According to the Census Bureau’s estimates, the Hispanic population has been continuously expanding over the U.S population, and reaching about 58.6 million in 2017. As the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S., Hispanics have a significant role in making the nation’s population trends. Overall, the U.S. population has increased by more than 2.2 million people between 2016 and 2017, with Hispanics accounting for 1.1 million, or about half (51%), of this growth. In Santa Ana alone, the continuous growth of Hispanics in the U.S. has led to the increase of children in underserved communities as they continue to lack on resources that are available to many of them. Hispanics account for 78% of their population, with a 21.5% of the population living below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau). The Latino population in the United States has reached nearly 58 million in 2016 and has been the principal continuing increase of the U.S. demographic growth, accounting for half of the national population growth since 2000. The Latino population itself has evolved during this time, with changes in immigration, education and other characteristics (Flores, 2017). Latino/a families are made up of the largest minority group who have a low- income status. About 21% of Latino/a children have a low socio- economic status and live below the poverty line. The average English language learner student faces both the disadvantage of coming from a poor family and the disadvantage of being an English learner in a primarily English-language education system which causes difficulties as they do not have the resources to be able to learn a language by themselves if they don’t understand the language at school. Many of the students need additional resources to understand the language and move to the next grade level as it will only get harder and it will affect their academic success.
As the demographics keep increasing for the Latino population, the education has remained about the same. Graduation rates have not increased dramatically as much as they should which could be by a number of reasons, even much at an underserved community where the resources are lacking. At an early age, Latino children are often raised at a Spanish- speaking household as they are taught their native language, but soon start facing educational barriers which include language proficiency. At the age of 4, children start to grasp the English language when at pre- school, but for some it may be tougher than for others. Over time, children may learn the new language, but soon forget their own native language which may cause difficulties at home and children may resist learning a new language. As many Latino parents do not speak English, children may become confused and not know when to speak their native language or the new one as they are struggling to understand why they must learn the new language (Arriagada, 2005).
A child who is not proficient in the English language is often called an English Language Learner (ELL) as outlined in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, (NCLB, 2002), who is a student from the (a) age 3 through 21; (b) enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary or secondary school; (c) not born in the United States or whose native language is not English; (d) a Native America, Alaskan Native, or a native resident of the outlying areas; (e) from an environment where a language other than English has had a significant impact on an individual’s level of English language proficiency; (f) migratory and comes from an environment where English is not the dominant language; and (g) has difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language that may deny the individual the ability to meet the state’s proficient level of achievement and the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where English is the language of instruction, or to participate fully in society (NCLB, 2002, title IX) (Abedi).
The numbers of children who are English Language Learners (ELL) have increased in the U.S schools and the documented underperformance of this group, particularly in the domain of literacy has led to federal funding to synthesize the knowledge base in the field (August, 2006). However, the research has only been funded to understand how Latino/a children who are English Language Learners have improved on the language and how one can be able to help them in different levels or ways to improve their language proficiency. Many minority children have the most difficulty learning and grasping the English language as they start learning it from the age of 3 and onwards. Furthermore, young Latino children, on average, perform lower than Whites, African- American and Asian children in measures of school readiness (Gillanders, 2007). When young Latino children are exposed to a new language that they have never heard at home, some may be confused and startled as they are unaware of the language. However, as children struggle to understand the language, they start to familiarize with it as they continue to attend, especially if they are taught by a bilingual teacher who is able to communicate with them and explain what they don’t understand. Children will continue to learn English as they attend school, but it will become harder if they don’t have the appropriate guidance or teaching methods that will help them understand and learn the language.
There are various factors that affect Latino children’s language proficiency such as their age, language at home, teaching methods, socio- economic status, and gender. Depending on how a Latino/a children is at a classroom, they are affected and their language proficiency is affected and it either increases or decreases. However, the lack of resources in the education system of underserved communities affect a children’s language proficiency and their development as they don’t have much resources to provide to students such as a bilingual teacher who might be able to help them navigate their new language and guide them with any problems they may face such as reading, writing, and oral skills as they may not have someone at home who will be able to help them. They also do not have the proper resources that they may be able to utilize to help them learn how to read and write in a different language that they have not encountered.
