The following is a case study of grade 12 English as a Second Language (ESL)
students enrolled in a British Columbia secondary school during the 2001-2002 academic
year. The principal objective of this research was to uncover the following: 1) if ESL
students made course choices at grade 12 which differed from those of non-ESL student
choice patterns at grade 12; 2) the role of familial preferences, cultural influences and
prior learning styles which predispose student choice for post secondary concentrations.
This research examined the academic transcripts of 238 (94 ESL, 144 non-ESL)
students, analyzed the responses of 145 (65 ESL, 80 non-ESL) student questionnaires,
and considered interviews with 26 ESL students and 12 school staff (4 counselors, 8
teachers). The findings suggest that a significant difference exists in the academic
courses in which ESL grade 12 students enroll compared to non-ESL students. Cultural
and familial influences were found to affect both the types of senior courses ESL students
chose and their aims about future educational and career aspirations. The findings
suggest that secondary schools examine critically their policies regarding broadening the
exposure of ESL students to more expressive courses in Arts to extend equality of
opportunity in determining their career choice directions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/14369 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Espinoza, Victor Marcelo |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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