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.

Not available / text

Not available / text

This thesis has been an investigation of the applicability of the middleman minority theory with reference to foreign students studying in the United States.Results of the study showed that the returning students generally corresponded with the criteria of the sojourners. Non-returning students however, did not fulfill all the conditions which apply to the middleman minority group residing in the host country. It was concluded that middleman minority is not a discrete category, but falls into the end of a continuum, which starts with the sojourners. In utilizing the middleman minority theory, two factors were excluded from the theory. These were that foreign students act as middleman between the elite and the masses in a society, and that they prefer to work in liquidable occupations.

This study examines pre-service teachers' attitudes toward language diversity and linguistically diverse students. Two hundred seventy-one teacher education students were surveyed to determine relative effects of demographic, mediating variables and psychosocial variables on language attitude as measured by the Language Attitudes of Teachers Scale (LATS). Independent variables include gender, age, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, region, psychological insecurity, cognitive sophistication, and helpfulness viewpoint. Research questions are established and methodology is outlined. A review of related literature places the study in the context of research with a broad interdisciplinary perspective and then links the study to other research relevant to the field of education. The findings of the study indicate that gender, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, political ideology, psychological insecurity, and cognitive sophistication contribute significantly to the variation found in attitude toward language diversity. The paper concludes with analyses and discussions of the significant variables and suggestions for application in teacher preparation.

This study focused on "comprehensive" partnerships between K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions created to improve the pre-college academic preparation, college enrollment and postsecondary success of minority and disadvantaged students. The study identified such partnerships in existence in the United States for more than five years, surveyed the partnerships to describe their characteristics, and selected two of the most successful to analyze their success characteristics. Sixteen such partnerships were identified and surveyed with a 12-item questionnaire designed to inquire about their: (a) structural characteristics, (b) funding, (c) success in achieving their goals and objectives, and (d) collection of data to measure success. Three key informants from each partnership were surveyed. Forty of 48 surveys were returned, for a return rate of 82%. Responses were tabulated to ascertain the degree to which these partnerships had been successful in achieving their goals and identify the areas in which they experienced success. Two of the most successful partnerships were selected for case studies and visited to collect information about the factors that affected their success and to interview five key participants who represented schools and postsecondary institutions in each of the partnerships. An interview protocol was used to probe the degree to which the characteristics of partnerships success identified in the literature (Van de Water, 1989) were present and effected the case study partnerships. Analysis of the surveys, partnership materials, and the interviews provided a comprehensive portrait of each of the study partnerships. Results of the surveys indicate that a majority of these partnerships; consider themselves at least somewhat successful in achieving their goals, and have improved high school preparation and college enrollments. They are, however, less informed about their success in increasing college retention and graduation. The case studies and interviews revealed that the partnerships valued the success characteristics identified in the literature. The most salient characteristics required for success were the existence of leadership capable of negotiating change within several institutions with different organizational cultures, and the need to recognize that partnerships are unique organizations with some of the same peculiarities, structures and needs as other organizations.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a school counselor led classroom intervention, Student Success Skills (SSS) program (Brigman & Webb, 2010), on Grade 5 Hispanic student’s self-regulation, school attendance, and test anxiety. The study used non identifying archival data from a random controlled trial (RCT) collected at 30 elementary schools in one school district during the school year 2012-2013. Attendance was collected at the end of the school year when students completed Grades 4, 5, and 6. Data were collected at three points: pretest, posttest1, and posttest 2. A series of multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) tests and univariate analyses were conducted to determine statistical significance between the treatment group and comparison group in self- regulation, school attendance, and test anxiety. Effect sizes using a partial eta square were calculated for each dependent variable. The results support the Student Success Skills (SSS) classroom program (Brigman & Webb, 2010) implemented by certified school counselors was documented. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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.

President Obama’s 2014 “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative responds to the continuing educational disparities that the No Child Left Behind Act was intended to have addressed. The preoccupation with standardized testing and accountability over the past decade has revealed evidence of disparities in achievement between Black male students and their White counterparts. Critical Race Theorists have framed these persistent disparities as evidence of the opportunity gap and have advocated culturally responsive pedagogy that would facilitate students’ academic success. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

No description available.