Statement of the Problem
The problem with the education system in underserved communities would be the lack of resources to meet the needs of children who are low-income minority and do not speak English when entering a public school. In a study using a nationally representative sample of children born in the United States in 2001, researchers have reported that about 41% of children growing up in bilingual households, mostly Hispanic, come from families who are in the lowest fifth of socioeconomic status. In a recent study in 2013, it has also indicated that 28% of children growing up in a bilingual household are low- income. The average English learner student faces both the disadvantage of coming from a poor family and the disadvantage of being an English learner in a primarily English-language education system. As a result, its hard to distinguish which disadvantage drives worse educational outcomes for English learner students (Barrow).
Latinos are the largest minority group in the U.S. particularly amongst the children, who have the most at stake in the education system. Many parents come to the United States for their children to have a better education than they did and hopefully succeed in their future in regards to their education. However, there has been many challenges amongst the Latino/a population for children to succeeding in their academics due to the fact that of the lack of resources that are not provided for the lower- class neighborhoods (Villalba 2009).
Educational obstacles amongst Latino/a students leads to problems with high stress and with a development of inappropriate academic expectations, that are more overarching and widespread that negatively impact the scholastic experience of Latino/a children (Villalba, 2009). As Latino/a students struggle with their academic expectations and the lack of resources that the school provides, many of them are faced with anxiety, stress, and depression as they might not fulfill their parents’ dreams and expectations that they came to the United States to have a better life and education to succeed in the future. In addition to the lack of resources, many of the children come from low- income families as discussed, which leads to no parental support or involvement, which affects the children’s learning abilities. Most parents have to work all day, and many Latino parents are in low- skill jobs and in low- paying agriculture work that they have no means to engage with their children in school activities. Upward mobility for Latinos through employment lags behind that of the entire population, largely because of lower levels of educational attainment (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Census Bureau).
A correlation between low- income Latino/a communities and low academic achievements has been linked (Ross, 2010). Minorities are often concentrated in low- income districts; therefore, districts exist with a high proportion of minority students, but without the resources to educate them. Moreover, the relationship between low- income students and student achievement is negative and significant (Ross, 2010). The national drop-out rate for Latino students higher than for others, and Latino students score substantially lower than Anglo students do on standardized tests (National Center for Education Statistics 2002). Moreover, Latino students are more likely related to immigration (Darder, Torres, and Gutierrez 1997; Gibson 2002) and most students who are classified as "limited English proficient” are Latino (Riley and Pompa, 1998). As the drop- out rate of Latino students keeps increasing, it important to identify the reason for it. However, as it keeps being researched by educational and community advocators, there has not been a clear reason for it or how to decrease the drop- out rate.
Latino children are also less likely than Whites to be placed in gifted programs or in curricular tracks that most directly prepare them for improved performance on accountability assessments. As Latino children continue to increase in the United States, it should be the main focus and concern to provide equal opportunities for them whether it be at an underserved community or not, and enable them to develop their own individual gifts, but instead, it is restricted (Aleman, 2006). Unfortunately for the American future, education policy of the late 20th and early 21st centuries have done little to advance democratic aims to enable each Latino child to effectively make truly individual claims on education.
Purpose of Study
There have been numerous research data on how children who are Latino/a have the highest dropout rate and it has been examined the reason of why it has happened in that particular minority group. It has either been because of the socioeconomic status, parent involvement, self- efficacy, gender, sex, and so on, but nothing has ever really changed. Many research groups try to find a solution to the problem, but to the 21st century, it still remains the same with a slight increase. However, there has been no change. Education and community leaders have crafted different and several ideas to decrease the dropout rates amongst minority students, but some of the programs that have been implemented have failed (Hickman 2008). However, the language proficiency of a child at an early age is also an important factor when determining their academic success. Many educational and community leaders focus on programs for middle and high school students, but many of their programs do not work as well as they would like and fail. How children are taught at an early age in the English language affects their cognitive thinking and their overall outcome in their academic success.
In various underserved communities, children are subject to the lack of resources in their education than in those that have an upper-wealthy-class neighborhoods. It has not been uncommon that children who live in a community that is mostly filled with Hispanic and Black families have had a higher dropout rate than in other wealthier neighborhoods. The problem has always existed whether it be the lack of resources in underserved communities along with the dropout rates, but the only problem that still continues is the lack of help of educational leaders.
