RETENTION AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF WEST INDIAN-DESCENT:
A QUANTITATIVE EX-POST FACTOR ANALYSIS
by
Jacki
Copyright 2015
A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education
in
Educational Leadership/Educational Technology
University of Phoenix
The Dissertation Committee for Jacqueline Berlin certifies approval of the following dissertation:
RETENTION AMONG WEST INDIAN-DESCENT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS:
A QUANTITATIVE EX-POST FACTOR ANALYSIS
Committee:
Darnell Anderson, EDD-ET., Chair
LinLin (Irene) Chen, Ed.D. Committee Member
Patricia Penn, Ph.D.
Darrell Anderson
LinLin (Irene) Chen
Dr. Patricia Penn
Jeremy Moreland, Ph.D.
Academic Dean, School of Advanced Studies
University of Phoenix
Date Approved:
ABSTRACT
The retention rates of high school for people of West Indian descent, living in the United States is an area of research that is sorely lacking. This paper will examine some of the difference, if any, between generations of American high school students of the West Indian descent. The scope of this study will determine whether exposure to Southern Florida’s virtual (FLVS) classroom environment will affect the retention rate of Caribbean-born parents, and the second and third generation group. Ultimately, this research proposal will demonstrate some of the stark differences in terms of retention rates between generations of American high school students of West Indian descent.
This quantitative, casual-comparative and survey-based study will be conducted on a population of person of West Indian descent in Miami-Dade County in South Florida. Data collected by means of the Likert scale. The researcher will address survey questions to measure personal enjoyment in school, personal success in school, parent support and school support. The collection of Data will be examined using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The proposal will also examine a large amount of existing literature on the subject, examining some of the successes and failures of similar studies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Page
LIST OF FIGURES vi
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Background of the Problem 2
Purpose of the Study 2
Research Questions 4
Scope of the Study 6
Nature of the Study 7
Theoretical Foundation 9
Significance of the Study 11
Definition of Terms 11
Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations 13
Summary 13
Chapter 2 Review of the Literature 16
Title Searches, Articles, Research Documents, and Journals 16
West Caribbean Immigrants in America: Background and Overview 17
West Indian Academic Performance 27
West Indian School Enjoyment 35
Parental Support 38
School Support 42
Educational Technology and Retention 45
Florida Virtual School 47
Summary 48
Chapter 3 Method 50
Research Questions and Hypotheses 50
Methodology 52
Setting 54
Participants and Sampling 54
Participants Selection 55
Data Collection 59
Data Analysis Procedures 60
Limitations 62
Ethical Concerns 63
Summary 64
References 66
Appendix A Instrument 75
Appendix B The Perceived Academic Competence Scale (Akey, 2006) 76
Appendix C School Climate Survey (Nicols & Nicols, 2012) 77
Appendix D Informed Consent Form 78
Appendix E Letter of Invitation 79
Appendix F Preliminary Letter 80
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Theoretical Framework of the Study 10
Figure 2. Relative Populations of Caribbean People in the United States. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013a). 18
Figure 3. Geographic Distribution of Caribbean People in the United States. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b). 19
Figure 4. Geographic Distribution of Caribbean People in the United States by City. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b). 20
Figure 5. Geographic Distribution of Caribbean People in the United States by State. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b). 21
Figure 6. High School Graduates by Age Bracket, West Indian Males. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b). 29
Figure 7. High School Graduates by Age Bracket, West Indian Females. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b). 30
Chapter 1
Introduction
Immigrants to the United States tend to obtain progressively better academic outcomes with each generation (Bennett & Lutz, 2009; Chuang & Moreno, 2011; Cruz, Capps, Vericker, & Kuehn, 2009; Gibson & Ogbu, 1991; Haller, Portes, & Lynch, 2011; Pinel, Warner, & Chua, 2005; Rogers, 2006; Zagelbaum, 2010). West Indian immigrants—that is immigrants hailing from the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana—might be an exception to this norm (Mitchell, 2005; Model, 2011). Successive generations of West Indians in the United States have graduated high school and college at lower rates than their antecedents (Mitchell, 2005; Model, 2011).
The reasons for this observed decline in educational attainment in successive generations of West Indian immigrants to the United States are not well documented in published literature, despite the fact that both Mitchell (2005) and Model (2011) speculated that intergenerational cultural differences might serve as the explanation. In particular, Mitchell and Model hypothesized that older West Indians were acculturated to have more enjoyment for school, which resulted in better academic performance. Another possible explanation for the observed phenomenon of successive West Indian generations’ academic decline is environmental; it could be the case, for example, that the latest generation of West Indians in the United States has not received sufficient parental or school support to succeed. Two challenges confront educational leaders tasked with the education of students of West Indian descent. The first challenge is the identification of the reasons why these students drop out more frequently than their parents and grandparents; and the second is the implementation of interventions that improve the retention rate of these students.
Background of the Problem
The problem to be examined in this study will be the lower high school retention rate of third-generation West Indian students in the United States when compared to their parents and grandparents, which is a phenomenon documented by several scholars. Mitchell’s (2005) research establishes that, over time, West Indians in the United States have placed decreasing emphasis on education. This change in attitude toward learning is also reflected in educational attainment statistics among the West Indian student demographic. Udeogalanya (1995) asserts in his research that the drop-out rate for high school students of Caribbean descent in New York City was 21.59%, which is much higher than the national dropout average of 13.1% for all Black students. Chapter two presents and examines the United States Census-based research supporting the hypothesis that older West Indians in the United States are better-educated than their younger counterparts. In light of the Census-based findings, this proposed study asserts there are several reasons to explain the problem of lower high school retention levels of third-generation West Indian students in the United States. To date, there is no empirical evidence or examination that compares today’s retention rates of third generation students with the rates of their parents and grandparents. Moreover there is no research that examines the problem through educational technology or other means.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative and survey-based study is two-fold. First, the study will determine whether there are significant differences between American high school students of West Indian descent and their parents and grandparents in terms of personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, parental support, and levels of school support. In addition, the study will determine whether exposure to Southern Florida’s virtual (FLVS) classroom environment raises the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent. Through this lens, the study will identify cross-general differences as possible predictors of the lower retention rate of the third generation of American high school students of West Indian descent, thus adding explanatory and empirical depth to the work of Model (2011) and Mitchell (2005).
The second purpose of the study will be to determine whether high school students of West Indian descent who are exposed to virtual classrooms are retained at rates higher than high school students of West Indian descent who are not exposed to virtual classrooms. From this perspective, the second purpose of the study focuses on the role of educational technology as a potential means to better engage high school students of West Indian descent and keep them in school.
In combination, the examination of these two purposes could generate knowledge about why the retention of high school students of West Indian descent has been in decline and whether Florida’s new virtual classroom policy is capable of reversing this trend. The study will be conducted on a population of persons of West Indian descent in Miami-Dade County in South Florida. Data will be collected through a) surveys composed of Likert-scale questions to measure personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, parental support, and levels of school support; and b) self-reported data about the retention outcomes of students of West Indian cross-tabulated with the number of virtual labs attended by each of these students. Data collected by means of the Likert scale will address the first purpose of the study, and will be examined using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Data pertaining to retention outcomes and virtual labs and that address the second purpose of the study will be studied through an independent sample t¬-test.
Research Questions
The following research questions will guide this study; the first four research questions will address the first purpose of the study—to determine whether there are significant differences between American high school students of West Indian descent and their parents and grandparents in terms of personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, parental support, and levels of school support—while the fifth research question will address the second purpose of the study—to determine whether exposure to Southern Florida’s virtual classroom environment raises the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent.
RQ1: What is the difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H10: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H1a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ2: What is the difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H20: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H2a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ3: What is the difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H30: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H3a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ4: What is the difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H40: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H4a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ5: What is the difference in the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs?
H50: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs.
H5a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs.
Scope of the Study
The scope of the study will be limited to the stakeholders of persons of self-identified West Indian descent in South Florida, of which there are three distinct populations: (a) West Indian students who either graduated from, or dropped out from, Miami-Dade County Public Schools between 2008 and 2012; (b) the West Indian parents of such students; and (c) the West Indian grandparents of such students. The base population for the study will be the student population, but data will also be collected from West Indian members of the students’ two prior generations. The grandparental generation will include individuals born in the Caribbean and who immigrated to the United States as children; the parental generation will include participants born in the United States of Caribbean-born parents; and the student generation group will include those individuals born in the United States with American-born parents and Caribbean-born grandparents. The scope of the study will also represent several of the key inclusion criteria for the study.
Nature of the Study
This quantitative study will be an example of causal-comparative research (Myers, Well, & Lorch, 2013). This study can also be referred to Ex Post Facto, a Latin term meaning after the fact (Sowell, 2001), in that the study design will (a) measure differences in generational status as possible causes of variation in school enjoyment, school success, parental support, and school support among people of West Indian descent in the United States; and (b) measure differences in virtual classroom exposure as possible predictors of differing dropout rates.
The causal-comparative design was chosen for two reasons, the first being the causal-comparative design is retrospective (Myers et al., 2013). Because the observed effects of sequentially declining academic retention, generational difference, and different levels of exposure to virtual classrooms already exist, the causal-comparative design is appropriate for this study. Additionally, this design is appropriate for this study because the causal-comparative design detects differences in one or more outcome variables based on effects arising from differences in populations, exposures, or other independent variables (Myers et al., 2013). This study will examine (a) the potential effects of generational difference on school enjoyment, school success, parental support, and school support; and (b) the potential effects of differences in virtual classroom exposure as possible predictors of differing dropout rates. The impact of this design rests in the combination of difference-based explanatory effects and the ex post facto nature of the data, which determine the causal-comparative approach as the only plausible design for the study. The nature of the study will be further described and justified in the Chapter 3 of the study.
Data for the study will be collected from a sample of 290 participants; 90 participants will be students of West Indian descent who either graduated or dropped out of Miami-Data high schools between 2008 and 2012, while the remaining 200 participants will be the parents and grandparents of these students. A pilot study will be conducted with the West Indian decent prior to the actual study. Data will be collected in two ways; first, every participant will fill out the original Likert-style instrument for the study, and second, students of West Indian descent who either graduated or dropped out of Miami-Data high schools between 2008 and 2012 will be asked to specify whether they graduated or dropped out and also how many virtual classes they took while in high school. The Likert-style data will be analyzed by means of ANOVA in order to distinguish between the three generations’ scores on personal academic success, personal enjoyment of school, parental support, and school support. The retention and virtual lab data will be analyzed by means of an independent samples t-test designed to identify statistically significant differences in graduate rate between students with a high (over 6 classes) exposure to virtual labs and students with a low (0 class) exposure to virtual labs. The Likert-style instrument will be validated in a pilot test utilizing Cronbach’s Alpha.
Theoretical Foundation
The theoretical model of the study is the U. S. Department of Education’s (1994) conceptual framework of youth development and educational performance, although not all elements of this model are being used. This model posits four main influences on students’ school success: (a) home and community climate, (b) school climate, (c) abilities at birth, and (d) personal value systems. The model is presented in Figure 1.
