Achievement & Adjusbment of Jewish Moroccan Students
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Achievement & Adjusbment of Jewish MOroccan Students ABSTRACT TITLE: A Study of the Academie Achievement and Personal and Social Adjustment of Jewish Moroccan Immigrant Students in the English High Schools of Montreal DEGREE: Master of Arts DEPARTMENT: Education AUTHOR: Marvin Julian Godfrey The purpose of this paper is to determine how Moroccan-born and non-Moroccan-born Jewish high school students differ with regard to certain facets of their school life, particularly achievement, attitude and adjustment. A representative sample of fifty Moro~can-born students was selected and matched with a representative sample of non-Moroccan foreign-born Jewish students. Information was gathered through the examination of school records and through the administration of The School Inventory and the California Test of Personality. In each area, the difference between the scores of the two groups J .(' was tested for statistical significance. Additional data was collected through the medium of personal interviews with the students and their teachers. The results of the tests indicate that Moroccan and non- Moroccan Jewish students do not differ significantly in their attitude toward school or in their personal and social adjustment. However, the Moroccan students achieve poorer grades, appear to integrate more slowly, and experience behaviour problems. An attempt was made to provide an explanation for those aspects of their adaptation to the school environment in which Moroccan born pupils compare unfavourably with the other new Canadians. Recommendations were suggested in order to facilitate the ad just- ment and social integration of the Moroccan student body. ~. • A STUDY OF THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEfl'iENT AND PERSONAL AND SOCIAL ADJUSTNEN'r OF JEWISH MOROCCPJ'T IMMIGRANT STUDEtlTS IN THE E:;GLIS? HIGH SCHCOLS OF MONTREAL by Marvin J. Godfrey A thesis submltted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Division of Graduate Studies and Research Facu1ty of Education McGill University Montree.1, Quebec. July, 1970 @) Marvin J. Godfrey 1971 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer would like to express his sincere appreciation to the administration, teachers and students of Outremont High School for their excellent cooperation in this research project. To Messrs. Rosemarinand Fagan of Northmount High School and Messrs. sedawey and Silverman of Baron Byng High School, a note of thanks is extended for help in the collection of data concern ing the Moroccan-born enrollment at their respective schools. The assistance received from Mr. Ronald Finegold of the Jewish Public Library in the location of much useful information is likewise gratefully acknowledged. The author especially wishes to indicate his deep gratitude to his advisor, Dr. W. Talley, whose encouragement and guidance have been very much appreciated. The researcher is also in debted to his wife for her patience and valuable aid throughout this study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • • • • • • • • • • • iii LI ST OF TABLES • • • • • • • • • • ix Chapter I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY • • • 1 A. History of Moroccan Jewry (-1948) B. Moroccan Independance C. Restriction on Freedom of Movement D. Anti-Semitism in Morocco E. Economie Considerations F. Other Reas ons for Emigration G. The Three Periods of Emigration H. Moroccan Jewry Today I. Avenues Open to Those Leaving Morocco J. JIAS K. The Jewish Community of Montreal L. The Education of Moroccan Chi1dren II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM • • • • • • • 17 A. Observation B. General Statement of Purpose C. Hypotheses D. Sub-Prob1ems E. Significance of the Study F. Definitions G. Delimitations H. Limitations and Assumptions III. REVIEW OF THE LITERATUBE • • • • • • • 24 A. Israel B. France C. Canada vi Table of Contents (continued) Page Chapter IV. RESEARCH PROCEDURE • • • • • • • 36 A. Selection of the Semple B. Research Design and Methodology C. The Measuring Instruments 1. Academie Achievement 2. Attitude Toward School 3. Personal and Social Adjustment V. ORGANIZATION OF DATA, STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES AND RESULTS • • • • • • • • • 57 A. Academie Achievement B. Attitude Toward School C. Personal Adjustment, Social Adjustment and Total Adjustment D. Answers to the Sub-Problems E. Summary VI. