Thesis » Mathematics achievement of Spanish-speaking kindergarteners and the impact of teacher characteristics: A mediation hypothesis

Categories

STUDENTS, english Language Learners, EDUCATION, early childhood

Areas

PRACTITIONER:group practice and professional learning

Authors

Jensen, Bryant

Published

2006, 9/3/2009

Publisher

Arizona State University

Abstract

The number of children beginning public school in the United States who speak Spanish as their native language—Spanish-speaking kindergartners (SSK)—continues to increase as the proportional quantity of children from immigrant families rises. SSK academically lag behind their peers in all subjects at the beginning of kindergarten and throughout their educational careers. Among school factors that contribute to achievement differences, teacher characteristics have been shown to contribute significantly to academic achievement differences. The purpose of this study is 1) to describe SSK and compare them to theirs peers in terms of mathematics achievement, socioeconomic status, parental education level, and certain teacher characteristics; 2) to evaluate the impact of three teacher characteristics—a) whether Spanish is used for instruction in the classroom, b) teacher’s rating of the importance of knowing English for school readiness, and c) number of years teacher has taught kindergarten—on the mathematics achievement of SSK; 3) to determine whether these direct effects are mediated by the teachers’ perception of child’s approach to learning; and 4) to establish whether direct and indirect effects vary by levels of SES, mother’s education level, and English proficiency.

Files

• http://www.niusileadscape.org/docs/FINAL_PRODUCTS/LearningCarousel/MathematicsAchievementOfSpanishSpeaking.pdf