In Mitchell’s (2005) and Model’s (2011) works, the main variable of interest was the personal value systems of students. Both Mitchell and Model argued that the youngest generation of West Indian students in the United States had absorbed belief systems in which school was not of high importance, leading to a decreased enjoyment of school experience that, in turn, predicted lower performance. Given the highly heritable nature of intelligence (U. S. Department of Education, 1994), it is highly unlikely that the observed differences in academic performance between successive generations of West Indians in the United States would be the result of variations in basic intelligence. Thus, in addition to the variable of personal enjoyment of school, the variables of home and school climate also demand further examination.
The theoretical framework of the study is broad enough to encompass the variables of personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, parental support, and school support utilized in the study. The variable of personal enjoyment of school aligns with the theoretical model’s variable of student perception of incentives. The model’s quality of home variable accommodates the variable of parental support is accommodated by the model’s quality of home variable. Finally, the model’s quality of school climate accommodates the variable of school. However, the variable of birth ability cannot be measured in the study design and will not be used. With the elimination of the birth ability variable, the remaining components of the U. S. Department of Education’s (1994) conceptual framework of youth development and educational performance align with the existing theoretical work on personal enjoyment of school, personal academic success, parental support, and school support described in Chapter two.
Significance of the Study
The significance of the study lies in the ability of the researcher to analyze the problem of declining retention among West Indian students in the United States by measuring changes in four key variables, namely personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, support from parents, and support from schools. Previous scholars including Mitchell (2005) and Model (2011) have noted an issue with retention among American high school students of West Indian descent. However, they have yet to furnish an empirically-supported analysis of whether such students genuinely differ from their parents and grandparents in four crucial variables that are likely to predict retention.
The proposed study evokes practical significance as the research has the potential to determine whether exposure to the virtual labs currently utilized through Florida’s public school system can raise the retention rates of West Indian students. If exposure to such educational technology does indeed raise the retention rates of West Indian students, then educational leaders may champion West Indian students’ exposure to such programs, which could address some of the documented retention problems in this population.
Definition of Terms
The following terms will be of central importance to the research project and will be clarified in this section.
Acculturation is the process of sharing two distinct cultures within the same setting, but with some loss of the less dominant culture to the dominant culture (Waters, 2001).
Assimilation is the process of a dominant culture overwhelming and subsuming traits associated with a less dominant culture (Waters, 2001).
Culture includes the customs, habits, rituals, and expectations associated within communities who have shared characteristics (Pinel, 1999; Pinel et al., 2005).
First-generation immigrant is a person who was born in one country but immigrated to another (Roopnarine, Krishnakumar, Metindogan, & Evans, 2006).
Generation is a terms used in genetics and refers to a period of time denoted by birth (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001; Roopnarine et al., 2006).
Immigration is the process of moving from one community to another; typically, immigration requires physical movement from one country to another (Lansford, Deater-Deckard, & Bornstein, 2007).
Jamaican immigrant is a person who has emigrated from Jamaica (Model, 2008).
Second-generation immigrant refers to a child of immigrants, who are born in the new country (Model, 2008).
Third-generation immigrant refers to a grandchild of immigrants, the parents of third-generation immigrants, who were born in the new country (Model, 2008).
Virtual lab is a teacher-less classroom in the Florida public school system (Herrera, 2011).
West Indian immigrant is a person who has emigrated from the West Indies (Model, 2008; Model, 2011). It should be noted that there is an overlap between the terms Caribbean and West Indian, and that these terms will be used interchangeably in the study.
Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations
Assumptions for this research project are as follows: a) the purpose of the research paper will be achievable using the methods provided, b) the participants and data sources consulted for this research study are viable sources of data for this research, c) all participant data will be accurate, and d) information provided by participants and the state of Florida can be applied to answer the research question.
Two limitations of this study are a) the focus on a specific geographic area, potentially limiting generalizability; and b) the inability to identify true causal rather than associative relationships. The study will be delimited to Miami-Dade County in Southern Florida. In specific statistical terms, the limitation of the ANOVA method utilized for the first four research questions will be the inability to test for the effects of covariates such as gender, income, and others on the relationship between the independent variable of generation and the dependent variables of personal school enjoyment, personal school success, parental support, and school support. The limitation of the independent samples t-test approach utilized for the fifth research question will also be the inability to include covariates, which means that retention rate differences inferred will be the result of different levels of exposure to virtual labs and could in fact be due to a third variable not included in the model.
Summary
Existing research on Jamaican students shows that first-generation immigrants to the United States have relatively better academic performance than their children and grandchildren (Model, 2011). Mitchell (2005) and Model (2011) suggested that this observed decline in academic performance across generations was due to the younger West Indian generation’s lower perception of school value, which resulted in decreased enjoyment of schooling and, therefore, lower academic performance. However, the U. S. Department of Education’s (1994) theoretical model of academic performance suggested that both parental and school support are likely to be viable explanations of declining academic performance among West Indian students in the United States. The study will test the first, second, and third generation West Indians’ decline in the four key variables, leading to potential insights regarding the reasons for diminishing retention among the current generation of American high school of West Indians descent. These insights will build on the work of Model and Mitchell. The study will also determine whether exposure to Florida’s virtual labs is associated with a higher retention rate among high school students of West Indian descent, thus providing educational leaders with information about whether West Indian students might be particularly attractive candidates for virtual lab classes.
In order to achieve its intended purposes, the study has been divided into five chapters. Chapter one presents the problem of declining academic achievement among students of West Indian descent in the United States. The chapter examines some possible explanations for this phenomenon, in particular the explanations suggested by Mitchell (2005) and Model (2011) and others suggested in the U. S. Department of Education’s (1991) model of academic achievement. The examination of the phenomenon suggested the possibility that virtual education might be a means of raising the retention of high school students of West Indian descent. Chapter two will present and analyze literature related to various aspects of the problem. In particular, the literature review will present a background of the West Indian community in the United States, consider issues of academic performance measurement, school enjoyment, parental support, and school support, and evaluate studies on retention, engagement, and educational technology in the classroom. The literature review will provide a thorough contextualization of the problem and a detailed examination of the independent and dependent variables of the study. Chapter three, the methodology, will describe and defend the quantitative, causal-comparative study design created to answer the research questions of the study. Chapter four will present results. The fifth and concluding chapter will relate the results to the theoretical model of the study as well as to previous empirical findings. Chapter five will also present academic and practitioner recommendations.
Chapter 2
Review of the Literature
The purposes of this quantitative, causal-comparative, and survey-based study are to (a) determine whether there are significant differences between American high school students of West Indian descent and their parents and grandparents in terms of personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, parental support, and levels of school support; and (b) to determine whether exposure to Southern Florida’s virtual classroom environment is raising the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent. Accordingly, the review of literature will describe and discuss studies relevant to each of these purposes of the study. In particular, the literature review will be organized to further examine the topics of a) the characteristics and background of West Indian communities, b) West Indian academic performance, c) West Indian school enjoyment, d) parental support, e) school support, and f) the effects of educational technology exposure on retention. The characteristics and background of West Indian communities will furnish background for the study. Topic areas b) through e) explore the possible theoretical reasons for the declining retention rate among West Indians in the United States. Topic area f) will discuss both empirical and theoretical studies. Because topic areas b) through e) are highly theoretical, and f) is more empirical, most discussions and critiques of methodology appear within the corresponding topic area.
Title Searches, Articles, Research Documents, and Journals
Title searches were conducted in the academic databases EBSCO, JSTOR, and Science Direct, which included a) West Indians AND education; b) West Indians AND retention; c) West Indians AND immigration; d) West Indians AND immigration AND culture; e) school engagement; f) school success AND explanations; g) educational technology AND retention; and h) online learning AND retention.
The searches yielded over 1,500 academic articles that were reviewed individually in order to identify scholarship relevant to issues of a) West Indian immigration, b) factors of personal enjoyment of school, c) factors of personal success in school, d) factors of school support, e) factors of parental support, and f) the relationship between the use of educational technology and increased student retention.
West Caribbean Immigrants in America: Background and Overview
United States was home to 3.5 million West Caribbean Immigrants in 2009. While the percentage of Caribbean immigrant increases, the population rate continues to decline since 1970. The metropolitan area of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano has more than One-third of West Caribbean Immigrants McCabe (2011). The percent of these immigrants derived from Barbados, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago.
According to McCabe, (2011) foreign born from the Caribbean tend to have a higher level of English proficiency, and are more likely to become naturalized United States citizens. Almost four of every ten immigrants in Florida were born in the West Caribbean.
Demographic overview. An appropriate starting point for a discussion of West Indian immigrants in America is to present some relevant summary statistics pertaining to this population. According to the United States Census Bureau (2013a), the vast majority of people of Caribbean ancestry in the U. S. are Jamaican or Haitian. Data from the United States Census Bureau were utilized to generate Figure 2, illustrating the relative prevalence of people from six distinct Caribbean ethnicities in the United States. The data from the United States Census Bureau (2013a) indicated that Jamaicans and Haitians are predominant among the peoples of Caribbean ancestry who live in the United States.
The United States Census Bureau (2013b) has also gathered statistics on the regions of the United States in which peoples of Caribbean descent live. These data are illustrated in Figure 3. The data from the United States Census Bureau (2013b) indicate that the vast majority of Caribbean peoples living in the United States are either in the Northeast or in the South, with relatively much smaller numbers of Caribbean peoples living in either the West or Midwest.
Finally, data from the United States Census Bureau (2013b) have identified the five America states and cities in which Caribbean peoples are the most highly concentrated. These data are presented in Figures 4 and 5 below.
Figure 4. Geographic Distribution of Caribbean People in the United States by City. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b).
The United States Census Bureau (2013b) data indicate that two metropolitan areas, those of New York City and Miami, contain the vast majority of Caribbean people living in the United States. These data not only provide a means of understanding the dispersion of Caribbean peoples in the United States but also provide a methodological justification for choosing South Florida as the setting for the current study. Because South Florida is home to such a high concentration of Caribbean peoples, it is highly likely that sampling activities in this setting will be productive.
Figure 5. Geographic Distribution of Caribbean People in the United States by State. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b).
Based on data from the United States Census Bureau, it appears that New York and Florida possess nearly identical populations of people of Caribbean descent. Because of the relative proximity of Florida to the Caribbean, it makes sense that many people from the Caribbean would settle in this state. Having provided an overview of where Caribbean peoples are currently dispersed over the United States, it is necessary to discuss how the Caribbean diaspora to the United States began and evolved.
Historical overview. West Indian population in the United States shifted significantly since 1950. Initially, West Indians were Caribbean natives, descendants of African slaves, transplanted during the British colonial period. West Indians are frequently referenced in literature as African-Caribbean ancestry (Model, 2011). Whereas West Indians are a distinct cultural group, the use of the Caribbean as a form of exchange allowed for a wide range of genetic diversity within the population. Further, West Indians are typically distinguished as black but are likely to share a complex ethnic background, derived not only from Africans but also from white Europeans, Asians, East Indians, and American Indians (Model, 2011). Migration occurred nearly two centuries ago in several phases (Roopnarine & Shin, 2003; p. 124). The first migratory started between 1835 and 1880 and was more internal and inter-territorial in nature (Roopnarine & Shin, 2003, p. 124-125).
