Italian-American Ethnic Identity and School Achievement
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1982 Italian-American ethnic identity and school achievement : an exploration of the persistence of conflict between the home and school cultures of Italian-American high school students. Thomas D. Sharkey University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Sharkey, Thomas D., "Italian-American ethnic identity and school achievement : an exploration of the persistence of conflict between the home and school cultures of Italian-American high school students." (1982). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 3849. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/3849 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ITALIAN- AMERICAN ETHNIC IDENTITY AND SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT: AN EXPLORATION OF THE PERSISTENCE OF CONFLICT BETWEEN THE HOME AND SCHOOL CULTURES OF ITALIAN- AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS A Dissertation Presented By THOMAS D. SHARKEY Approved as to style and content by: Patrick J. Sullivan, Chairperson Reginald B. Damerell, Member Christopher S. Hurn, Member UAL IAN-AMER ICAN ETHNIC IDENTITY AND SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT AN EXPLORATION OF THE PERSISTENCE OF CONFLICT BETWEEN THE HOME AND SCHOOL CULTURES OF ITALIAN-AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS A Dissertation Presented By Thomas D. Sharkey Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION February 1982 Education Thomas D. Sharkey 1982 All Rights Reserved i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Through the course of the writing of this dissertation, numerous individuals have provided valuable insights, criticism, and support of my endeavors. In the study's formative stages, Francisco Cordasco, Milton Gordon, Andrew Greeley, Clark Roof, and Richard Wright were most helpful in assuring me of the intel- lectual validity of the research effort and in creating the param- eters of the investigation. I am also indebted to Sister Germaine Fritz and Mr. David MacNicoll for their support and approval of my request to survey and interview students in the respective schools. Richard Schaye's friendship and example helped me through the most difficult moments of this study. And to the members of my committee, I give special thanks — to Reginald Damerell for his support and encouragement through all of the years of my doctoral studies; to Christoper Hurn for his most significant and insightful critiques of my work from a sociological perspective; and particu- larly to Patrick Sullivan who, in mentoring this study, afforded me the stimulation and excitement of academic challenge and at the same time provided the warmth and personal interest in my well- being that was crucial for the success of my efforts. To Brendan, over Kevin, and Patrick Sharkey, I give thanks for their sacrifices the days and weeks and months of this dissertation so that their father could complete his work. And finally, to Eileen Sharkey, iv whose unbelievable patience and personal sacrifices have truly enabled this study to become a reality, I give my lasting grati- tude. v ABSTRACT Ital ian-American Ethnic Identity and School Achievement: An Exploration of the Persistence of Conflict Between the Home and School Cultures of Ital ian-American High School Students February 1982 Thomas D. Sharkey, B.A., LeMoyne College M.A. Fordham , University; M.Ed. , University of Massachusetts Ed.D., University of Massachusetts Directed by: Patrick J. Sullivan The purpose of this study was to explore the continuing effect of Ital ian-American ethnic identity upon high school students' school achievements and mobility orientations. A preliminary re- view of Ital ian-American ethnographic studies had suggested that traditional Italian familistic orientations had discouraged gener- ations of students in America from pursuing educational and career opportunities that maximized individual potential but also under- mined family solidarity. The research questions derived from this review explored the relationship between Ital ian-American ethnic identity and student's (1) school achievement, (2) educational expectations, (3) independence opportunities, and (4) mobility aspirations. A questionnaire was administered to 207 urban and suburban students in two schools. Interviews of 28 high-achieving students were also conducted. vi The data indicated that within many of the Ital ian-American families a process of accommodation to schools and to education has taken place. However, within their homes and in the primary relationships among family members, many traditional familistic values and attitudes persist which may continue to adversely affect young people's opportunities for socio-economic mobility. