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Abstract
The primary focus of this study was to find to what degree cross-cultural integration occurred among Hispanic migrant students enrolled in the Lexington Public Schools. Additionally, the degree of cross-cultural integration of Hispanic migrant students enrolled in the Lexington Public Schools was examined to find if it were related to Hispanic migrant students' expressed desire to succeed in school and their school success.
Three high school, three middle school, and three elementary school classrooms were randomly selected from the Lexington Public Schools (N = 151). Students in the selected classrooms were administered a Sociogram Questionnaire and a questionnaire to determine their desire to succeed in school. Each of the selected classrooms was then observed using the Teacher Expectation for Student Achievement Interaction Model.
The relationship between the Hispanic migrant students' expressed desire to succeed in school and their grade point average (GPA) revealed there was no significant relationship between the degree of integration and GPA. When cultural groups were not factored in, resident students had a significantly higher GPA than did all migrant students. Conversely, when Hispanic and White students were compared and migrant status was not factored in, the relationship between GPA and cultural groups was also found to be significant. Resident students had significantly higher GPAs than did migrant students.
The results of the study added information to support evidence that Hispanic migrant students were not well integrated into the Lexington Public Schools. The results of this study provided information on the integration of Hispanic students and school success that indicated other school districts may want to investigate this relationship in their area. It was evident from results of the study, however that Hispanic students participating in the study wanted to do better in school than White students, but Hispanic students performed significantly worse academically than did their White peers.