Persons living in the West Caribbean during this period engaged in movement throughout the islands to establish residencies, political alliances, and to enhance economic prosperity. The second major migratory event occurred between 1853 and 1914, when more West Caribbean persons sought to migrate to the United States and Central America to work in the labor sector, particularly on large projects such as the Panama Canal (Roopnarine & Shin, 2003). Following these two periods of migration, however, there was a latent period of migration and Caribbean immigrants in Central America, and various parts of Spanish-speaking islands (e.g., Cuba), and in the United States began to return home (Roopnarine & Shin, 2003, p. 125). Reasons for the return to the West Caribbean were diverse. The completion of the Panama Canal, and differential wages, bought about a decline for immigrants to remain overseas. (Roopnarine & Shin, 2003, p. 125).
The next waves of immigration from the West Caribbean began during the 1950s. During World War II a population of English-speaking Caribbean relocated to United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States and from Surinam and Dutch Antilles to Holland (Roopnarine & Shin, 2003; p. 125). The nations of the Caribbean participated in the decolonization period between 1958 and 1983, creating shifts in the established political, social, and communal structures. Of these, Jamaica was most heavily affected as it attained full independence in 1962 and experienced a subsequent economic recession (Model, 2011).
From approximately 1960 to the mid-1980s, an estimated 15% of the population emigrated from Jamaica. Census reports from this period listed the following immigration patterns: 62,700 persons between 1966 and 1970; 61,500 between 1971 and 1975; 80,600 between 1976 and 1980; and 81,700 between 1981 and 1984 (Model, 2008; Rogers, 2006). However, the exact rate of immigration is not known due to a high rate of undocumented, or illegal, immigration. Reports indicate that while almost 300,000 persons left Jamaica legally during this period, the exact number of immigrants may have been twice as high (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001).
The majority immigrated to the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States (Model, 2011). In the United States, immigration of West Indians, in general, and Jamaicans, in particular, resulted in substantial growth of West Indian communities, with 14 states comprised of West Indian-born populations greater than the national average of 12.5% (Myers et al., 2007). An additional 27 states have a minimum of 2% of the population comprised of West Indian immigrants who have arrived since 2000 (Park & Myers, 2010).
West Indians living in the United States have posed unique challenges for researchers studying shifts in acculturation and assimilation among immigrant groups. As a broadly descriptive term, acculturation refers to the exchange of cultural patterns and societal norms that occurs when two distinct cultural groups intersect. In acculturation, each group preserves its existing patterns and norms and remains distinct; it is likely there will be some adoption of the other into the group but the groups and their respective traits will persist. Berry (1980) proposed that assimilation is a subset of the acculturation process and refers to contact between distinct groups in which one subsumes the other. Alba and Nee (2003) suggested that acculturation reflects a modern perspective on the colonial process, which occurs when one culture enters into another culture and subsumes it by creating a dominant presence. In acculturation, rather than a dominant culture subverting another, both cultures are identified. In contrast, assimilation reflects the principles of the traditional colonial process, in which a superior dominant culture supplants the other.
Akhtar (2011) observed that assimilation has been slowing; a century ago, immigrants to the U.S. strove to define themselves as Americans and forced assimilation as quickly as possible, while immigrants entering the U.S. over the past three decades have worked to preserve many of their own customs, traditions, and language. Similarly, Bean and Stevens (2003) observed that patterns of assimilation have shifted, and assimilation rates may be slower than those reported in previous research of early 20th century immigrants. However, within the past 20 years West Caribbean who immigrated in various parts of the nation where newcomers have resided (Bean & Stevens, 2003, p. 12). Bean and Stevens believed that changes in how immigrants initially experienced the U.S., coupled with changes in how new immigrants are treated by U.S. residents, may have resulted in different immigration experiences for more recent immigrants. As the most recent wave of immigration for West Indian immigrants falls within this general timeframe, it is possible that the experiences of new immigrants in this group have changed.
Unlike other minority groups, patterns of assimilation among West Indian immigrants do not reflect normative patterns of immigration. Akhar (2011) noted that while more recent immigrants are less likely to become assimilated and are more likely to become acculturated than immigrants from previous generations, West Indian children are more likely to become thoroughly assimilated as they adopt American habits and lifestyles. In contrast, West Indian immigrants do not match conventional expectations of acculturation (Deaux et al., 2007). Rogers (2006) observed that patterns of acculturation among West Indian immigrants may be related to their educational backgrounds. West Indian immigrants exhibit more educational and class backgrounds, than other minorities upon entering the United States (p. 58). Among West Indian immigrants, the majority of persons come to the U.S. are under family sponsorship, farm working and not by educational preferences or skill criteria (Rogers, 2006, p. 58). Rogers believed that these entry criteria reduced the educational and occupational advantages available to West Indian immigrants in contrast to immigrants from other groups. However, Model (2011) tempered this statement by reporting that the majority of West Indian immigrants who come to the United States have attained higher levels of education than many members of other immigrant groups, which typically gives first-generation West Indian immigrants a competitive advantage over other immigrants.
Historically, acculturation among West Indian immigrants has been slower than among immigrants from other countries. However, in the context of research on academic success among West Indian immigrants, the lack of prior educational advantages does not explain why academic performance among West Indian immigrants is higher than average among first-generation members and declines substantially among second and third generations (Bennett & Lutz, 2009; Buddington, 2002; Suarez-Orozco, Pimentel, & Martin, 2009; Warikoo & Carter, 2009). When contrasted with students from other African American groups, first-generation West Indian immigrant students demonstrate higher levels of academic performance, higher levels of retention in secondary and high schools, and are more likely to graduate (Bennett & Lutz; Rogers, 2006; Warikoo & Carter). The decline in academic achievement, retention, and graduation rates in the second- and third-generation West Indian immigrant students is dissimilar from patterns observed in both African American populations and in other immigrant groups (Deaux et al., 2007; Rogers, 2006; Hagelskamp et al., 2010).
Education and academic achievement are critical factors to improved overall quality-of-life (Chuang & Moreno, 2011; Landsord, Beater, Decard, & Bornstein, 2007). In the context of these achievements, quality-of-life encompasses dimensions of health, financial prosperity, and upward social mobility, as well as familial stability. Education and academic achievement have been favorably linked to each of these concepts. Among West Indian immigrants, academic engagement is adversely affected by migration motivations (Foner & Dreby, 2011; Hagelskamp, Suarez-Orozco, & Hughes, 2010), and can be influenced by family dynamics (Model, 2011). The consequences of ongoing acculturation might also affect how second and third-generation West Indian immigrant students interact with the educational system (Akhar, 2011; Howard, 2011).
Although immigration from the West Caribbean to the United States and Canada has been ongoing since the 1950s, immigration peaked once in the 1960s and again in the 1990s. These two peaks have resulted in two separate waves of West Caribbean immigrants within the United States. Mitchell (2005) observed that 8.4 million significant Caribbean American people are concentrated in areas such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D. C. (p. 210). The population concentration of immigrant persons living within specific geographic regions allows for the formation of high-density communities, sometimes referred to as enclaves (Zhang, 2008), in which the customs, social norms, and values practiced within their native country are likely to be continued (Mitchell, 2005). Trends relating to economics and education reflect these practices. These traits will be examined in the following subsections.
West Indian Academic Performance
West Indian academic performance can be approached in a number of ways. In this section of the literature review, West Indian academic performance will be examined both through statistics and through an exploration of quantitative research that provides a means of explaining how and why the performance of the first generation of West Indians was so high.
Epidemiological analysis of West Indian academic performance. The United States Census Bureau (2013b) has collected data that sorts the educational attainments of West Indians from five age groups (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, and 65 and over) into seven categories (less than 9th grade; 9th to 12th grade, no diploma; high school graduate, GED, or alternative; some college, no degree; associate degree; bachelor’s degree; and graduate or professional degree). These data do not appear to have been utilized by scholars, but they are important findings in their own right and therefore deserve to be presented and discussed in the literature review. Table 1 shows the data based on the United States Census Bureau.
Table 1
United States Bureau (2013b) Data
West Indian Males/Females Age Ranges Have High School Diploma
45,404 of 141,540 West Indian Males
18 and 24 years old Have High School Diploma
52,260 of 173,183 Wes Indian Males
25 and 34 years old Have High School Diploma
54,669 of 172,959 West Indian Males
35 and 44 years old Have High School Diploma
85,822 of 267,245 West Indian Males
45 and 64 years old Have High School Diploma
25,170 of 82,620 West Indian Males
62 and higher Have High School Diploma
36,393 of 147,494 West Indian Females
18 and 24 Have High School Diploma
45,689 of 204,916 West Indian Females
25 and 34 Have High School Diploma
54,358 of 215,165 West Indian Females
35 and 44 Have High School Diploma
102,474 of 333,263 West Indian Females
45 and 64 Have High School Diploma
28,775 of 125,499 West Indian Females
65 and over Have High School Degree
• 32.07% of West Indian males between 18 and 24 have high school diplomas
• 30.17% of West Indian males between 25 and 34 have high school diplomas
• 31.6% of West Indian males between 35 and 44 have high school diplomas
• 32.11% of West Indian males between 45 and 64 have high school diplomas
• 30.47% of West Indian males 65 and over have high school diplomas
As is apparent in Figure 6, the high school attainment of older West Indian males (between 45 and 64) is somewhat higher than that of the youngest cohort (18 to 24), and the oldest West Indian males (65 and over) have a slightly better rate of high school graduation than one of the younger categories (West Indian males aged 25 to 34).
Figure 6. High School Graduates by Age Bracket, West Indian Males. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b).
In terms of West Indian females, the data are as follows:
• 26.67% of West Indian females between 18 and 24 have high school diplomas
• 22.3% of West Indian females between 25 and 34 have high school diplomas
• 25.26% of West Indian females between 35 and 44 have high school diplomas
• 30.75% of West Indian females between 45 and 64 have high school diplomas
• 30.9% of West Indian females 65 and over have high school diplomas
As is apparent in Figure 7, the high school graduation rate of older West Indian females appears to be superior to the high school graduation rate of the younger cohort. It is possible, therefore, that the observed educational superiority of older West Indians (in terms of objective factors such as high school graduation rates) is driven primarily by gender.
Figure 7. High School Graduates by Age Bracket, West Indian Females. Original graphic generated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b).
The data from the United States Census Bureau (2013a, 2013b) provide some support for the hypothesis that older West Indian people have higher levels of educational attainment than younger West Indian people. The difference is more readily apparent for women, as is clear in Figure 7. While the data suggest that older West Indian people have higher high school graduation rates than their younger counterparts, the data do not provide any explanation of why this discrepancy in educational attainment exists. The data analysis proposed in Chapter three may provide such an explanation, subject to the limitations of the study.
The first generation of West Indian immigrants. An academic exception. Mitchell (2005) noted that there has been no empirical examination of the impact on generational status on academic achievement in a solely Black immigrant population, such as Caribbean immigrants (p. 210). Mitchell postulated that generational status, coupled with stereotype threat and stigma consciousness associated with being African American in the United States, may result in distinctive outcomes in academic self-concept and, also, may adversely affect academic performance. Mitchell approached first-, second-, and third-generation West Caribbean immigrants to assess academic self-concept and hypothesized “there would be significant differences in the mean academic self-concept scores among the three generational groups of Caribbean immigrant adolescents” (p. 213). Mitchell found that generational status is a significant factor in academic self-concept, as there was a statistically significant decline in academic self-concept in each successive generation as measured by the Games-Howell Post Hoc Test for Academic Self-Concept. Mitchell discovered that this decline was most apparent between the second and third generations, as the mean academic self-concept scores for first- and second-generation Caribbean immigrant adolescents were 52.44 and 52.58, respectively, while the mean academic self-concept score for third-generation Caribbean students in the sample was 43.00 (p. 214).