This researcher limited the scope of the study to the language proficiency of Latino/a students in underserved communities and how different variables affect the way a child learns. Even so, Latino/a children who enter the American school system and whose native language is Spanish, have difficulties learning the language which impacts their academic success as they move to the next grade level. It is the purpose of this study to illuminate how different teaching methods and incorporation of their native language impacts their language proficiency and helps them to clearly understand it — specifically those who live in the neighborhood of Santa Ana — to articulate the language proficiency of preschoolers, with the intention that they have a better understanding on the language needed for the school system and prepare them for the next grade level.
With this research study, the focus on the youngest children will determine whether language proficiency and different teaching methods has an impact on their academic success. A better understanding on different teaching methods will determine whether it will help them learn how to read and write their second language, English, to increase their chances on academic success on their future.
The following research questions will drive the focus of the data collection: RQ1) how do cognitive, environmental, and behavioral factors influence the language proficiency of each child?; RQ2) how does the behavioral factors contribute to their academic development?; RQ3) how do the environmental factors affect the children’s academic success in their future?; RQ4) how does the preschool teacher focus on the cognitive factor on the children who predominantly only speak Spanish?; and RQ5) how do the children learn to navigate the environmental factors when learning a different language?
Theoretical Framework
This study utilizes the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) to explain how language proficiency is established amongst children and how a child is influenced by different factors to learn the new language and how they grasp it. This theory has three different factors which include environmental (peers language, home norms), cognitive (knowledge of language, teacher expectations), and behavioral (master/skill, practice at home and school, and self-efficacy).
Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) : In this approach, a child’s knowledge is directly related when observing others whether it be at social interactions, experiences, and outside influences. This theory uses three different factors to determine how a chid gains their own knowledge whether it be when learning a new language such as English at a Spanish- speaking household. The child learns through the cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors as each one determines how the child will be proficient at a new language by observing each factor.
Literature review
In the literature review, three factors are being presented from the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986). The cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors determine how a Latino/a child’s language proficiency is being influenced and how they grasp the new language at home and at school. The cognitive factors will include knowledge of language and teacher expectations. The behavioral factors include their peers language and home norms. The environmental factors will include the mastery/ skill of the language, practice at school and home, and self- efficacy of language.
Cognitive Factors
More than often, Latino/a children have problems and difficulties with the English language that affect their academic success in the future. As a result, classes with bilingual teachers have been given, where children who do not speak the English language are placed in this bilingual classes in order for them to understand it better. However, these classes are only often given from pre- Kindergarten to the third grade; since, literacy is usually developed throughout that timeframe (Langenkamp, 2005). Due to the fact that children do not speak or know of the English language, many of the children are placed with a bilingual teacher in order to help them understand and have academic success in the future.
As teachers observe their students interact with others, they form their expectations based on the group and individual characteristics. Their expectations are usually influenced by their race, social class, gender, personality etc. Low expectations are usually generally associated with minority groups, low SES, male gender, and low achievement. Many of the teachers formulate expectations based on their social and physical characteristics which leads to differential, negative treatment (Proctor, 1984). Teachers expectations of their students affects how a child sees themselves as they are being treated differently and usually lowers their academic success as they are not being motivated or being taught without any bias.
Many of the children who reside in an underserved community have a continuing struggle of learning a new language as many of their parents do not speak the English language. Through the Social Cognitive Theory, the children grasp their own knowledge by observing others and imitating them which are usually their parents and those around them. Moreover, children learn the new language by observing their teachers and how they interact with them.
Behavioral Factors
Many children speak their native language at home and it becomes common that when they begin school at the age of 4, they have to learn a new different language. They have to learn how to speak the language that is used at the American public school system, and many students become startled and confused in regards to what language they should speak at home. However, the Social Interaction Theory (Vygotsky, 1989), that children learn the new language easily when interacting with a teacher as it creates a cultural environment and the student is able to determine when and where one should utilize the new language. First- generation children and those in families with foreign-born parents may be more likely to speak their native language because their parents and others in the household use the foreign language (Arriagada, 2005). Due to the fact that many Latino/a parents come as immigrants to the United States, they preserve their native language and they become accustomed to a new place with their own culture.
Amongst children, they usually are influenced by one another that are similar to one another which includes gender and ethnicity. Gender is a highly salient group and influence factor with children as they connect with each other (Stearns, 2008). However, even as children connect with each other based on gender and ethnicity, they also grasp language acquisition when they interact and communicate with each other. Many of the children who do not have a clear knowledge of how to speak the English language have received benefits from peer- effects, as their learning is supported through the ongoing exposure of children who are more skilled with the English language (Justice, 2011).
