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An investigation of the adjustment problems of transient elementary school children.
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Content
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS OF
TRANSIENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The University of Southern California
I
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Sagie M. Ostendorf
July 1949
UMI Number: EP46001
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.
Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
Dissertation Publishing
UMI EP46001
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
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unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
ProQuest LLC.
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C e / 1 ^ 0 & %
This project report, written under the direction
of the candidate’s adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of
the requirements fo r the degree of M aster of
Science in Education.
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM . ...................... 1
Description of the Study ..................... 1
Statement of the Problem....................... 2
Authority for the Development of the Scope
and Importance of the Problem............... 2
Scope and Delimitation of the Problem........... 6
Importance of the Problem...................... 7
Definition of Terms .......................... 8
Organization of the Remaining Chapters .... 9
II. PROCEDURES................. .. .................. 11
Emergence of the Problem.......... 11
Description of Locality . . . * ................ 11
Papulation ..... ....................... 12
Industries.................................. 12
Business District ............................ 12
Union Avenue School.......................... 13
The Development of Bibliography............ . 15
The Determination of a Selected
Bibliographical List by Random Sampling . . 16
How Reliability and Validity are Conceived. . 16
III. THE PROBLEMS OF THE TRANSIENT FAMILY............ 20
Smith's Study .................................. 20
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Campbell’s Study ................................ 20
Wilson's Study .................................. 25
Cross' S t u d y .................................... 28
Summary .................................. 29
IV. PROBLEMS OF THE TRANSIENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CHILD ............................................. 31
Outland's Studies ........... ..... 31
Learned's Study ................................ 35
Gaumnitz' Study ................................ 37
Grant's Study ............ ........ 40
Other Studies of Migrant Children ............... 42
Summary ................................ ..... 45
V. CONCLUSIONS............................................49
Family Problems....................... 49
Educational Needs of Transient School Children . 50
VI. RECOMMEND AT 10 N S ....................................... 52
Administrators and Teachers ..................... 52
Transient Children .............................. 52
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............. . . 55
CHAPTER I
THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
This investigation will deal with some of the
adjustment problems the transient elementary school child
faces as he moves from school to school and make sugges
tions as to how these problems may be met in the Bakers
field Elementary Schools.
During periods of migration children often miss
several days of school and the much needed training in
the basic skills of their particular grades.
Description of the situation. The writer under
took this investigation because of an existing situation
in the Union Avenue Elementary School of Bakersfield.
Approximately one half of the 1,050 children enrolled had
been in other schools. A great many of the children had
been enrolled in three or four schools during the school
year of 1948-1949.
Many were retarded in their class work and some
had become social problems. Their parents were mainly
agricultural workers who followed the harvesting of crops
from one section of the country to another.
Each Monday morning was likely to bring a new
deluge of youngsters to the office for enrollment. They
2
were usually assigned to the room that had an empty seat.
The almost audible sighs of the teachers as they saw their
new charges approaching and the half apologetic look on
the faces of some of the transients left little doubt that
the problem was in need of some solution.
Statement of the problem. The purpose of this
investigation was to determine some of the adjustment
problems of transient elementary pupils and to make some
suggestions for meeting these adjustment needs in the
elementary school. The project was planned to answer the
following questions: Cl) What are some of the problems
of the transient family and how are they being treated?
(2) What problems of educational nature do elementary
school children face and what is being done in the schools
to solve these problems? (3) What recommendations may
be applied in the particular situation?
Authority for the development of the scope and
Importance of the problem. The problem of transiency
should be faced as a major one in certain schools for
migration of families is not decreasing. Campbell says
lCheryl Beth Campbell, "A Study of the Federal
Transient Program with Special Reference to Fifty Trans
ient Families in Los Angeles,w (unpublished Master's thesis,
The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1936),
p. 1.
3
of migrations
In the earlier era, when society was more stable
in location, ties of sentiment, of tradition, and
intimate primary face-to-face relationships bound
the person to a definite locality. Mobility is now
accepted in the cultural pattern of this age, and
the smallness of one's pocketbook does not preclude
travel.
e-s v The importance of the problem is demonstrated by
the fact that there are still large numbers of families
"on the move” in many sections of the country and the
children of these families are often in school a few days
at a time before they move on. This haphazard manner of
schooling is highly undesirable if a child is to keep up
with his grade level. These children do not have a chance
to become acquainted with the school, the teacher, or
their fellow pupils to say nothing of feeling "settled”
long enough to become interested in the serious matter of
studying. A few days here and a week there too often
causes a child to acquire an attitude of indifference to
the whole business of education.
Isabel Americanian^ states that*
The need to know more about Vagabonds is recog
nized as being of fundamental importance to everyone.
2lsabel Amerieanian, "Educational and Psycholog
ical Study of Vagabonds," (unpublished Master's thesis, The
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1933)
p. 2.
4
And yet the development of this need has until recent
years been left almost entirely to chance. It is
only recently that a few have perceived that if they
want to be sure of getting a certain result they must
work directly for that result and not some other.
Besides the time missed from school caused by the
migration of the family the children are often absent
for other reasons such as looking after a smaller brother
or sister while the parents work or look for work. The
transient family is usually fairly large in size. In re
gard to the size of the migrant family 0utland3 says in
his study of 3,353 cases of Boy Transiency that:
. . . in the first place the boys were from large
families, the average number of children in the
homes represented being 4.5. Approximately 8 per
cent were only children; on the other hand nearly
one third of the entire group came from homes
where there were 6 or more children.