The significance of the decline between the second and third generations should not be overlooked, Mitchell (2005) continued, but the small sample size of the third generation (n = 6), as compared to the sample size of the first generation (n = 27), might create an artificial distortion of significance in the comparison. Mitchell cautioned that while the data indicate a dramatic, increasing decline in academic self-concept the longer a West Caribbean immigrant family resided in the United States, drawing conclusions based on these findings would not be appropriate. Mitchell recommended that additional research be conducted to assess academic self-concept among generations of West Caribbean immigrants to determine whether generational disparity was as significant a factor as suggested by the data (p. 215).
If Mitchell’s (2005) findings are reliable, then first-generation West Indians in the United States constitute an important exception to the usual performance of first-generation immigrants. Harris (1999) observed that standard models of immigration put first-generation immigrants at a significant disadvantage, as “the first generation of immigrants, those who were not born in the United States, are rarely expected to achieve socioeconomic parity with the native population” (p. 287). Historically, immigration and acculturation have been attached to economic prosperity. As Waters (2001) wrote, “The standard models of assimilation that were used to explain the incorporation of European immigrants described a process in which becoming American were coupled with economic incorporation into the society” (p. 4). As immigrants attained jobs and became engaged with the working classes, they became increasingly integrated into the American way of life; economic security helped immigrants pursue a desirable lifestyle, including material goods, quality housing, and investing in education for the next generation. The generational march of assimilation meant that poor immigrants became working-class ethnics and then over time successful traditional Americans (Waters, 2001, p. 4).
However, findings from research on West Caribbean immigrants have revealed that the immigration process is highly atypical for members of this immigrant group; West Caribbean immigrants did not conform to this model to a significant degree. Waters (2001) cautioned that emerging data on West Caribbean immigrants revealed two distinct trends in economic status. The first trend is resistance to acculturation; immigrants who maintained their independent status were less likely to adopt an Americanized lifestyle and tend to band together, forming enclave communities within cities. Resistance to assimilation and even acculturation helped immigrant communities maintain a culturally distinctive status and preserved economic self-sufficiency as members of these communities used each other’s businesses almost exclusively, but the enclave lifestyle also separated West Caribbean persons from becoming fully engaged in the United States’ lifestyles. The outcome was that West Caribbean persons who resisted assimilation and acculturation and pursued a separatist lifestyle could attain economic sustainability but limited their opportunities. The second trend is downward economic degeneration, in which West Caribbean persons who attempt to assimilate and do not join enclave communities are likely to suffer serious negative economic and social outcomes. Waters wrote: These new expectations turn models of identity change on their head – now those who resist becoming American do well, and those who lose their immigrant ethnic distinctiveness become downwardly mobile (p. 5). Downward economic degeneration can be attributed to economic disparities associated with race, in that as West Indian immigrants lose their distinctiveness and are no longer ethically unique, they become not simply Americans, but black Americans (Waters, 2001). Black Americans, typically, have faced more challenges than many other ethnic groups, and given the ongoing prejudice and discrimination in American society, this represents downward mobility for the immigrants and their children (Waters, 2001, p. 5)
Portes and Rumbaut (2008) and Portes and Fernandez-Kelly (2008) have postulated that West Caribbean immigrants are more likely to succeed economically in America if they purposefully refrain from becoming Americanized and, conversely, are less likely to succeed if they pursue an American lifestyle and embrace American socio-cultural norms. According to Winston (2002), Latinos considered themselves as the middle race between Blacks and Whites in America. On the other spectrum, the Hispanic Caribbean demographic is separate from African Americans, Jamaican, Haitian, and Panamanians although their culture and history are the same. Dzidzienyo, Anani, & Oboler (2005) mentioned that most cultures in the U.S., such as Hispanic Caribbean immigrants, do not see themselves as African American descent. Instead they equate their past with other immigrants of Central and South America origin.
Furthermore, patterns of economic and educational outcomes among West Caribbean immigrants are unusual when compared with the traditional patterns of other ethnic minorities. Portes & Fernandez-Kelly (2008) conducted research among first- and second-generation immigrants in South Florida to identify economic and educational outcomes within each group. They identified atypical segmented assimilation among members from the two generations, and further noted some patterns of successful assimilation, such as greater economic prosperity for persons who were fluent in English, but educational and economic success did not always align to the person’s status in the community. West Caribbean immigrants were among the ethnic groups least likely to conform to expected patterns of immigrant educational prosperity as West Caribbean immigrant students were most likely to have the prerequisite skills for success (e.g., fluency in English) but often, were the least likely to excel in academic activities.
West Indian School Enjoyment
Although the school enjoyment of West Indian students does not appear to have been measured directly, the work of a number of scholars (Deaux et al., 2007; Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999; Gibson & Ogbu, 1991; Steele, 2011) provides a basis for thinking that the third generation of West Indians in the United States has lower enjoyment of school because of this generation’s active embrace of anti-school stereotypes.
Steele (2011) described stereotype threat as a widely-held opinion of a group of persons who share similar distinguishing characteristics by members of another group. Stereotype threat typically focuses on deficiencies, or perceived shortcomings, which limits the effectiveness or appropriateness of specific actions (p. 46). Steele observed that stereotype threat created problems as it was associated with conventional wisdom or social consensus regarding specific behaviors, aptitudes, or traits perceived as both universal and detrimental within a certain group (p. 46). This conventional wisdom became “a virtual stereotype of what causes members of negatively regarded groups to fail,” and the members of that group tailor their actions to align with the stereotype (p. 46). Self-sabotaging deficiencies are believed to exert a negative influence on competency and performance among members of groups that are capable of success but, for unidentified reasons, fail to attain it.
Steele (2011) emphasized that stereotype threat was most significant in that persons affected by stereotype threat are not only aware of the stereotypes but also often take steps to alter its effects on their behavior. Although the stereotype is applied to a general population, second- and third-generation immigrants are aware of their perceived deficiencies and the low expectations placed on them and strive to exceed expectations. In some instances, such as minorities who use stereotype threat to motivate their academic performance, stereotype threat can be beneficial. In other instances, stereotype threat can communicate a negative message to the affected person, and frequent repetition of that message can reduce that individual’s willingness to overcome the stereotype. Steele (2011) observed that in many instances, the greatest risk to persons exposed to stereotype threat was the possibility that the stereotype would be repeated so often and so loudly that persons in the targeted group would alter their behaviors to conform to the stereotype.
According to Steele (2011), stereotype threat can be described by an individual or a group identifying with another stereotyped group. For example, West Indians like to identify themselves as Caribbean Natives, rather than American Blacks. Although the West Indians are a part of the American culture, they often feel that American stereotypes do not apply to the West Indian immigrants (Deaux, Bikmen, Gilkes, Ventuneac, Joseph, Payne, & Steele, 2007). Deaux et al. (2007) has examined immigrants who are exposed to stereotype threat circumstances found out that pressure to perform well is held in high standards in immigrants’ lives. The first generation performs better under pressure than the second generation. This outcome often places a negative impact on the second-generation immigrant which can cause a decline in academic performances.
Stereotype threat is more likely to affect second- and third-generation immigrants than first-generation immigrants (Deaux et al, 2007). In a study of 270 West Indian students, Deaux et al. (2007) found that first-generation immigrants demonstrated greater resistance to stereotype threat. Further, they found that the students sought to change their behaviors to dispel stereotypes, but second- and third-generation immigrants were increasingly more likely to conform to the negative expectations associated with the stereotype. Deaux et al. believed these outcomes showed that second- and third-generation West Indian students conformed to stereotype threat. These findings correspond with components of optimist theory, as proposed by Gibson and Ogbu (1991), as well as defeatist theory, as proposed by Fuligni et al. (1999). Exposure to widespread societal beliefs that school is unenjoyable could impel second- and third-generation West Indian students to adopt these beliefs, which would lead to a decline in their academic performance.
Another possible explanation of lower school enjoyment among younger West Indians is West Indian parents’ emphasis on schooling, which could lead to a backlash among their children. In research conducted by Roopnarine and Johnson (2011) on the academic performance of English-speaking West Caribbean students, findings revealed that variables traditionally associated with low academic achievement among minority groups, such as language barriers, lack of financial resources, and uninvolved parents, were not as significant among West Caribbean students as in other groups. Roopnarine and Johnson (2011) concluded that other factors—such as the aggressive approach to rigorous academic training that teachers and parents applied before the student enters primary school and throughout the student’s academic career (p. 163)—played a role in the academic performance of West Caribbean students. Culturally, West Indian parents place an emphasis on the role of academics in students’ lives and are likely to invest time, money, and other resources in their children’s early academic education (Roopnarine & Johnson, 2011; Roopnarine & Shin, 2003). Ironically, this investment could be experienced as a burden by West Indian children, leading to a perception of school and school-related activities being unenjoyable.
Parental Support
A certain level of redundancy is associated with the term West Caribbean immigrant family (Rogers, 2006; p. 17). The term is widely used throughout the literature to ensure that a generalized description of the geographic location of origin is applied to persons from this immigrant group. Persons migrating to the United States from the West Caribbean have “fared relatively well” as immigrants “because of their language skills, initial higher educational attainment, and better access networks to jobs” (Roopnarine & Shin, 2003, p. 130). Waters (2001) noted that the term West Indian was also commonly applied to immigrants from the general region of the West Caribbean. Waters observed that sociologists frequently failed to apply factors such as “the changed technology that links sending and receiving societies, the proximity of the Caribbean to the United States, and the interpenetration of the economies and societies of the West Indies and the United States” (p. 4) to persons immigrating to the United States from these regions. Waters stated: “The recent immigrants do not make the abrupt change from one society to another that the early models of assimilation (often erroneously) ascribed to European immigrants.” He further observed that persons from the West Caribbean moving to the United States do not engage in a process of “becoming American” (p. 4).
Part of the resistance to becoming American has been attributed to patterns of movement in the Caribbean. Roopnarine and Shin (2003) opined that Caribbean persons have a unique sense of diasporas due to a “fairly long history of Caribbean population movement and the exploitation and exclusionary practices that have dogged Caribbean migrants” (p. 124). Persons from the West Caribbean are, as Holt (1999) observed, more likely to have bonds with members of their own communities than to a specific place, purpose, or ideological system; as West Caribbean persons forge functional bonds with persons rather than concepts, these bonds are constantly changing. Additionally, as the ethnic, racial, and geographic histories of the West Caribbean people are derived not only from Africans, but also from white Europeans, Asians, East Indians, and American Indians, West Caribbean persons have a highly diverse sense of community. Holt wrote that traditional diasporas reflect a sense of sameness between persons who have been uprooted from their country of origin, but this definition is not always sustained by the circumstances of the persons themselves, or how they have redefined themselves and their communities during their migrations.
Harris (1999) proposed that atypical segmented assimilation is more likely to occur among West Caribbean families, in which different members of the same family become integrated into the general population at different rates. Harris further speculated that “the classical hypothesis would argue that adolescents who arrived in the United States at a younger age and who had spent more time here will assimilate into society more readily than immigrant adolescents who arrived more recently,” but such trends are no longer readily apparent among immigrant populations (p. 288).