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS • • • • • • • 92 A. Economie Level of the Immigrants B. Education in Morocco C. A Mixture of Cultures D. Family Responsibility and Values E. Factors Affecting Motivation F. The Integration of Moroccan Immigrants G. The Patriarchal FarnilY Structure H. Economie Difficulties I. Moroccan Concept of Charity J. School Discipline K. Parent-Teacher Relationship L. Non-Moroccan Immigrants M. Desire to Return Home VII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS • • • • 114 A. Conclusions B. Recommendations C. Implications for Further Research vii Table of Cont~nts (continued) Page APPENDlXES • • • • • • • • • • • 124 A. OHS Guidance Questionnaire B. Place of Birth of Pupils Attending OHS C. Religion of Pupils Attendlng OHS D. Main Language Spoken at Home by Pupils of OHS E. Place of Birth and Date of Arrival in Canada of Moroccan-Born Pupils at OHS F. Place of Birth and Date of Arrival in Canada of non-Moroccan Jewish Pupils at OHS G. Place of Birth and Date of Arrival in Canada of Moroccan Sample Group H. Place of Birth and Date of Arrival in Canada of non-Moroccan Sample Group I. Student Interview Forms J. Teacher Questionnaire K. The School Inventory L. The California Test of Personality BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • 141 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Classification According to Grade and Sex of aIl Moroccan Students at ORS Who Entered Canada Between 1960 and 1967 •••••••••••••• 40 2. Idea11Y Stratlfied Samp1e of Fifty Moroccan Students at ORS Who Entered canada Between 1960 and 1967 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 41 3. Se1ected Samp1e of Moroccan Students at ORS Who Entered Canada Between 1960 and 1967 •• 41 4. Se1ected Samp1e of Non-Moroccan Jewish Students at ORS Who Entered Canada Between 1960 and 1967 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 42 Re1iabi1ity Coefficients: Ca1ifornia Test of Persona1i ty - ~Intermedia te ••••••••••• 53 6. Comparison of Report Card Marks of Moroccan and Non-Moroccan Jewish Immigrants at ORS (January, 1970) •••••••••••••••••••••••••• APplication of Chi Square in Comparing Observed and Expected Frequencies in Above Average and Be10w Average Report Card Ratings for Moroccan and Non-Moroccan Groups at OIlS (January, 1970) •••••••••••• 62 8. Application of Chi Square in Comparing Observed and Expected Frequencies in Courses Passed and Courses Failed by Moroccan and Non-Moroccan Groups at ORS (January, 1970) ••••••••••••••••• 64 Enro1lment of Moroccan and Non-Moroccan Jewish Immigrants in Enrichment and General Courses at ORS (1969-1970) ••• 10. Norms for The Schoo1 Inventory for ORS Pup11s •••••••••••.•••••••••..••••••• 67 ix List of Tables (continued) Table Page 11. Classification of Moroccan and Non Moroccan Groups at OES According to Norms for The School Inventory •••• 69 12. Comparison of Observed and Expected Frequencies in Above Average and Below Average Ratings on The School Inventory for Moroccan and Non-Moroccan Groups ~t; ()Iif) •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 69 13. Mean Scores of Moroccan and Non-Moroccan Students at OHS on Individual Components of the California Test of Personality ••• 73 14. Conversion to Percentiles of Personal, Social and Total Adjustment Scores on the CTP for Moroccan and Non-Moroccan Students at OHS ••••••••••••••••••••• 74 15. Summary of Responses to Teacher Questionnaire 77 x Suggested short t1tle: A Study of Jew1sh Moroccan-Born H1gh School Students M.J. GODFREY Chapter l Introduction and Background to the Study No study of the Jewish-Moroccan community of Montreal can be made in a vacuum. In order to fully appreciate the position in which these North African émigrés now find themselves, one must have an understanding of events in Morocco over the past twenty years, the reasons for a considerable movement of Jews from Morocco to Canada, and the circumstances which account for the placing of almost aIl the French-speaking Moroccan children of school age in English-language schools. This chapter proposes to supply the reader with the necessary background information. A. History of Moroccan Jewry ( - 1948) Jewish colonists existed in North Africa even before the Christian era. The first wave of immigration reached Morocco two thousand years ago from Palestine and Rome. Most Moroccan Jews, however, trace their ancestry to the period of persecution in Iberia during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The eventua1 expulsion of aIl Jews from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1497 brought many thousands of fugitives to Morocco. A much smaller number of European Jews has come to settle in North Africa during the present century. In 1912 Morocco was divided into French and Spanish pro tectorates, the French zone being by far the larger and of more concern to the subjects of thls study. 2. At the time the protectorates were set up, Moroccan Jews were basically city dwellers. The majority of them filled the dirty, narrow mellahs or ghettos where they lived in crowded quarters. Several thousand Jewish families were considerably better off and inhabited the European sections of the larger urban areas. Included in this group were Many wealthy tradesmen. Under the protectorates a modern economy and an extensive administrative system were set up. The French brought security, improved health and educational