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Contents Page

 

 

 Background of Students

We interviewed eighteen12 and 13 year-old students.  Half of the students were born in San Francisco, California, and half were born in the Philippines; out of the nine born in the Philippines, the amount of time spent living in the United States varies from 1 and ½ years to 8 years.

 

Language

Of the eighteen students interviewed, sixteen of them speak both Tagalog and English in their homes.  The amount of time speaking each language varies considerably within the group.  When asked to give an estimate of how much they speak each language in their homes, twelve students speak Tagalog at least 50% of the time, four students speak Tagalog between 20-25% of the time.  Two students in the study speak English only in the home.

 

Views of Education

100% of the students interviewed feel as though it is very important to get an education.  Grade point averages (GPA’s) vary within the group.  Two students average a GPA between 1.00 and 1.5.  Six students have GPA’s that range from 2.00-2.9.  Four students have GPA’s from 3.00-3.5.  Six students fall between the 3.5-4.0 range.

 

Out of the 18 students, two of them complete their homework all of the time and sixteen of them do their homework most of the time.  There is no direct correlation between doing their homework and their GPA.  All 18 students said they complete their class work all of the time.

 

 

 

 

Parents

Fourteen of eighteen students have both a mother and a father who were born in The Philippines.  Three of eighteen students have one parent born in The Philippines while the other was born in the United States.  One of the eighteen students has parents who were both born in the United States. 

 

Thirteen students have at least one parent educated in the The Philippines.  The highest level of education from parents varies.  Three students had at least one parent whose highest level of education was 8th grade.   Fourteen students have at least one parent who graduated from high school.   Out of the children in which at least one parent went on to pursue higher education, twelve were mothers and none were the fathers.

 

Parent involvement varies among the Filipino parents in our study.  Three students have parents who have never come to school.  Twelve students have parents who have come to school between one and three times. Three students said their parents have been to school more than ten times. They come to school for various reasons:  parent conferences, changing schedules, to talk to counselors, attend sports events, etc

 

In terms of parental feelings about going to their child’s school, 12 of the parents said they were happy to come to school and see how their children are doing, while three of the children’s parents said they were mad because they are busy and their children have bad grades. 

 

In comparing the American School System to the Filipino school system, 15 children’s parents said that they are happy with the United States School system.  Many mentioned that the children have more materials in the U.S.  Four parents felt as though the United States isn’t as strict as The Philippines.