According to (Harris, 1999) Children and adolescents who are themselves immigrants, or who have immigrant parents, may engage in unpredictable socialization processes, based not only on immigrant status, but also on factors, such as the community in which they live and social norms accepted by their peer groups. (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001) research establishes that, over time, most Caribbean descent children often exceed second-and third generation children academic standards and occupational mobility. Thus, first- and second-generation immigrant children and adolescents might pursue behaviors, customs, and physical appearances that conform to their national, racial, and ethnic heritage, or they could strive to distinguish themselves as different from their heritage by embracing an American lifestyle (Harris, 1999).
Furthermore, another study found that one key contributing element too many of the disparities in performance level of West Indians is political, finding that West Indian legislatures have a direct and indirect effect on school retention rates. (Bacchus, 1994). Harris (1999) also noted that the prediction on how a child or adolescent will react is not evident, but it is probable that serious psychological consequences result from any course of action. If they refuse to embrace their heritage, children and adolescents may come into conflict with their families and communities; conversely, if they embrace their heritage, they may come into conflict with the public and even individual members of close peer groups.
Research on the transition of parenting styles from a West Caribbean culture to the United States has shown that traditional methods of childrearing may have a differential impact in different cultural settings. A child’s willingness to participate in education is affected by the child’s relationship with their parents, and possible threats to this relationship can result in changes to the perceived value of education (Jacobs & Harvey, 2005). Roopnarine, Krishnakumar, Metindogan, and Evans (2006) explored parenting styles of Caribbean immigrants and observed that both parents typically had an authoritative parenting style, although mothers were less involved in discipline and were more involved in comfort and assurance. Roopnarine et al. observed that these authoritative parenting strategies helped facilitate obedience and promoted academic achievement in young children in Caribbean households, but the outcomes changed as the child matured. Such findings supported previous research by Roopnarine and Shin (2003), who found that parenting styles commonly applied by West Caribbean parents are effective in the West Caribbean but are less effective when the families immigrate to a new sociocultural milieu. These parenting styles might create stress between parents and children who have different socio-cultural experiences. Roopnarine and Shin (2003) stated that:
The rigid parenting styles that the immigrant parents had experienced themselves in the Caribbean do not always serve them well abroad. As a child rebels and becomes more disobedient, despair and depression are evidenced in mothers. Possibly, the childhood problems evidenced in children of Caribbean immigrants could be attributed, in part, to ethnic identity confusion in the new culture, problems adjusting to school, and disappointment with parents’ ability to fashion a more successful life for the family in the new society. (p.132)
In both studies, parents’ control over their children waned as the child aged. Roopnarine et al. (2006) concluded that West Caribbean parents should consider the outcomes of using traditional authoritative parenting styles on the emotional, psychological, social, and academic development of their children, as these traditional approaches to parenting generated conflict within the household and reduced the degree of control that West Caribbean parents had over their children. To offset this lack of control, Roopnarine et al. (2006) emphasized parenting styles that relied less on discipline and more on teaching children that actions had logical consequences. However, as this type of parenting style was not familiar to many parents who were themselves born and raised in the West Caribbean, Roopnarine et al. (2006) recommended that parents participate in collaborative parenting sessions with other immigrant parents to share their stories and support each other as they learned parenting styles that were more in keeping with American culture.
School Support
Empirical studies on the topic of school support to students of West Indian descent in the United States have not been conducted. Accordingly, this section of the literature review will focus on general studies of school support.
The school support approach to academic performance does not assume that school support is the only independent variable that predicts the dependent variable of student behavior (Finn & Voelkl, 2007). However, the assumption among many school support theorists is that failures in climate are the major determinant of why student performance decreases (Fantuzzo, Grim, & Hazan, 2007). Behavioral theorists, on the other hand, assign a more important role to students’ own decisions, actions, and cognitions as determinants of academic performance (Kearney, 2007). Some common ground exists between these two theoretical bases; school support theorists agree that variation in student behavior is an important predictor in its own right (Lauchlan, 2007). Behavioral theorists realize that the environment of the school is an important feedback mechanism in determining student academic performance (Ladner, 2007). However, behavioral theorists go further than school support theorists, in two ways. First, behavioral theorists suggest that the environment that helps to form a child’s school attendance behavior also includes the home, the street, and other locales (LaVant, Anderson, & Tiggs, 2007). Second, behavioral theorists on the other hand, agree that parental involvement helps to build a secure relationship and provides a core guidance for students’ social skills in school and at home (Kearney, 2007).
Not all school support theorists suggest that the school is the most important environmental determinant of truant behavior, but a general methodological assumption exists that actions taken with the school environment itself are of paramount importance in determining the rate of academic performance (Okuyama, Okada, Kuribayashi, & Kaneko, 2007). School support theorists primarily look for policy-related responses to academic performance whereas behaviorists are more vested in trying to change truant behavior by also looking at the truant child’s home and social environment (Reid, 2009). Second, behaviorists tend to approach the problem of academic performance through more aggressive interventions (Reid & Kendall, 2007). School support theorists believe that students will positively regulate their own behavior once malfunctioning aspects of school support are fixed (Seeley & Heather, 2008); some behavioral theorists believe that truant students have deeper dysfunctions that require a harsh and escalating series of interventions, starting in the school and sometimes ending up in court (Rocca, 2007). Other behavioral theorists disagree with this approach, and have argued against the idea of addressing academic performance through aggressive behavioral intervention (Seeley & Heather, 2007). These behavioral theorists have suggested that top-down approaches to school academic performance conceptualize students as passive victims of a system, leading to an anti-academic performance logic model in which the goal is to divert students from a harmful to a beneficial system (Smith & Stern, 2007). A truant student found to have substance abuse problems is diverted to clinics and courts; the role of the substance abuse system (consisting, perhaps, of the student’s dysfunctional behavior, drug dealer, friends, and other participants) is simply replaced by the medical-court system (consisting of doctors, judges, and other authority figures), and the necessity of assisting truant students to become more active in the defense of their own interests is forgotten (Sheldon, 2007). The aggressive intervention model of behavioral change has been characterized as a way of keeping the truant student passive, and simply exerting superior force—including the threat of incarceration or separation from a biological family—to alter the student’s unwanted behaviors (Spera, 2009).
In this way, some behavioral theorists have suggested that aggressively interventionist responses to academic performance treat students as problems (Uzumer, 2009). These behavioral theorists have argued that there is indeed a role for policy, but that anti-academic performance programs ought to benefit from non-coercive and small- as well as large-scale approaches to academic performance. Approaches based on aggressive intervention in the truant student’s life, while helpful in their own way, are not necessarily designed to address the unique problems in every truant student’s life (Volkmann & Bye, 2007). Behavioral theorists have suggested the usefulness of appreciative, non-coercive, and small-scale programs that do not treat truant students as problems or refer them to other systems (such as the court system) (Yeide & Mel, 2009). These programs are often community-based, made up of volunteers, and funded locally; they can provide a support structure for truant children to talk about their problems, get support from their peers, and eventually pick up the skills and strengths needed to re-integrate themselves into the school system with minimum extrinsic coercion (Teevan & Bryburgh, 2007). Students with more serious problems, such as clinical addictions or abusive families, can participate in such programs as a complement to medical interventions or family court (Pritchard & Williams, 2007).
Behavioral theorists have advocated bottom-up as well as top-down approaches to address the problems of academic performance (MacGillivary & Gretchen, 2007). In other words, academic performance ought to be fought not only by changing systems but also by paying attention to individual students’ unique programs in an appreciative, customized way, for example through the use of therapy and support groups (Dreilinger, 2007). To date, state boards of education have tried both approaches (Epstein & Sheldon, 2009).
It is unknown whether first-generation West Indian immigrants to the United States experienced greater levels of school support. However, based on the important role played by school support in the U.S. Department of Education’s (1994) theoretical model of academic performance, and on the lively discussion of school support as a predictor of social performance, it appears justified to examine whether successive generations of West Indians have experienced different levels of school support. If indeed the first generation received greater support, then this greater support could explain why the first generation performed so well academically.
Educational Technology and Retention
Some scholars have reached the conclusion that a high level of exposure to educational technology, measured as enrollment in computer-based classes, is associated with lower retention, while others have found that exposure to computer-based classes is associated with higher retention. A number of notable quantitative studies on this topic exist; however, the literature gaps are numerous in the literature. In particular, there are few empirical studies in which the retention levels of high-school students exposed to computer-based classes have been compared to the retention levels of high-school students in traditional classes. This gap in the literature helps to justify the current study.
Lowry (2007), who conducted a quantitative study on 53 students divided into online and face-to-face samples, found that the retention rate of online students was 80% while the retention rate of face-to-face students was 93.55%. Lowry stated that this difference was statistically significant at p < .05. However, because Lowry’s study was experimental rather than pseudo-experimental, and because the population consisted of teachers and not students, the results of this study are not as relevant to the question of whether high-school students exposed to computer-based learning environments might have higher levels of retention.
Schoenfeld-Tacher, McConnell, and Graham (2001) compared the retention of science students in a computer-based course with the retention of science students in a traditional course. Schoenfeld et al. found that the retention rate of the computer-based students (100%) was not significantly different, at p < .05, from the 99.99% retention rate of students in the face-to-face group (99.94%). This finding supports the conclusion that learning environment might not impact retention at all.
O’Dwyer, Carey, and Kleiman (2007) found that the retention rate of online students in an algebra course was 88, 51%, versus a retention rate of only 64.4% for face-to-face students. The difference was significant at p < .05. O’Dwyer et al.’s study is one of the few studies in which the retention level of high-school students exposed to computer-based classes was compared to the retention level of high-school students in traditional classes. However, O’Dwyer operationalized retention as passing or failing a single course, Algebra I, not as the eventual graduation or dropout of students in the class. O’Dwyer et al.’s study was experimental, in that students in a Louisiana school district were randomly assigned to either the computer-based or the traditional algebra class. The experimental design of O’Dwyer et al.’s study was strength of the study, as random assignment made it less likely that any observed retention differences between the computer-based and traditional classes were due to other variables.
In a pseudo-experimental study, Urban (2006) found that students who were considered at risk for academic difficulties were significantly (at p < .05) more likely to be retained in a computer-based classroom (96.86%) versus in a traditional classroom (73.85%). Retention was not part of Urban’s two research questions; therefore, Urban did not devote time to explaining how or why computer-based students were retained at higher levels.
One reason that researchers have come to such different conclusions is that retention dynamics are likely to be different given the population sampled, the class taken, and many other contributing factors.
Florida Virtual School
According to U.S. Department of Commerce (2000), computer-based instructional materials have increased rapidly over time. The internet access for African American has increased from 11.2 % to 23.5 %. The demand for e-learning labs will continue to rise as long as hardware and software costs get lower. Based on the United States Census (2014), 35% of the United States children are minority group, and this number will continue to increase up to 50% by the year 2040. The Florida Virtual School (FLVS) provides the flexibility to all students (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). Online studies may demand self-motivation, with discipline and robust study skills.
Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is free to Florida students regardless of whether the student is schooled abroad, in public, private school or homeschool (Barnett, 2004). The primary reason for FLVS is to accommodate students with equal access with all courses, despite their daily schedules, athlete commitment, or medical conditions (Roblyer, 1999). The Florida Virtual School does not follow the regular public school schedule. The e-learning lab is available at any time, any place, and at the students’ choice.
