity formation of ‘language-minority students:’ those whose home Discourse is non-dominant. The dominant Discourse that these students encounter in school generates two documented paths: Richard Hoggart’s scholarship boy and Herbert Kohl’s not-learner; both paths reflect the limited agency of these students within academia. In order to counteract this delimiting of student agency, this project proposes a progressive shift towards a post-modern conception of identity formation; this can be accomplished by opening the Composition classroom to student authored, non-traditional, ‘hybridized’ Discourses. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

College access programs (CAPs) have proliferated throughout the United States to address disparities in college enrollment between White, higher-income students, and racial/ethnic minority and lower-income students. While CAPs have helped to reduce such disparities, considerable challenges remain. U.S. higher education leaders are facing renewed urgency to address this issue because racial/ethnic minority and lower-income groups are now the fastest growing segments of the population, and because educational attainment – acquisition of a college degree – is increasingly important to national economic growth and individual well-being. However, to date, only a few researchers have examined CAPs’ influence on participants beyond college enrollment, so there is a knowledge gap regarding the kinds of systems and supports needed to help members of these populations achieve a college degree. This study examines the relationship between CAP participation and the undergraduate experiences and outcomes of CAP alumni who enrolled in college. The primary data for this study consisted of individual interviews with 24 alumni from five CAPs in the New York City metropolitan area who subsequently attended college. The CAPs varied by primary funding source. Four to six participants per site were college juniors or seniors, recent college graduates, or individuals who enrolled in college but withdrew before graduating and never returned. The data highlighted the following key themes and implications: (1) CAPs in this study were largely successful in helping alumni enroll in colleges and universities known to be selective; (2) While the CAPs exerted helpful influences, alumni nonetheless faced serious challenges through the college years, such as meeting academic demands and navigating barriers of bigotry and intolerance that are deeply embedded on many campuses; and (3) CAPs in this study influenced alumni’s post-college aspirations, directions, and trajectories regarding career choices, and family and community uplift. Drawing on these findings, this study proposed a model of the psychosocial, academic, and sociocultural resources that appear to contribute to the undergraduate experiences, outcomes, and post-college trajectories of CAP alumni. The study concludes with implications for practice, policy and further research.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine “pockets of success” through the voices of participant stakeholders in low socio-economic status urban high schools and communities to identify opportunities and structures that can improve postsecondary outcomes for students. Examining those pockets of success to rise above the dynamics that obstruct pathways to success, and identifying opportunities for students to transcend their social, economic, and human condition, are the impetuses for the study. The study design is grounded in portraiture, created by Lawrence-Lightfoot and Hoffman-Davis (1997), to detail the intricate dynamics and relationships that exist in high schools. Portraiture steps outside of the traditional boundaries of quantitative and qualitative research to converge narrative analysis with public discourse in a search for authenticity. Identifying what the participants value, how they create and promote opportunities for students, the school’s role in rebuilding the surrounding community, and the community’s priority for graduates, provided the groundwork. The review of the literature reconstructs the term “opportunity” in the context of the urban high school, aligning it with the moral purposes of education. It traces the history of educational and social justice barriers for minority students, outlines the impact of leadership decision-making on the evolution of the urban high school, and addresses increasing the capacity of schools to create opportunities for students to succeed. Participants revealed the foundations for success, challenges and goals toward success, conduits to facilitate that success, and collaborations required to build an agenda to couple school-based stakeholders, civic groups, and national organizations to the creation of a national platform to improve outcomes for urban public high school students in disenfranchised communities. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Two theoretical models were examined based on the contributions of preservice teachers' personal teaching efficacy, ethnic causal attributions, past teaching, and international interaction experiences to their behaviors toward international children in multicultural small group activity sessions. Path analytic results revealed that for both models, these variables together did not significantly predict the positive or negative behavior of preservice teachers. T-tests, applied to positive and negative behaviors indicated that these behaviors varied significantly based on the child's gender and classroom activity type. Aspects of gender and activity type were included in an additional exploratory analysis of 16 path models. Only six were significant, although even these did not explain a large percentage of the variance associated with preservice teachers' behaviors. Personal teaching efficacy had a significant direct positive impact on the frequency and quality of positive behaviors displayed by preservice teachers toward international girls during unstructured table activities. However, the ethnic attribution variable of locus of causality had a significant direct positive impact on the frequency and quality of positive behaviors displayed by preservice teachers toward international boys during structured storytime activities. In addition, teacher preparation level and past international interaction experience had a significant direct negative impact on the frequency and quality of negative behaviors, respectively displayed by preservice teachers toward international boys during unstructured table activities. Finally, among these significant path models (a) teacher preparation level and past international interaction experiences made significant direct positive impacts on the causal attribution variables of locus of causality and stability; (b) the causal attribution variable of stability had a significant direct negative impact on controllability, and (c) the significant path coefficients between personal teaching efficacy and the causal attribution variable of stability were positive, while those associated with controllability were negative. In a secondary analysis, differences between preservice teachers' behaviors toward international and U.S. children as a result of children' s ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, and involvement in different types of small group activities were examined, applying a multivariate analysis of variance. Positive behaviors displayed by preservice teachers were significantly lower for international than for U.S. children, while the converse was true for negative behaviors. In addition, both positive and negative behaviors displayed toward girls were significantly lower than for boys. Preservice teachers also displayed significantly more negative behaviors toward children during structured storytime than unstructured table activities. Overall, however, preservice teachers exhibited more positive than negative behaviors toward both international and U.S. children. / Graduation date: 1993