Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users, please click the view more button below to purchase a copy of this dissertation from Proquest.
(Some titles may also be available free of charge in our Open Access Dissertation Collection, so please check there first.)
The experiences of Puerto Rican female students in United States public secondary schools
Abstract
A significant number of studies focusing on Latino students describe a myriad of challenges that seem to affect their educational opportunities. In the case of Puerto Rican female students, they seem to enter U.S. schools with about the same ability as others to become active learners and successful students, but a significant number of them confront challenges that threaten their academic progress or they drop out before achieving high school graduation. The purpose of this qualitative in-depth phenomenological interview study was to explore the educational experiences of ten Puerto Rican female students in U.S. public secondary schools in order to examine the elements that contributed to their success and frustration in school. The study particularly looked for common experiences and factors affecting their academic achievements, inquired about common problems faced in schools by them, and considered their insights into how to improve the learning conditions for all students. Phenomenological interviewing was the methodology used to gather the data. The first interview centered around participants' life experiences in the United States until secondary school. The second interview concentrated on their present experiences in secondary school. The third interview focused on the meaning of their experiences as students. A thematic analysis of the interviews identified three influential components in the academic achievements of the participants in this study. These are: the significant role parents played in supporting and guiding their daughters; effective teachers affirm participants' culture and language in school; and a college education as the participants' utmost educational goal provided a perspective of achievement for all of them. The study also identified four common problems faced by either most participants or their peers. Moving from one place to another affected their academic progress. The ESL and TBE programs were found to provide effective services for their academic needs, but participants identified limitations of the programs that needed improvement. Dropping out and discrimination were found to be pervasive in participants' academic life. The implications of these findings, recommendations for schools, and gender specific findings are explored in the last chapter.
Subject Area
Bilingual education|Multicultural education|Educational sociology|Secondary education
Recommended Citation
Rolon, Carmen A, "The experiences of Puerto Rican female students in United States public secondary schools" (1998). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9841919.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9841919