Environmental Factors
As Latino/a children learn to navigate how to adjust to a new language at home and at school, many of the children opt to avoid speaking the new language at home due to their culture and environment. Due to the fact that their parents are not exposed to the new language, the children are aware that their parents will not understand them and only speak Spanish at home as a way to communicate with their loved ones. Children of the ages 3-5 are exposed to a different environment with their teachers, and peers and they have to learn to manage through their emotions and understand the process that they are in a school where they will be exposed to a different language. However, at that age, many of the children become confused and startled as they do not have any idea where they are at or what they will learn. Even as they do not know what is going on, children learn how to adapt to a new environment and a new language. As they continue to speak their native language, many of the children do not fully grasp the new language at school and continue to face with difficulties along the way. Even as children continue to struggle at home, they practice their new language at school which provides accessibility to speak if they decide to do so. At school, children are able to participate in different activities in the classroom and create their own social space where peer interaction and their home language opens new learning opportunities that would further children’s literacy (Soltero- Gonzales, 2009).
In a Latino/a household, children are quite likely to experience common cultural traits such as use of the Spanish language, adherence to Catholic theology, and a valuation of family, These particular traits affect the educational aspirations and status attainment of children. Therefore, Latino male and females had high completion of rates for obtaining a high school degree. For both genders, they have a 90% completion of high school degrees. However, the completion rates for a four- year college were much lower (Blair, 2006). Even so, Latino/a children have had the educational aspiration to finish a high school degree that most of their parents did not achieve, which shows that they have had the motivation to continue high school despite their obstacles.
Summary of the Literature
Latino/a children have been the most vulnerable and ethnic minority that have been increasing over the past years. As a result, the drop- out rates for Latino/a children have been increasing and a number of research studies have shown that they lack the resources such as economic stability, parental support and engagement, language barriers, etc. have contributed to the increasing drop- out rates. As many children whose parents have a low income and live in an underserved community, they are predicted to fail on their academics and have been seen as a lost cause. However, there have been many programs that have been implemented for children to have a head start on their education such as pre- school and kindergarten to prepare them for their academic success and help them with their language proficiency. As many of the children do not speak the English language at home, they are exposed to a different language and have to lean to adapt to a new environment.
Limitations and weaknesses of the literature
As I was reviewing the literature, I found missing components of the demographics of Latino/a and their education, I noticed that there have been statistics n regards to the drop out rates, but they have only listed the overall statistics of the Latino/a population that have dropped out, but not the statistics of the children who have succeeded. I have found that the Latino population has been the most researched group in regards to academic success and have shown there have been high drop- out rates, but they have not focused on the Latino students who have succeeded academically. Throughout the literature, there has been much research on different ways and methods that educational policymakers and advocates could improve to decrease the drop- out rates, but there has been little research on how Latino/a children have succeeded academically and graduated from high school or whom have obtained a four- year college degree.
Methods
Qualitative Research Design
Amber (1995) suggests that in order to understand qualitative research, one should understand the four characteristics of qualitative research: 1) qualitative research seeks depth rather than breadth; 2) learn about how and why people behave, think, and make meaning as they do; 3) the goals of qualitative research can be situated on different levels such as at a micro- macro spectrum; 4) qualitative research falls within the content of discovery rather than verification.
This study has been designed as a qualitative research; therefore, the findings are supposed to serve as a source to identify how a children in influenced by different background and independent variables in their English language proficiency.
Sample
The sample of the researcher’s study will consist of Latino/a children whose ages range from 3-5 and it will consist of approximately 20 Latino/a students. Some of the students will vary of age, primary language spoken at home, parent’s highest education level, gender, and different levels of self- efficacy. The researcher will collect the sample with the guidance of the parents and teachers as they will provide information in regards to which students primarily speak on Spanish and focus on them to identify which teaching methods work best for them and how they improve.
Observations
Every Wednesday and Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the researcher will observe how the children interact with each other and identify what language they primarily speak with their peers and teachers. Depending on what children primarily speaks Spanish, the researcher will try to focus on them and help them with their difficulties in communicating with the English language as it will become easier if they start learning how to speak and write it.
Interviews
The researcher will conduct interviews with the parents and identify their highest education level, ethnicity, socio- economic status, type of household, and language spoken at home. Through the use of the interviews, the researcher will gather enough information to formulate each students and identify what differences influence the language proficiency and determine how to help the children who speak primarily Spanish at home and how to help those who do not.
