Terry Irvine Saenz

The relationship between college experience and academic performance among minority students

A number of factors have been identified as important to the retention and success of minority students in American higher education. Foremost among these factors are college experience variables like academic integration and social integration. The purpose of this study was to model the relationship between college experience and academic performance for minority students enrolled in an American institution of higher learning. Using structural equation modeling techniques, a model of the college experience consistent with past research was proposed and tested. The results provide support for the proposed model. Implications of the findings for improving research and practice in the field of educational management are outlined.

Conversations with Mexican Americans Regarding Children with Disabilities and Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Focus groups consisting of seven family members of children with disabilities provided information for identifying and understanding issues influencing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) practices within a Mexican American community. The authors used a content analysis of the conversations to identify seven general perspectives: (a) Children understand the nonverbal communication of persons around them; (b) aided techniques are useful outside of the home; (c) families have great respect for professionals; (d) there is a need to focus on the human condition; (e) there is a preference for shared responsibility between the extended family members and professionals; (f) emphasis should be placed on the performance of simple tasks; and (g) devices in Spanish are needed. Emphasis is placed on qualitative research strategies that can provide cross-cultural awareness for practitioners providing AAC services.

Testing Strategies Involving Least Biased Language Assessment of Bilingual Children

Increased attention is being given to strategies for the least biased language assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse children for whom English is a second language. One main reason is the concern that the administration of language tests in English using current norms is inappropriate for students whose dominant language is other than English. This article discusses a variety of alternative assessment approaches, including renorming a test for the specific population being tested, using dynamic assessment techniques to assess a childs modifiability, using other nonstandardized measures, and modifying standardized tests. Each of these alternatives has advantages and disadvantages. In addition, results from a preliminary investigation using modifications of four subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals—Third Edition (CELF-3) are presented to further the dialogue about language assessment issues. Twenty-eight bilingual Latino children, ages 8 and 9 years, were administered the CELF-3 and the modified version of the test in counterbalanced order. Clinical implications for creating least biased language assessment strategies are included as the authors provide a tutorial on the broad topic of language assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse children for whom English is a second language.

Thinking about conducting culturally sensitive research in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

The augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) literature includes very little empirical data on cross-cultural research and AAC that can support current clinical and educational practices. This article offers an approach, proposed as the six requirements, through which researchers may begin to reflect on issues pertaining to culturally sensitive research. Specifically, it includes an open discussion regarding the right person asking the right people the right questions in the right way at the right time and place, which draws examples from three research projects that have evaluated various facets of AAC practices. In brief, this article is designed as an open dialogue with researchers who are interested in pursuing culturally sensitive research.The augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) literature includes very little empirical data on cross-cultural research and AAC that can support current clinical and educational practices. This article offers an approach, proposed as the six requirements, through which researchers may begin to reflect on issues pertaining to culturally sensitive research. Specifically, it includes an open discussion regarding the right person asking the right people the right questions in the right way at the right time and place, which draws examples from three research projects that have evaluated various facets of AAC practices. In brief, this article is designed as an open dialogue with researchers who are interested in pursuing culturally sensitive research.

Increasing the Recruitment and Retention of Historically Underrepresented Minority Students in Higher Education: A Case Study

There is a need for more bilingual and/or minority speech-language pathologists to serve an increasingly diverse population. To recruit and retain minority students, faculty in university training ...

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Preschoolers' Verbal and Nonverbal Requests.

The purpose of this study was to identify the verbal and nonverbal strategies that preschoolers used to obtain objects from peers. Two Head Start classrooms of 41 Puerto Rican and African American preschoolers were observed and videotaped over 1 school year using qualitative methods. The preschoolers used three different strategies to obtain objects from peers during play, including movements toward objects, verbal intentions with movements toward objects, and verbal intentions. The students were able to obtain objects from classmates in 40% of their attempts and were most successful when they combined physical movements toward an object with a request, statement, or claim. The strategies used by the preschoolers and their rates of success varied between the sand, kitchen, and block areas in the two classrooms studied, with children obtaining the greatest success in the block area. The implications of this studys findings for intervention in the classroom by teachers or speech-language pathologists are discussed.

English-Speaking Latino Parents' Literacy Practices in Southern California

This study surveyed the literacy practices of 45 English-speaking parents of Latino kindergarten through second graders using English questionnaires. The results of the survey were similar in many respects to other studies of English-speaking Latinos and unlike studies of Spanish-speaking Latinos. Respondents reported numbers of childrens books at home that were comparable to those of the general U.S. population, yet they also reported infrequent visits to libraries and bookstores. Parents additionally indicated that they engaged in several literacy activities with their children, including frequent shared book reading and discussion and having their children read to them.

Issues in Recruitment and Retention of Graduate Students

This article summarizes a variety of issues in graduate school recruitment and retention, including campus and program climate, admissions criteria, national trends in cultural diversity, and the lack of research on diversity in university programs in speech-language pathology. The rapid increase in diversity nationally, combined with sharp increases in states with traditionally low populations of specific cultural groups, indicates that recent graduates from speech-language pathology programs in all regions of the country will face far more diverse populations during their professional careers.

Delivering Clinical Services to Vietnamese Americans: Implications for Speech-Language Pathologists

In order to prepare for a future in which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) might provide clinical services to an estimated 5% to 10% percent of the Vietnamese American community, this article offers a review and summary of the best of what we currently understand with regard to (a) Vietnamese history and immigration patterns; (b) probable demographics of consumers within the Vietnamese American community who would need services; (c) the culture and structure of the Vietnamese American family, including the influence of the community on the family; and (d) traditional Vietnamese medical practices contrasted to those of the European American community. The article summarizes six broad guiding principles for SLPs to follow when contemplating the provision of service delivery to Vietnamese American clients. Additional references are provided for practitioners wishing to extend their competencies beyond the scope of this preliminary review.