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES . LIST OF FIGURES . CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE 1 Background of the Study 1 Statement of the Problem 2 Purpose 6 Organization of the Study 7 Research Questions 9 Limitations of the Study 10 Significance of the Study 12 Definitions 14 II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 20 Familism in Southern Italy 21 Ital ian-American Assimilation 25 Ital ian-American Educational and Occupational Achievements 42 III QUESTIONNAIRE PROCEDURE AND RESULTS 50 Method 50 Sample 50 Procedures 52 Questionnaire Items 54 Results 56 Demographic Characteristics of the Sample 56 Relationship Between Ethnic Salience and Demographic Variables 51 Relationship Between Achievement and Demographic Variables 52 Relationship Between Ethnic Salience and Achievement 57 vi i i Relationship Between Educational Expectations and Demographic Variables ... 69 Relationship Between Educational Expectations and Ethnic Salience 73 Student Occupational Expectations 75 IV ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS 79 V INTERVIEW PROCEDURE AND RESULTS 93 Sample Format * 93 Setting ’ ’ * 95 Interview Data ’ 95 Family Lives ’ 93 The Meaning and Importance of Higher Education 102 Opportunities for Independence 107 Mobility Aspirations 124 VI ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEW DATA 133 VII CONCLUSION 152 Suggestions for Further Research 167 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 171 APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE 180 B KENDALL COEFFICIENTS OF CORRELATION AMONG PREDICTORS OF ACHIEVEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS . 186 C PERCENTAGES OF URBAN AND SUBURBAN STUDENTS RESPONDING POSITIVELY TO ETHNIC SALIENCE ITEMS 188 D FREQUENCIES AND PERCENTAGES OF STUDENTS INDICATING EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS ACCORDING TO SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS 190 E INFORMAL CONSENT FORM IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND UNIVERSITY GUIDELINES FOR STUDIES THAT INVOLVE HUMAN SUBJECTS 192 F INTERVIEW PROFILES 195 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Number of Students According to Specific Demographic Characteristics 57 2. Occupational Clusters of Student Respondents' Parents 59 3. Educational Attainment of Student Respondents' Parents 60 4. Mean Ethnic Salience Scores and Standard Deviations for Urban 63 and Suburban Students 64 5. Mean Achievement Scores and Standard Deviations for Urban and 65 and Suburban Students 66 6. Mean Achievement Scores and Standard Deviations for Urban and Suburban Students According to Levels of Ethnic Salience 68 7. Pearson Coefficients of Correlation Between High Achievement and Ethnic Salience Items for Urban and Suburban Students .... 70 8. Mean Educational Expectation Scores and Standard Deviations for Urban 71 and Suburban Students 72 9. Mean Educational Expectation Scores and Standard Deviations for Urban and Suburban Students According to Levels of Ethnic Salience 74 10. Pearson Coefficients of Correlation Between High Educational Expectations and Ethnic Salience Items for Urban and Suburban Students .... 71 11. Occupational Clusters of Student Respondents x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Order of preferences of the dominant American culture and the immigrant Italian culture in addressing life's orientations 4 2. The Southern Italian psycho-moral familistic system 23 3. Anglo-conformity perspective 27 4. Melting pot perspective 29 5. Cultural pluralism perspective 37 6. Acculturation but not assimilation perspective .... 39 7. Varying responses that may emerge on particular issues considered in the dissertation 43 xi . CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE Background of the Study This study had its origins in the Ital ian-American neighbor- hoods of East Boston. There, from 1974 through 1977, the writer served as the principal of a newly formed K-8 school designed to re- place four financially troubled parochial schools and to introduce to this blue collar community, a privately financed, parent-controlled al ternative school As a participant-observer in East Boston, the writer noted many of the characteristics that had been documented by Gans in his study of another Ital ian-American neighborhood of Boston (1963). His analysis of the extended family patterns, of the insularity of neigh- borhoods, of the attitudes toward schooling, and of the occupational aspirations of second and third generation Ital ian-Americans provided meaning to my observations of East Boston life. However, subsequent experiences as a school administrator with middle and upper middle class urban and suburban Ital ian-American families challenged the class analysis that Gans