The online program is prepared to meet the minority groups, and the disadvantaged students, especially in remote areas, where access to schools is limited (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). A student who wants to pursue biology, but lives in Monroe County, Florida has the same opportunity as a student living in Miami Florida, and is registered online to take biology (Barnett, 2004).
Summary
The purpose of this chapter was to further examine the following topics: a) the characteristics and background of West Indian communities, b) West Indian academic performance, c) West Indian school enjoyment, d) parental support, and e) school support. A number of relevant conclusions were reached. It was established that West Indians in the United States appear to have experienced declining academic performance over time. It was also established that there are numerous potential reasons that younger West Indians are not performing as well. In particular, younger West Indians appear to have lower personal enjoyment of school; additionally, it is not clear whether they have more or less school support than their parents, but it does seem that they are chafing against parents’ strict school expectations. Some of the retention findings are also particularly relevant to the topic of West Indian high school students in the Miami-Dade school system. O’Dwyer et al.’s (2007) findings demonstrated that high-school students do well in computer-based environments because less time is wasted in socialization, there is more focus on the material, and students feel empowered and responsible by directing their own learning. These factors furnish a plausible reason to determine whether West Indian students in Miami-Dade high schools who were exposed to more computer-based education were also more likely to graduate from high school. The methodology for making such a determination will be presented in Chapter three. Chapter three also contains a method for quantifying the variability of school enjoyment, school performance, school support, and parental support among West Indians will be presented. This approach is capable of testing Mitchell’s (2005) and Model’s (2011) hypotheses about West Indian academic performance as well as measuring key aspects of the U.S. Department of Education’s (1991) academic performance model in light of the West Indian experience. In addition, the potential effect of exposure to a high number of virtual classes will be considered as a possible moderator of West Indian students’ graduation outcomes. The methodology will generate knowledge that can close some of the literature gaps noted in Chapter two.
Chapter 3
Method
The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative, survey-based study are to (a) determine whether there are significant differences between American high school students of West Indian descent and their parents and grandparents in terms of personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, parental support, and levels of school support; and (b) to determine whether exposure to Southern Florida’s virtual classroom environment is raising the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent. FLVS is open to high school students. The majority of the high school students are working students with limited time to attend school. (Barnet, 2004). According to FLVS “Only a third of the district actively encourage minority enrollment.” Although FLVS is available to all, most of the minority students are at constant disadvantage because of the lack of home technology Barnett (2004). This process leads to limited access to FLVS courses. This chapter will describe and defend a causal-comparative quantitative research design based on an analysis of these variables.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
RQ1: What is the difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H10: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H1a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ2: What is the difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H20: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H2a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ3: What is the difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H30: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H3a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ4: What is the difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
H40: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
H4a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States.
RQ5: What is the difference in the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs?
H50: There is not a statistically-significant difference between the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs.
H5a: There is a statistically-significant difference between the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs.
Methodology
The dependent variables are a) perceived school enjoyment, b) perceived school success, c) perceived parental support, d) perceived school support, and e) the retention rate. The independent variables are generation and exposure to Florida’s e-learning labs. The proposed study will be a causal-comparative quantitative research design. The principal reason for choosing this particular design is to determine whether variation in generation is a significant predictor or variation in school enjoyment, school success, parental support, school support.
The researcher will use a MANOVA in the study to address research question # 1 (What is the difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?), research question # 2 (What is the difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?), research question # 3 (What is the difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?), and research question #4 (What is the difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?). The researcher will use the independent samples t¬-test to address research. Question #5 (What is the difference in the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs?)
A MANOVA measures the difference between variables. Thus, a MANOVA enables us to see generational differences between persons of West Indian descent in terms of perceived school enjoyment, school success, parental support, and school support. The researcher will use Tukey’s ad hoc test to identify differences between specific generations. An independent samples t¬-test measures the difference in the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs. The survey is the preferred method of data collection because of the quick turnaround time and response.
The participants will be asked to complete four survey instruments that will take approximately 25 minutes to complete. The design choice in this study is consistent with research designs that advance knowledge in the discipline. Mitchell (2005) and Model (2011) used a causal-comparative quantitative research design to advance knowledge in the discipline by explaining that generational variation is likely to be responsible for academic performance variation among persons of West Indian descent in the United States. Mitchell and Model found that the most recent generation of West Indians had lower academic performance than the two generations between them.
Setting
South Florida has an atypically high number of Jamaican immigrants in the local population (Consulate General of Jamaica, 2012). The proximity of Florida to the West Caribbean has resulted in immigration from this region to Florida. While many West Caribbean immigrants chose to move from Florida to other regions of the United States and Canada, there are many communities comprised of West Caribbean immigrants, in general, and Jamaican immigrants, in particular, which have been established in south Florida.
Participants and Sampling
The target population is people of West Indian descent who attended Miami-Dade high schools between 2008 and 2012. A power analysis is most appropriate for determining sample size. Sampling for the study will be random and snowball-based (Myers et al., 2013), in manners and for reasons to be discussed below. Sampling will be electronic in nature. Because the West Indian community is tight-knit (Mitchell, 2005; Model, 2011), it is anticipated that the use of snowball means will rapidly generate a sample of adequate size. It should be noted that the snowball aspect of the sampling strategy is based on asking people of West Indian descent who attended Miami-Dade high schools between 2008 and 2012 to forward the letter of invitation to one parent and one grandparent. The inclusion criteria for the former high school students of West Indian descent are as follows:
1. Be over 18 years of age
2. Be of West Indian descent
3. Have attended a high school in the Miami-Dade School District between 2008 and 2012
4. Have at least one parent and one grandparent of West Indian descent whom you can ask to fill out a questionnaire
5. Be willing to fill out the hard copy questionnaire yourself or on the website
The researcher conducted a sample size power analysis in G*Power 3.1.5. A sample size power analysis is most appropriate for determining sample size. Since the research questions call for MANOVA, a power analysis was conducted for the MANOVA. Using a medium effect size (f = .25), an alpha of .05, and a power of .95, the required sample size for an MANOVA with three groups is 80. The number of generations (treated as groups in the MANOVA) is 3.
Participant Selection
The researcher will collect data on perceived school enjoyment, perceived school success, perceived parental support, perceived school support, the retention rate, and exposure to virtual classes. Once permission is granted from the University of Phoenix, letters will sent to the chair of the Department of Education and Technology, requesting a staff meeting to explain the purpose of the study and to request participants. Once the chairs agreed to participate in the study, the researcher will administer the four instruments via the survey tool www.surveymonkey.com to all participants who have signed the Informed Consent Form (Appendix D) and the Letter of Invitation (Appendix E). Once the documents are completed, the participants are permitted to participate in the survey in the most comfortable and convenient form.
The proposed study will assess perceived school enjoyment by using the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England (LSYPE) (Appendix A). This is a 3-item multiple choice instrument. Participants will answer the prompts in the instrument through the following scoring system: Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), and Strongly disagree (4).
In a 2008 study by Gibbons and Silva, a sample of 727 children completed the LSYPE. Findings confirmed the internal reliability, and construct, and content validity of the LSYPE. The Cronbach’s alpha in a sample of students was .72 (Gibbons & Silva, 2008). The alpha coefficient was satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Thus, the researcher recommends this measure for use as a trait-measure of perceived school enjoyment in the proposed study (Gibbons & Silva, 2008). Construct validity is expressed as reliability (Nyunnally, 1978). The alpha coefficients for the LSYPE were satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Thus, the LSYPE has high construct validity. Gibbons and Silva (2008) compared the ratings of a group of experts to determine content validity. The LSYPE has high Content validity.
The proposed study will assess perceived school success by using the Student Engagement Scale. The Student Engagement Scale (Akey, 2006) consists of nine items. Participants will answer the prompts in the instrument through the following scoring system: Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Neutral (3), Disagree (4), and Strongly disagree (5). Akey (2006) developed the Student Engagement Scale in order to assess perceived school success.
Akey (2006) confirmed the internal reliability, and construct, and content validity of the Student Engagement Scale. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the Student Engagement Scale ranged from .79 to .78 (Akey, 2006). The alpha coefficient was satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Construct validity is expressed as reliability. The alpha coefficients for the Student Engagement Scale were satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Thus, the Student Engagement Scale has high construct validity. Akey (2006) compared the ratings of a group of experts to determine content validity. Content validity is high.
The proposed study will assess perceived parental support by using the Perceived Parental Support (PPS) Scale (Thorlindsson, Bernburg, & Halldorsson, 1998). The Perceived Parental Support (PPS) is a 5-item multiple choice instrument. Participants will answer the prompts in the instrument through the following scoring system: 1=“Very difficult”, 2=“Rather difficult”, 3=“Rather easy”, or 4=“Very easy”.
The Perceived Parental Support (PPS) Scale was originally developed at the Institute for Educational Research (IER) in Iceland (Thorlindsson et al., 1998) in the early 1990s in order to assess perceived parental support. In a 2008 study by Kristjansson, Sigfusdottir, Karlsson, and Allegrante (2010), a sample of 23,605 high school students completed the PPS Scale. Findings confirmed the internal reliability, and construct, and content validity of the PPS Scale. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the PPS Scale ranged from .77 to .87 (Kristjansson et al., 2010). The alpha coefficient was satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Construct validity is expressed as reliability (Nyunnally, 1978). The alpha coefficients for the PPS Scale were satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Thus, the PPS Scale has high construct validity. Kristjansson et al. (2010) compared the ratings of a group of experts to determine content validity. The PPS Scale has high content validity.
The proposed study will assess perceived school support by using school climate survey (Nicols & Nicols, 2012). This is a 5-item multiple choice instrument. Participants will answer the prompts in the instrument through the following scoring system: Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Neutral (3), Disagree (4), or Strongly disagree (5). Nicols and Nicols (2012) developed school climate survey in order to assess perceived school support. Cronbach’s alpha for this measure is reported to be .76 (Nicols & Nicols, 2012). The alpha coefficient was satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Construct validity is expressed as reliability (Nyunnally, 1978). The alpha coefficients for school climate survey were satisfactory by George and Mallery’s (2003) criterion of .70. Thus, construct validity is high. Nicols and Nicols (2012) compared the ratings of a group of experts to determine content validity. Content validity is high.
The researcher will assess exposure to virtual classes by asking participants the following question: 1) Did you take virtual lab classes in high school? In addition, the researcher will assess graduation outcome by asking participants the following question: 2) Did you graduate or drop out? Participants will answer the prompts in the instrument through the following scoring system: 0=“No”, and 1=“Yes”.
Data Collection
The researcher will send an electronic message to the Jamaican American Association of Florida through this group’s Facebook page. The message will ask the Jamaican American Association of Florida to post the letter of invitation in Appendix C to its message feed, where it can be seen by all members of the Jamaican American Association of Florida. Potential participants who respond positively to the letter of invitation will receive the informed consent form (see Appendix B). The informed consent form will be sent by email attachment as a Microsoft Word document with a text box in which participants can type their names as electronic signatures. The link to a version of the survey instrument hosted on SurveyMonkey™ will be shared with participants who will send back electronically signed informed consent forms for themselves, parents, and grandparents.
