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"When they do dress out, they hide in the back of the dressing
room and watch over each other until all of the group has changed,"
adds one of the female coaches. "They act as if they were different
from the other girls, but I don't know why."
One administrator was quick to observe that many of the Cuban
girls wore a great deal more makeup than was customary of U.S. girls
of the same age. This administrator also pointed out that those girls
who did less well in physical education were also those who wore more
makeup.
Correlations were performed between rating in physical education
and rank on total English and Spanish scores and are displayed on
Table 4-19. Results indicate that there was a significant correlation
between the 12-year-olds' participation in physical education class
and rank on English achievement. The statistical significance cor
relations decreased with age; results of the older students showed a
nonsignificant negative correlation on the same measures. Analyzing
the data by sex revealed a significant positive relationship for the
females who did well in physical education and rank on English achieve
ment. A significant positive correlation for Spanish and physical
education was found for the males.
Discussion of Correlations of Physical Education Ratings and Language
Scores
This statistical analysis confirms what participant observation
revealed: those females who were unwilling to take risks in expressing
themselves in English were also the ones who did not participate in
physical education. It is possible that the younger students were more