The English Language Proficiency of Latino Children in an Underserved Community
According to the Census Bureau’s estimates, the Hispanic population has been continuously expanding over the U.S population, and reaching about 58.6 million in 2017. As the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S., Hispanics have a significant role in making the nation’s population trends. Overall, the U.S. population has increased by more than 2.2 million people between 2016 and 2017, with Hispanics accounting for 1.1 million, or about half (51%), of this growth. In Santa Ana alone, the continuous growth of Hispanics in the U.S. has led to the increase of children in underserved communities as they continue to lack on resources that are available to many of them. Hispanics account for 78% of their population, with a 21.5% of the population living below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau). The Latino population in the United States has reached nearly 58 million in 2016 and has been the principal continuing increase of the U.S. demographic growth, accounting for half of the national population growth since 2000. The Latino population itself has evolved during this time, with changes in immigration, education and other characteristics (Flores, 2017). Latino/a families are made up of the largest minority group who have a low- income status. About 21% of Latino/a children have a low socio- economic status and live below the poverty line. The average English language learner student faces both the disadvantage of coming from a poor family and the disadvantage of being an English learner in a primarily English-language education system which causes difficulties as they do not have the resources to be able to learn a language by themselves if they don’t understand the language at school. Many of the students need additional resources to understand the language and move to the next grade level as it will only get harder and it will affect their academic success.
As the demographics keep increasing for the Latino population, the education has remained about the same. Graduation rates have not increased dramatically as much as they should which could be by a number of reasons, even much at an underserved community where the resources are lacking. At an early age, Latino children are often raised at a Spanish- speaking household as they are taught their native language, but soon start facing educational barriers which include language proficiency. At the age of 4, children start to grasp the English language when at pre- school, but for some it may be tougher than for others. Over time, children may learn the new language, but soon forget their own native language which may cause difficulties at home and children may resist learning a new language. As many Latino parents do not speak English, children may become confused and not know when to speak their native language or the new one as they are struggling to understand why they must learn the new language (Arriagada, 2005).
A child who is not proficient in the English language is often called an English Language Learner (ELL) as outlined in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, (NCLB, 2002), who is a student from the (a) age 3 through 21; (b) enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary or secondary school; (c) not born in the United States or whose native language is not English; (d) a Native America, Alaskan Native, or a native resident of the outlying areas; (e) from an environment where a language other than English has had a significant impact on an individual’s level of English language proficiency; (f) migratory and comes from an environment where English is not the dominant language; and (g) has difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language that may deny the individual the ability to meet the state’s proficient level of achievement and the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where English is the language of instruction, or to participate fully in society (NCLB, 2002, title IX) (Abedi).
The numbers of children who are English Language Learners (ELL) have increased in the U.S schools and the documented underperformance of this group, particularly in the domain of literacy has led to federal funding to synthesize the knowledge base in the field (August, 2006). However, the research has only been funded to understand how Latino/a children who are English Language Learners have improved on the language and how one can be able to help them in different levels or ways to improve their language proficiency. Many minority children have the most difficulty learning and grasping the English language as they start learning it from the age of 3 and onwards. Furthermore, young Latino children, on average, perform lower than Whites, African- American and Asian children in measures of school readiness (Gillanders, 2007). When young Latino children are exposed to a new language that they have never heard at home, some may be confused and startled as they are unaware of the language. However, as children struggle to understand the language, they start to familiarize with it as they continue to attend, especially if they are taught by a bilingual teacher who is able to communicate with them and explain what they don’t understand. Children will continue to learn English as they attend school, but it will become harder if they don’t have the appropriate guidance or teaching methods that will help them understand and learn the language.
There are various factors that affect Latino children’s language proficiency such as their age, language at home, teaching methods, socio- economic status, and gender. Depending on how a Latino/a children is at a classroom, they are affected and their language proficiency is affected and it either increases or decreases. However, the lack of resources in the education system of underserved communities affect a children’s language proficiency and their development as they don’t have much resources to provide to students such as a bilingual teacher who might be able to help them navigate their new language and guide them with any problems they may face such as reading, writing, and oral skills as they may not have someone at home who will be able to help them. They also do not have the proper resources that they may be able to utilize to help them learn how to read and write in a different language that they have not encountered.