All data will be collected with the assistance of SurveyMonkey™ online survey software and hard copy distribution. The questions in the instrument and the score values will be transformed into a SurveyMonkey format. The link to this survey will be provided to participants once they give informed consent to participate in the study. The participants’ responses are completely anonymous. Participants are free to withdraw from the survey without any penalty. In order to withdraw from the study, participants have three options. If participants have not yet begun the survey form, they can withdraw by emailing or telephoning the researcher. If participants have begun the online survey form, a button will give them the option of withdrawing from the survey. In either case, no data from withdrawn subjects will be collected.
The interviewer will remind participants that participation is voluntary, confidential, and anonymous outside of the interview room. All participants will be identified by a code (e.g., Participant A, Participant B) rather than by name. Data collected on the SurveyMonkey™ server will be stored. Data from the SurveyMonkey™ server will be download into an instance of SPSS stored on a password-protected laptop. The SPSS file will be encrypted on the laptop using 256-bit encryption method and all data associated with the study will be retained for a period of 7 years. The files and data will be destroyed by means of deletion from the hard drive of the laptop.
Data Analysis Procedures
For the sake of describing the data in a comprehensive manner, some descriptive statistics will be presented; in particular, the mean, variation, and standard deviation for each of the dependent variables of the study. The assumption of normal distribution will be tested. If there are non-normal variables, they will be transformed into normal variables. And so, parametric tests can be used. In addition, the assumption of homogeneity of variance will be tested using Levene’s Test of Equality of Variances before moving onto MANOVA and an independent measures t-test. Data analysis in SPSS™ version 20 will be conducted, and the SPSS will be used to generate graphs that support the presentation of descriptive and inferential statistics.
Analyses that are aligned with the research questions of the study are as follows:
RQ1: What is the difference between the levels of personal enjoyment of school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
RQ2: What is the difference between the levels of personal success in school reported by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
RQ3: What is the difference between the levels of parental support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
RQ4: What is the difference between the levels of school support received by first-, second-, and third-generation West Indians in the United States?
The MANOVA for the first four research questions of the study will be conducted. This version of the MANOVA procedure will be a standard one-way MANOVA with the independent variable set to generation and the dependent variables being scores on (a) perceived school enjoyment, (b) perceived school success, (c) perceived parental support, and (d) perceived school support. The significance level of this test will also be .05.
The four Multivariate test results (i.e., Pillai’s trace, Wilks’ lambda, Hotelling’s trace, and Roy’s largest root and use Wilks’ lambda (Wilks’۸) will be presented. The sum of squares, mean square, and between group effects for the dependent variables will be presented, as well as the F ratios and the p-value. The null hypothesis will be examined to determine whether to reject it by using the p-value. Tukey’s post hoc test will be conducted in order to identify the difference between groups. The same procedures applied to research question one will be applied to the second, third, and fourth research questions, because each research question is similar in format.
RQ5: What is the difference in the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent who have been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs and high school students of West Indian descent who have not been exposed to Florida’s e-learning labs?
The fifth question of the study involves the use of an independent samples t-test. In this research question, the dichotomous independent variable is exposure to virtual classes versus no exposure to virtual classes in the Miami-Dade School District. The dependent variable is graduation outcome, coded as 0 for dropping out and 1 for graduating. The independent samples t-test will make it possible to determine whether a significant (at p < .05) difference exists in graduation outcome between West Indian high school students with exposure to virtual classes and West Indian high school students with no exposure to virtual classes. The researcher will present the mean value of the dependent variable for two groups (i.e., West Indian high school students with high levels of exposure to virtual classes and West Indian high school students with no exposure to virtual classes). The researcher will present the standard deviation and standard error, df, the PROB>F’ value, and the t-value. If the probability is greater than .05, the researcher will use the t-value and probability for equal variances. The analyses for Research Questions 1-5 will not be statistically independent. Thus, the researcher will control the overall Type I error, such as with a Bonferroni method.
Limitations
Causal-comparative studies have a number of unique limitations (Myers et al., 2013). One limitation is that such studies cannot necessarily account for the explanatory power of independent variables that are not measured. For example, if variation in school performance is found to be associated with generational difference, but all members of one generation are female whereas all members of another generation are male, then it is not clear whether generation or gender is the appropriate explanatory factor. The researcher can address this limitation by ensuring that each group in a causal-comparative design is large. If the group size is over 30, statistical theory predicts that variations in gender and other demographic characteristics will be similar across groups. However, the MANOVA method as used in causal-comparative research is still significantly limited by the inability to account for changes in any variable other than the independent variable being measured. For this reason, the results yielded by a causal-comparative study should be treated with caution and as a basis for further investigation (Myers et al., 2013).
Ethical Concerns
As the candidates that will be recruited for this study are over the age of 18, they are considered adults, and the ethical protections that are required for minors will not need to be applied. Additional protections are needed, however, to protect confidentiality. A preliminary letter will be sent to each participant requesting consent prior to conducting any type of survey, interviews or inquiries. After the researcher receives informed consent, all data will be anonymous. As the findings from the research may reveal participants’ attitudes and feelings about their school and their school’s treatment of minority students, the researcher will identify all participants by a code (e.g., Participant A, Participant B, etc.) rather than by name.
The participants’ right to withdraw from the study will be highlighted in the informed consent form. Participants will be provided with a written document of policies approved by the Institutional Review Board that protects the rights of human subjects. These policies will be followed during data collection, analysis, and reporting.
At the start of the interview, the participants will be informed of the confidentiality of their contribution. Any questions interviewees may have will be answered and a review of the consent form will occur prior to starting the interview. Participants will be reminded that participation is voluntary and anonymous outside of the interview room, and the decision to withdraw from the interview will have no penalty. The consent forms will be kept confidential and returned to the participants upon completion of the study if requested. Once the researcher collects and codifies the data, the data will be protected until the research process is determined to be over, at which point it will be destroyed. This practice means that the study participants will be confident in their ability to share personal information within the context of the study and that risks will be minimal.
Summary
The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative and survey-based to (a) determine whether there are significant differences between American high school students of West Indian descent and their parents and grandparents in terms of personal enjoyment of school, personal success in school, parental support, and levels of school support; and (b) to determine whether exposure to Southern Florida’s virtual classroom environment is raising the retention rate of high school students of West Indian descent.
Previous research has already established that previous generations of West Indians outperformed the latest generation in terms of progressing to college (Mitchell, 2005; Model, 2011). In this study, the researcher will examine variations in perceived school enjoyment, school success, parental support, and school support, as measured through the use of MANOVA tests, as potential explanations for the observed difference in academic performance between three generations of West Indians in the United States. In addition, the researcher will examine the difference in graduation outcome between West Indian high school students with high levels of exposure to virtual classes and West Indian high school students with low levels of exposure by using the independent measures t-test. Chapter four will present these findings.
References
Akey, T. (2006). School context, student attitudes and behavior, and academic achievement: An exploratory analysis. Washington, U.S.: The Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
Bacchus, M.K. (1994). Education as and for Legitimacy: Developments in West Indian education between 1846 and 1895. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. 80-102.
Barnett-Reed, J. (2004). Home is where the school is: But should the public pay for it? And how much is too much? Arkansas Times, February 13, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/school-or-scam-home-is-where-the-school-is/Content?oid=964689
Berry, J. W. (1980) Acculturation as varieties of adaption. In A. Padilla (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory, models and findings. Boulder: Westview.
Chuang, S.S., & Moreno, R.P. (2011). Immigrant children: Change, adaption, and cultural transformation. New York, NY: Lexington.
Cruz, V., Capps, R., Vericker, T., & Kuehn, D. (2009). Educational attainment of first and second-generation immigrant youth: New findings from national longitudinal data. Urban Institute Summer Academy for Public Policy Analysis and Research, 5. Retrieved from http://ftp.iza.org/dp8685
Deaux, K., Bikmen, N., Gilkes, A., Ventuneac, A., Joseph, Y., Payne, Y.A., & Steele, C.M. (2007). Becoming American: Stereotype threat effects in West Indian immigrant groups. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(4), 384-404. doi: 10.1177/019027250707000408
Dreilinger, M. (2007). School attendance. New York, NY: Bureau for At-Risk Youth.
Epstein, J. L., & Sheldon, S. B. (2009). Present and accounted for: Improving student attendance through family and community involvement. The Journal of Educational Research, 95, 308-318. doi:10.1080/00220670209596604
Fantuzzo, J., Grim, S., Hazan, H. (2007). Project Start: An evaluation of a community-wide school-based intervention to reduce truancy. Psychology in the Schools, 42(6), 657-667. doi: 10.1002/pits.20103
Finn, J. D., & Voelkl, K. E. (2007). School characteristics related to school engagement. Journal of Negro Education, 62, 249-268. doi: 10.2307/2295464
Foner, N., & Dreby, J. (2011). Relations between the generations in immigrant families. Annual Review of Sociology, 37(1), 545-564. doi: 10.1146/annurev-soc-081309-150030
Fuligni, A.J., Tseng, V., & Lam, M. (1999). Attitudes toward family obligations among American adolescents with Asian, Latin American, and European backgrounds. Child Development. 70(4), 1030–1044. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00075
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2010). SPSS for Windows step by step: A sample guide and reference, 18.0 update (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Gibson, M.A., & Ogbu, J. (1991). Minority status and schooling: A comparison study of immigrant and involuntary minorities. New York, NY: Garland.
Hagelskamp, C., Suarez-Orozco, C., & Hughes, D. (2010). Migrating to opportunities: How family migration motivation shapes academic trajectories among newcomer immigrant youth. Journal of Social Issues, 66(4), 717-739. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.2010.01672.x
Harris, K.M. (1999). The health status and risk behaviors of adolescents in immigrant families. In Children of Immigrants: Health, adjustment, and public assistance (Ed. D.J. Hernandez). New York, NY: National Academies Press.
Herrera, L. (2011). In Florida, virtual classrooms with no teachers. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/education/18classrooms.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Howard, T.O. (2011). The perceptions of self and others: Examining the effect identity adoption has on immigrant attitudes towards Affirmative Action policies in the United States. Immigrants & Minorities, 29(1), 27-39. doi: 10.1080/02619288.2011.553137
Kearney, C. A. (2007). Forms and functions of school refusal behavior in youth: An empirical analysis of absenteeism severity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 53-61. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01634.x
Kristjansson, A., Sigfusdottir, I., Karlsson, T., & Allegrante, J. (2010). The Perceived Parental Support (PPS) Scale: Validity and reliability in the 2006 youth in Europe substance use prevention survey. Child Ind Res, 4, 515–528. doi:10.1007/s12187-010-9095-x
Lansford, J.E., Deater-Deckard, K., & Bornstein, M.H. (2007). Immigrant families in
contemporary society. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Lauchlan, F. (2007). Responding to chronic non-attendance: A review of intervention approaches. Educational Psychology in Practice, 19, 133-146. doi: 10.1080/02667360303236
LaVant, B.D., Anderson, J.L., & Tiggs, J.W. (2007). Retaining African American men through mentoring initiatives. New Directions for Student Services, 80, 43-53. doi: 10.1002/ss.8004
McCabe, K. (2011). Caribbean Immigrants in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/caribbean-immigrants-united-states
MacGillivary, H., & Gretchen, E. (2007). Truancy in Denver: Prevalence, effects, and interventions. Denver, CO: National Center for School Engagement.
Mitchell, N. (2005). Academic achievement among Caribbean immigrant adolescents: The impact of generational status on academic self-concept. School Counselor, 8(3), 209-218. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42732461
Model, S. (2008). West Indian immigrants: A black success story? New York: Russell Sage.
