A Comparative Study of Characteristics of High-Achieving Vietnamese and American (Anglo) High School Mathematics Students
Juhl, Lynn Ralph
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69087
Description
Title
A Comparative Study of Characteristics of High-Achieving Vietnamese and American (Anglo) High School Mathematics Students
Author(s)
Juhl, Lynn Ralph
Issue Date
1986
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Educat.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Secondary
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare personal characteristics and identify systematic differences between Vietnamese and white Americans (Anglos) who were getting A's and B's in higher level high school mathematics courses.
By the use of discriminant analysis, it was found that the scale that best separated the two groups was "math as a male domain." The next best discriminator was the number of hours spent on homework. Other scales that differentiated the groups were: "math is just a set of rules", "it is fun to study math", and "prefer to study in a group." One scale, out of the original six, failed to differentiate between the groups. That scale measured family encouragement; i.e., "parents really want me to do well in math." It was thought that the scale's failure to discriminate did not mean that the scale was unimportant to the two groups, but, rather, was equally important to both. Differences between the groups were interpreted in a relative sense, comparing the groups to each other, not to some absolute standard.
The study took place in a public high school in suburban Washington, DC, in spring 1984. The school's 1650 students were multi-ethnic: There were about 750 Anglos, 360 Blacks, 140 Hispanics, and 400 Asians of which approximately 200 were Vietnamese. The sample for this study consisted of 71 Vietnamese and 156 Anglos.
A questionnaire was administered by the investigator in the students' mathematics classes. All classes at a higher level than Geometry were surveyed. Only students who self-reported A's or B's in their last mathematics course were included in the final analysis.
Two goals of the investigation were to gain insight into how the groups differed and to demonstrate the usefulness of the discriminant analysis approach for comparative studies involving cross-cultural groups. The discriminant function correctly classified 79.3% of all cases.
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