Education, Bilingual and Multicultural

This thesis investigates the acqusition of certain negative and interrogative structures by adolescent Spanish-speaking ESL students in a bilingual community. These ESL learners demonstrated two unexpected negating strategies using not plus the verb and never plus the verb. They likewise used does/did as an overgeneralized question marker. Age of first exposure to English did not appear to be a significant factor in the acquisition of the English auxiliary, and the students' acquisition of negative and interrogative structures appeared to be delayed in this bilingual environment, despite ESL instruction.

The focus of this study was to determine whether the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum improved knowledge and understanding of the U.S. Constitution of middle school minority students. A second focus of this study was to determine if the same curriculum improved student perception of their rights and responsibilities in American society. The Test on the History and Principles of the United States Constitution Level II was used to determine whether there existed a difference between middle school minority students participating in the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum and middle school minority students enrolled in the traditional textbook-driven civics education program. The second instrument, Student Perception Questionnaire, measured perception of the rights and responsibilities of middle school minority students who participated in the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum and students enrolled in the traditional textbook-driven civics education curriculum. The instruments were administered to a total of 247 8th grade middle school students. The inquiry found significant differences in knowledge and understanding between 8th grade students who used the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum and students who used the traditional textbook-driven civics education curriculum. Independent sample t tests revealed mean pretest values to be nearly identical but posttest values to be higher among students using the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum. The results demonstrated that the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum had a greater impact on the knowledge and understanding of the U.S. Constitution of middle school minority students participating in the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum compared to students enrolled in the traditional textbook-driven civics education program. The study also found that there was only a marginally improved student perception between those students who participated in the We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum and students enrolled in the traditional textbook-driven curriculum. Independent sample tests revealed that the change was insignificant. Research on effective citizenship education programs in American schools can play a significant role in the continuous efforts of social studies educators in promoting political participation among minority populations.

This study examines the differences in attitude between tenth grade students in Western High School, Broward County, Florida, and tenth grade students in Liceo Zorrilla, Montevideo, Uruguay, toward selected aspects of the study of foreign languages. A survey was administered to approximately 100 randomly selected tenth grade students from each group. It is hypothesized that no significant differences existed between the attitudes of the two groups toward selected aspects of the study of foreign languages. It is also hypothesized that no significant differences existed between the two groups toward the positions that foreign language study should begin in the elementary school; that it should be continued in high school; that all students should have the option to take more than one language; and that all students should be required to take a foreign language. Findings indicate that significant statistical differences exist in the following positions: (1) that foreign language study should begin in the elementary school; (2) that foreign language study should continue in high school; and (3) that all students should be required to take a foreign language. Liceo Zorrilla tenth grade students favor these positions more markedly than Western High School tenth grade students. However, the correlation between the variables is weak. There is a high percentage of undecided Western High School respondents in the first of the two issues, and a high percentage of negative responses to the third issue from both groups. Significant differences do not exist in the following: (1) the attitude of the two groups toward selected aspects of the study of foreign languages; and (2) the position that all students should have the option to take more than one foreign language. The major conclusion reached is that tenth grade students in Western High School appear to be favorable toward an expansion of foreign language programs, as long as they are not required for all students. The major recommendations include: (1) additional comparative studies; (2) research regarding the job market in the community relative to foreign language needs; (3) steps to expand and improve foreign language programs in the country; and (4) additional studies of international magnitude.