Model, S. (2011). West Indian immigrants: A black success story? (Revised ed.). New York: Russell Sage.
Myers, J.L., Well, A.D., & Lorch, Jr., R. (2013). Research design and statistical analysis. New York, NY: Routledge.
Nicols, G., & Nicols, J. (2012). An analysis of student and parent perceptions: School climate surveys for the public good. scholarlypartnershipsedu: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 3. Retrieved from http://opus.ipfw.edu/spe/vol6/iss1/3
O’Dwyer, L. M., Carey, R., & Kleiman, G. (2007). A study of the effectiveness of the Louisiana Algebra I online course. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(3), 289–306. doi: 10.1080/15391523.2007.10782484
Okuyama, M., Okada, M., Kuribayashi, M., & Kaneko, S. (2007). Factors responsible for the prolongation of school refusal. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 53, 461-469. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1819.1999.00585.x
Pinel, E.C. (1999). Stigma consciousness: The psychological legacy of social stereotypes. Journal of Personal Social Psychology, 76(1), 114-128. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.471.2524&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Pinel, E.C., Warner, L.R., & Chua, P. (2005). Getting there is only half the battle: Stigma consciousness and maintaining diversity in higher education. Journal of Social Issues, 61(3), 481-506. Retrieved from https://www.uvm.edu/~psych/graduate/gen_exp/social/papers/getting_there.pdf
Portes, A., & Fernandez-Kelly, P. (2008). No margin for error: Educational and occupational achievement among disadvantaged children of immigrants. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 620(1), 12-36. doi: 10.1177/0002716208322577
Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R.G. (2001). Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
Pritchard, C., & Williams, R. (2007). A three-year comparative longitudinal study of a school- based social work family service to reduce truancy, delinquency and school exclusions. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 23, 23-43. doi: 10.1080/01418030121650
Reid, K. (2009). The causes, views, traits of school absenteeism and truancy: An analytical review. Research in Education, 74, 59-82.
Reid, K., & Kendall, L. (2007). A review of some recent research into persistent school absenteeism. British Journal of Educational Studies, 30, 265-312.
Roblyer, M.D. (1999). Is choice important in distance learning? A study of student motives for taking Internet-based courses at the high school and community college levels. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32(1), 157-172. Retrived from doi: 10.1080/08886504.1999.10782621
Rocca, K. (2007). Student attendance: A comprehensive review. Journal on Excellence in Teaching, 14(1), 85-107. doi: 10.1080/03634520410001682447
Rogers, R.R. (2006). West Indian immigrants and the politics of incorporation: ethnicity, exception, or exit. Chicago, IL: Northwestern University.
Roopnarin, J.L., & Johnson, J.E. (2011). The socio-cultural contexts of early education in Caribbean societies: A focus on transition to primary school. Transitions to Early Care and Education, 4(3), 163-175.
Roopnarine, J. L., & Shin, M. (2003). Caribbean immigrants from English-speaking countries: Sciohistorical forces, migratory patterns, and psychological issues in family functioning. In Migration: immigration and emigration in international perspective (Eds. L.L. Alder & U.P. Gielen). New York, NY: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Roopnarine, J. L., Krishnakumar, A., Metindogan, A., & Evans, M. (2006). Links between parenting styles, parent-child academic interaction, parent-school interaction, and early academic skills and social behaviors in young children of English-speaking Caribbean immigrants. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(2), 238-252. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.04.007
Schmalz, D.L., & Kerstetter, D.L. (2006). Girly girls and manly men: Children’s stigma consciousness of gender in sports and physical activities. Journal of Leisure Research, 38(4), 536-557. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-155751034/girlie-girls-and-manly-men-children-s-stigma-consciousness
Schoenfeld-Tacher, R., McConnell, S., & Graham, M. (2001). Do no harm: A comparison of the effects of online vs. traditional delivery media on a science course. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 10(3), 257–65. doi: 10.1023/A:1016690600795
Seeley, K., & Heather, M. (2008). School policies that engage students and families. Denver, CO: National Center for School Engagement.
Sheldon, S. (2007). Improving student attendance with school, family, and community partnerships. The Journal of Educational Research, 100(5), 21-37. doi: 10.3200/JOER.100.5.267-275
Spera, C., Wentzel, K., & Matto H. (2009). Parenting practices, parenting style, and children’s school achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 17(2), 125-126. doi: 10.1007/s12646-010-0043-0
Teevan, J. J., & Dryburgh, H. B. (2007). First person accounts and sociological explanations of delinquency. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 37, 77-93. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-618X.2000.tb00587.x
Thorlindsson, T., Bernburg, J.G., & Halldorsson, V. (1998). Substance use among young
people [Vímuefnaneysla ungs folks: Umhverfi og aðstæður].
Reykjavik, Iceland: Institute for Educational Research.
Udeogalanya, V.N. (1995). High school dropout rates among Caribbean students and other ethnic groups in New York City. In J.A.G. Irish (Ed.), Caribbean students in New York: Occasional papers: No. 1 (pp. 115-131). New York, NY: Caribbean Diaspora.
United States Census Bureau. (2013a). How many of Caribbean ancestry in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb13-ff16.html
United States Census Bureau. (2004). Census Bureau projects tripling of Hispanic and Asian population in 50 years. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/Press-Relese/www/release/archives/population/001720.html
United States Census Bureau. (2013b). American FactFinder. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_3YR_B04003&prodType=table
United States of Commerce. (2000). Falling through the net: Toward digital inclusion. Retrieved from http://search.ntia.doc.gov/pdf/fttn00.pdf
U.S. Department of Education (2007) Innovations in Education: Connecting Students to
Advanced Courses Online. Retrieved from
http://www2.ed.gov/admins/le/reportad/academic/advanced/report_pg17.htm
U.S. Department of Education (2007) Innovations in Education: Connecting Students to
Advanced Courses Online. Retrieved from
http://www2.ed.gov/admins/le/reportad/academic/advanced/report_pg17.htm
United States Department of Education. (1994). An alternative model of student performance. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdReforms/chap5c.html
Urban, C. Q. (2006). The effects of using computer-based distance education for supplemental instruction compared to traditional tutorial sessions to enhance learning for students at-risk for academic difficulties. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1168520
Volkmann, B., & Bye, L. (2007). Improved school attendance through adult volunteer reading partners. Children and Schools, 28, 145-152. doi:10.1093/cs/28.3.145
Waters, M.C. (2001). Black identities: West Indian immigrant dreams and American realities, New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Zagelbaum, A. (2010). Immigrant families from regions with emerging research. In Working with immigrant families: A practical guide for counselors (Eds. A. Zagelbaum & J. Carson). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Zhang, D. (2008). Between two generations: Language maintenance and acculturation among Chinese immigrant families. New York: LFB Scholarly Press.
Appendix A
Instrument
Subjective Measures of Perceived School Enjoyment
Below are some things young people have said about how they feel about school. For each statement, please say whether or not you agree with it.
Unhappy at school
“I am happy when I am at school.”
1. Strongly agree
2. Agree
3. Disagree
4. Strongly disagree
[recoded as the binary variable “Unhappy when at School”: 1, 2 = 0; 3, 4 = 1]
Bored in lessons
“I am bored in lessons.”
1. Strongly agree
2. Agree
3. Disagree
4. Strongly disagree
[Recoded as the binary variable “Getting Bored at School”: 3, 4 = 0; 1, 2 = 1]
Dislikes teachers
And how many of your teachers does the following statement apply to:
“I like my teachers.”
1. All of my teachers
2. Most of my teachers
3. Some of my teachers
4. Hardly any of my teachers
5. None of my teachers
[Recoded as the binary variable “Dislike teachers”: 1, 2, 3 = 0; 4, 5 = 1]
Appendix B
The Perceived Academic Competence Scale (Akey, 2006)
I can’t do well in school.
I can do well in school if I want to.
I don’t know what it takes to get good grades in school.
I’m not very smart in school.
I can’t work very hard in school.
Trying hard is the best way for me to do well in school.
I don’t know how to keep myself from getting bad grades.
I’m pretty smart in school.
I am unlucky in school.
Appendix C.
School Climate Survey (Nicols & Nicols, 2012)
1. The work I do in class makes me think.
2. My teachers expect me to do my best.
3. My teacher treats me with respect.
4. My teacher cares about me.
Appendix D
Informed Consent Form
Retention among West Indian-Descent High School Students: A Quantitative Ex-Post Facto Analysis
Purpose: You are invited to participate in a research study being conducted for a dissertation at the University of Phoenix. The purpose of this study is to study aspects of high school retention (graduation versus dropout) and school experience among Americans of West Indian descent
Participation requirements. You will be asked to complete a questionnaire that asks several questions relating to school experience and high school retention. The questionnaire will take approximately 25 minutes to complete.
Potential Risk/ Discomfort. There are no known risks associated with this study. All participants are assured full confidentiality. The names and questionnaire results from each participant will remain fully anonymous, and will not be shared with anyone, including coworkers, supervisors, and business partners.
Potential Benefit. This study does not provide direct benefits or incentives to participants.
Anonymity/ Confidentiality. All study questionnaires remain anonymous and confidential. Questionnaires will be viewed directly by the researcher only. Results will not contain names or any other information that might lead to individual participants being identified.
Right to Withdraw. All participants maintain the right to withdraw from taking part in the research, should they choose. This right may be exercised at any time by contacting the researcher. Participants may choose not to answer a specific question or questions asked in the study, should they choose.
Jacqueline Berlin, Doctoral Candidate
(954) 246-5573
JB20204045@aol.com
Appendix E
Letter of Invitation
You are invited to participate in a doctoral study focusing on high school retention (graduation versus dropout) among Americans of West Indian descent.
The purpose of this study is to study aspects of high school retention and school experience among Americans of West Indian descent.
If you choose to participate in the study, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that asks several questions relating to school experience and high school retention.
In order to participate in the study, you need to meet the following criteria:
6. Be over 18 years of age
7. Be of West Indian descent
8. Have attended a high school in the Miami-Dade School District between 2008 and 2012
9. Have at least one parent and one grandparent of West Indian descent whom you can ask to fill out a questionnaire
10. Be willing to fill out the study questionnaire yourself
Thus, the study will collect data about you, one parent, and one grandparent. If you are not interested in participating, or if you do not meet the criteria, please feel free to pass this communication on to others of your acquaintance who might meet the inclusion criteria
If you would like to participate in the study, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or email.
Jacqueline Berlin, Doctoral Candidate
(954) 246-5573
JB20204045@aol.com
Appendix F
Preliminary Letter
Thank you for indicating your interest in participating in my doctoral study focusing on high school retention (graduation versus dropout) among Americans of West Indian descent. This letter is to inform you of the steps needed to officially participate in the study.
First, please find enclosed the Informed Consent of the study, which you are asked to sign and return to me.
Second, to participate in the study, you are required to recruit (a) one of your parents and (b) one of your grandparents to fill out the questionnaire. To do so, please find enclosed two informed consent forms that you can distribute to your parent and grandparent. Both your parent and your grandparent have to be of West Indian in order to participate in the study.
Once I have received informed consent forms from you, one of your parents, and one of your grandparents, I can mail you a link to the online questionnaire that all three of you will be asked to fill out. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your interest in the study.
Jacqueline Berlin, Doctoral Candidate
(954) 246-5573
JB20204045@aol.com
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|