| dc.description.abstract | The aim of the current study was to identify bottlenecks arising as a consequence of the transition of undocumented students in the ages of seven to nine years to Foundation Based Education (FBE) on Sint Maarten. Seven schools participated in the research with a total amount of 210 students, of which 62 were undocumented. Also 23 teachers, 71 parents and eleven student care coordinators were partakers in this research. The study made use of eight quantitative and three qualitative methods to determine bottlenecks on the level of academic and social skills, home environment, parental involvement, teacher-student interaction and interaction between peers. Except for home environment and parental involvement, no significant differences were found between documented and undocumented students. However, the academic level of participating students appeared to be low and teachers reported a large partition between students on the areas of social and academic skills, which could be an explanation for the absence of significant differences between documented and undocumented students. No differences in home environment or parental involvement were mentioned by teachers, however the outcomes of
the parents questionnaire indicated that undocumented students have poorer home situations and experienced more difficulties with their family. Parents of undocumented students also reported more often to help teachers with school activities. The unannounced entering of new students during the school year seems to be difficult for teachers. A transition and testing period to list the needs of new students could be a solution for this problem. | |
