The Values of Immigrant Students on Citizenship as a Trait of Character Education
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the values of immigrant students on
citizenship as a trait of character education in accordance to Texas Education Code
29.906 in a high school setting. The study examined the perception of immigrant
students who are in their first three years in U.S. schools on what shaped their
understanding on citizenship as responsible members of society. Citizenship is one of the
nine traits of character education in accordance to Texas Education Code 29.906. Data
for the study was gathered from immigrant students at Hurst-Euless-Bedford (HEB)
Independent School District, Euless, Texas. Furthermore, the study examined how
immigrant students defined character in relation with citizenship. The gathered data
provided a cultural sensitivity lens for curricula design and implementation in character
education. The analysis of data collected from 45 immigrant students at HEB ISD was
restricted to the national framework, What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The analysis
was used to make connections between two or more variables to determine important
relationships that were not predicted.
The national framework WWC provided a critical lens to analyze the data
collected by categorizing outcome measures assessed in the study. Student responses
ranged from cognitive, affective and behavioral categories. The cognitive category
provided the understanding and ability to be able to reason about character concepts as
well as academic content. The affective category provided the relation to attitudes,
emotions, motives, and beliefs about what is important and the behavioral category
provided the foundation of acting on understandings and beliefs.
The research findings for this study included:
1. Most students (91%) — defined character and related it with citizenship based on their understandings.
2. A small minority (9%) of students defined character in relation to a character in a storybook.
3. Students’ understanding of character as a trait of citizenship is influenced by the values and culture of their country of origin.
4. The values of honor, hierarchy, gender roles, patriarchal and form of greetings shape immigrant students’ understanding of citizenship as responsible members of society.
5. The integrated approach adopted by Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District to character education is preparing immigrant students for citizenship.
6. Immigrant students have a broader understanding of being a responsible member of society than their non-immigrant peers.
Subject
Character EducationCitizenship
Immigrant
English Language Learners
Limited English Proficient
Character Traits
Citation
Obamehinti, Feyi (2014). The Values of Immigrant Students on Citizenship as a Trait of Character Education. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A & M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /152656.