Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
Date of Award
12-2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Dr. Karen Watt
Second Advisor
Dr. Miguel De Los Santos
Third Advisor
Dr. Jerry Lowe
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine selected factors related to the 8th grade mathematics achievement levels of English Language Learner (ELL) students in selected South Texas middle schools. The dependent variable, ELL mathematics achievement, was measured by the ELL student’s raw score on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) or the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness linguistically accommodated test (STAAR L). The factors examined in this study were 1) parent’s educational background, 2) socioeconomic status, 3) parental involvement status at school, 4) number of people in the household, 5) family structure, 6) primary home language, 7) student’s gender, 8) English language proficiency level, 9) number of years classified as an ELL, and 10) type of bilingual education program participated in. This is a quantitative study that utilized parent questionnaires and student raw STAAR/STAAR L Math scores as sources of measurement. The researcher administered one researcher-created survey to the parents of eighth grade ELL students from ten selected middle schools in two South Texas school districts. The parent survey consisted of six questions. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine if ELL math achievement is a function of the independent variables. The null hypotheses for the present study were tested with an F distribution at the .05 level of significance. The review of literature on bilingual education identified the conceptual framework for this study. The conceptual framework was based on Mikow-Porto, Humphries, Egelson, O’Connel, and Teagues’ (2004) English Language Learners in the South East: Research, Policy, and Practice, Gallo, Garcia, Pinuelas, and Youngs’ (2008) Bilingual Education Program Inconsistencies, and Nieto’s (2009) Brief History of Bilingual Education in the United States. The findings from this study indicated the following: (1) Eighth grade ELL mathematics achievement is a function of English language proficiency level and number of years classified as an ELL student, (2) Eighth grade ELL mathematics achievement is not a function of parent’s educational background, socioeconomic status, parental involvement status at school, number of people in the household, family structure, primary home language, student’s gender, and type of bilingual education program participated in.
Granting Institution
University of Texas-Pan American
Comments
Copyright 2012 Anthony Garza. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/selected-factors-related-mathematics-academic/docview/1492676407/se-2