Statement of the Problem
The problem with the education system in underserved communities would be the lack of resources to meet the needs of children who are low-income minority and do not speak English when entering a public school. In a study using a nationally representative sample of children born in the United States in 2001, researchers have reported that about 41% of children growing up in bilingual households, mostly Hispanic, come from families who are in the lowest fifth of socioeconomic status. In a recent study in 2013, it has also indicated that 28% of children growing up in a bilingual household are low- income. The average English learner student faces both the disadvantage of coming from a poor family and the disadvantage of being an English learner in a primarily English-language education system. As a result, its hard to distinguish which disadvantage drives worse educational outcomes for English learner students (Barrow).
Latinos are the largest minority group in the U.S. particularly amongst the children, who have the most at stake in the education system. Many parents come to the United States for their children to have a better education than they did and hopefully succeed in their future in regards to their education. However, there has been many challenges amongst the Latino/a population for children to succeeding in their academics due to the fact that of the lack of resources that are not provided for the lower- class neighborhoods (Villalba 2009).
Educational obstacles amongst Latino/a students leads to problems with high stress and with a development of inappropriate academic expectations, that are more overarching and widespread that negatively impact the scholastic experience of Latino/a children (Villalba, 2009). As Latino/a students struggle with their academic expectations and the lack of resources that the school provides, many of them are faced with anxiety, stress, and depression as they might not fulfill their parents’ dreams and expectations that they came to the United States to have a better life and education to succeed in the future. In addition to the lack of resources, many of the children come from low- income families as discussed, which leads to no parental support or involvement, which affects the children’s learning abilities. Most parents have to work all day, and many Latino parents are in low- skill jobs and in low- paying agriculture work that they have no means to engage with their children in school activities. Upward mobility for Latinos through employment lags behind that of the entire population, largely because of lower levels of educational attainment (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Census Bureau).
A correlation between low- income Latino/a communities and low academic achievements has been linked (Ross, 2010). Minorities are often concentrated in low- income districts; therefore, districts exist with a high proportion of minority students, but without the resources to educate them. Moreover, the relationship between low- income students and student achievement is negative and significant (Ross, 2010). The national drop-out rate for Latino students higher than for others, and Latino students score substantially lower than Anglo students do on standardized tests (National Center for Education Statistics 2002). Moreover, Latino students are more likely related to immigration (Darder, Torres, and Gutierrez 1997; Gibson 2002) and most students who are classified as "limited English proficient” are Latino (Riley and Pompa, 1998). As the drop- out rate of Latino students keeps increasing, it important to identify the reason for it. However, as it keeps being researched by educational and community advocators, there has not been a clear reason for it or how to decrease the drop- out rate.
Latino children are also less likely than Whites to be placed in gifted programs or in curricular tracks that most directly prepare them for improved performance on accountability assessments. As Latino children continue to increase in the United States, it should be the main focus and concern to provide equal opportunities for them whether it be at an underserved community or not, and enable them to develop their own individual gifts, but instead, it is restricted (Aleman, 2006). Unfortunately for the American future, education policy of the late 20th and early 21st centuries have done little to advance democratic aims to enable each Latino child to effectively make truly individual claims on education.
Purpose of Study
There have been numerous research data on how children who are Latino/a have the highest dropout rate and it has been examined the reason of why it has happened in that particular minority group. It has either been because of the socioeconomic status, parent involvement, self- efficacy, gender, sex, and so on, but nothing has ever really changed. Many research groups try to find a solution to the problem, but to the 21st century, it still remains the same with a slight increase. However, there has been no change. Education and community leaders have crafted different and several ideas to decrease the dropout rates amongst minority students, but some of the programs that have been implemented have failed (Hickman 2008). However, the language proficiency of a child at an early age is also an important factor when determining their academic success. Many educational and community leaders focus on programs for middle and high school students, but many of their programs do not work as well as they would like and fail. How children are taught at an early age in the English language affects their cognitive thinking and their overall outcome in their academic success.
In various underserved communities, children are subject to the lack of resources in their education than in those that have an upper-wealthy-class neighborhoods. It has not been uncommon that children who live in a community that is mostly filled with Hispanic and Black families have had a higher dropout rate than in other wealthier neighborhoods. The problem has always existed whether it be the lack of resources in underserved communities along with the dropout rates, but the only problem that still continues is the lack of help of educational leaders.