An evaluation of a summer migrant education program

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between school-related behaviors of migrant students enrolled in a summer program and selected factors in the home and school which may interact with academic performance.

The research strategy utilized three components to address the research questions: an ethnographic study of selected students, teachers and personnel; a teacher survey with achievement data on students; and paired student-parent interviews.

The research questions to be addressed were: (a) What educational needs were reported for migrant students by school personnel and parents? (b) what was the cultural and psychological context of the school for migrant students? (c) How did the educational values of migrant parents and students relate to academic performance and school philosophy? (d) For a migrant population, did the study habits relate to academic performance? (e) what was the relationship of English proficiency to academic performance? (f) what were the strengths and weaknesses of the program as reported by parents and program personnel and as reported through research observations?

Crosstabulations and frequencies were used to report interview data. The quantitative component utilized a regression analysis and the Developmental Research Sequence was used for ethnographic analyses.

The findings of the study indicated that the summer migrant education programs of Virginia were facilitating the pursuit of education through their programming by providing positive academic experiences. Students exhibited academic gains. In addition, the programs provided an important social function by offering full day programs and individualized health-related services. There was a lack of parental involvement that would "personalize" the program for each family if nurtured. The components of the evaluation design provided for input from a variety of sources for program improvement.