A study of a sample of 93 randomly selected Island-born 12 and 13 year old Puerto Rican students who received 0, 1, 2-3 or 4-5 years of prior native language (L(,1)) instruction in Puerto Rico was carried out in 1983 within a Chicago public school district characterized by its high concentration of students of low socioeconomic status. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship of English reading achievement of 12 and 13 year old Island-born Puerto Rican students and the number of years (0-1, 2-3 or 4-5) of formal first language schooling they received in Puerto Rico before migrating to the United States. A questionnaire was used to gather information about the students' prior L(,1) schooling in Puerto Rico and their 1982 English Achievement Scores for reading and mathematics in the Chicago public schools. One way Analyses of Variance were run. Reading and mathematics scores were examined to determine if any significant differences existed between the scores obtained by students whose mother had received a primary school education and those who had received a secondary school education. The scores were also examined to determine if any significant differences existed between the scores for reading and the scores for mathematics as they relate to the number of years of L(,1) schooling the students received in Puerto Rico (1, 2-3 or 4-5). Scores were then examined for differences in relationship to the school setting in which the schooling was received (urban or rural). Two way Analyses of Variance were conducted to examine the interaction of the two independent variables, number of years L(,1) schooling and educational setting, with each of the dependent variables, reading and mathematics achievement. No significant differences were found at the .05 level of significance. The six null hypotheses on the reading and mathematics achievement / could not be rejected. Neither prior L(,1) schooling in Puerto Rico nor the educational setting in which the schooling was received showed a significant relationship to student achievement. / The study supports the Ramsey and Wright (1974) findings of no academic disadvantage for the arriving 6-7 year old children. The Baral (1979) and Lazos (1981) findings of no academic advantage for the recently arrived immigrant students are also supported. / Findings from this study suggest that language minority students of low socioeconomic status could benefit from spending more than 3-4 years in a bilingual program even with a differentiated curriculum. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-10, Section: A, page: 3064. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75431 |
| Contributors | REID, MITZIE ANN., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 111 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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