CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Data for this study were collected between October 1981 and
August 1982 on a specific population of 1980 Cuban immigrant seventh-
and eighth-grade students, their parents and other significant family
members, the community where these students reside, and the larger
Anglo and Cuban communities in south Florida. The primary location
for this study was an area of Florida north of the large Cuban
community in Miami. The Spanish-speaking population residing in this
area is about 10% of the total area population (U.S. Census Bureau
1980 Advance Count, 1982). This location was specifically chosen
because the English-speaking population greatly outnumbered the
Spanish speakers, thus providing those learning English a greater
reason to utilize English skills than students of the same age group
living in the larger Spanish-speaking population further south. How
ever, interviews were also conducted in other areas of Florida,
principally Dade County, in order that the researcher might integrate
the data from the primary site with that collected from Cubans and
Cuban-Americans in general. The sensitive nature of the data collected
prohibits any references which might indicate the specific location of
the community, school, or students studied.
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