Another general family situation of importance
was the fact that the majority of the boys, 55.6
per cent, were from broken homes, with death,
divorce and separation being the cause of the break
up, in the order named . . .
In order to help develop these transient individ
uals into the most socially efficient persons they are
capable of becoming in the best manner possible, education
for them must be adjusted to fit their needs. Their pro
gram must be one which will provide as much as possible
so they may acquire essential knowledges, fundamental
3George E. Outland, Boy Transiency in America.
Santa Barbara State College Press, Santa Barbara,
California, 1939, p. 118.
5
skills, and desirable attitudes. Cross4 says:
It is traditional in the west that the full
benefits of the public educational system shall
be available to all. The extension of this ad
vantage effectively to non-residents offers a
challenge to legislators, to public officials,
and to educational administrators. The rehab
ilitation program for the unsettled poor, as
stated by the Federal Relief Administration,
can be expressed largely in terms of education,
juvenile and adult . . .
Children who are transported "over-night” so to
speak from school to school cannot be penalized for their
helplessness in the face of so many changes. Neither can
they be demoted in a wholesale manner in order to acquire
the needed skills they have missed. Josephine Rea,^
Supervisor of Contra Costa County Schools has said:
Often the teacher has just learned the child's
performance-level when he moves on to another school,
where the process is repeated, thus resulting in
loss of the child's time and duplicating the teachers
efforts.
The highest skilled teacher cannot furnish the
answer to the transclency problem in terms of standard
academic achievement. But unless there is tolerance shown
for the type of teaching that must undergo so many adjust
ments the teachers may feel obliged to salvage as much of
^William T. Cross and Dorothy E., Newcomers and
Nomads in California. Palo Alto, California: Stanford
University City Press, 1937, p. 120.
^Josephine Rea, "Migratory Children" Sierra E^uea
tional News. 37*42, December, 1941, p. 42.
6
their professional reputation as they have left after a
few seasons of work with transients and move on to more
favorable fields.
Administrators, too, come in for some undue crit
icism from those who are likely to judge progress by the
stability of the school enrollment. Concerning this crit
icism Margaret J. Synngberg^ has written:
Administrators of schools that are faced with the
problem of transiency cannot be judged by ordinary
academic standards. Their achievement must be meas
ured in terms of the service they render to the child
ren who are handicapped by the constant migration of
their families.
With administrator, instructor, parents and pupils
working together in close harmony from a cooperative point
of view a more satisfactory procedure for helping individ
uals attain the ultimate goal in life can be produced.
The problem then becomes one of wide range accord
ing to the reports of authorities across the country.
Wherever there are transients the public schools will be
faced with the task of their education.
Scope and delimitation of the problem. In this
investigation to determine some of the adjustment prob
lems of transient elementary school children and to find
^Margaret J. Synngberg, "Transiency - A Major
Problem", Nation1s Schools 28:49 September, 1941, p. 49
7
ways of meeting these needs in the elementary school the
family and home conditions will be viewed. Since the
first step in the education of any child begins in the
home situation before the child enters school a general
background will be given. This study, however, will be
mostly concerned with questions two and three of the prob
lem. These questions are: What problems of educational
nature do elementary school children face and what is
|>eing done in the schools to solve these problems? What
recommendations may be applied in the particular situation?
Importance of the Problem. The great number of
transient children affected by adjustment problems gives
rise to a pressing need for some solution to their problem.
Are they to be frowned upon because they "show up" for
school when the class rooms are filled to capacity? Can
schools be attractive enough to encourage them to come
and enter into the group activities when they realize they
may stay a week or may be gone by the next morning? Can
these transient children acquire the necessary basic skills
during a year of wandering about the country? Or will
they be likely to repeat a great deal of the materials
and waste much of their time as well as that of their
various teachers?
8
The dilemma is certainly a challenge to any cons
cientious worker in the field of elementary education. It
affords an opportunity to put forth an earnest effort to
do something for these children other than to just enroll
them and assign them to any class within their grade which
is not already overflowing.
Definition of terms. For the purpose of this
study the term "transient school child” will refer to
children who have been enrolled in two or more schools
in one school year.
1. Transient family.refers to the family who
is in the community on a seasonal job, or without work
and with no community connections. As Robert Wilson'7
has said, "he lacks roots in the community.”
2. The term "migratory family” is used in the
same relation as "Transient Family” in this study,
3. Double-session may be interpreted as meaning
two complete sessions of school held in the same building
during different periods of the same day.
The solution, or partial solution, to this problem
will not only greatly aid the individual transient school
^Robert S. Wilson, Individualized Service for
Transients (National Travelers Aid Society, New York),
P. 9
9
child but will help lighten the load for the harassed,
overburdened teachers in the local situation under dis
cussion as well as any section of the country where a great
amount of transiency among elementary school children occurs.
Organization of the remaining chanters. In Chap
ter I dealing with the Nature of the Problem a brief de
scription of the situation giving rise to the investiga
tion has been made. Also a statement of the problem,
it’s scope and importance, and the definition of terms
used has been given. Chapter II deals with the emergence
of the problem and the procedures used in the solution.
Chapter III gives a background view of the transient home
situations and what is being done for them as reported
by several authorities. Chapter IV will be concerned
with the needs of transient elementary school children,
as reported by the literature, and with methods in use
for solving these needs. The conclusions and recommenda
tions of the study are found in Chapter V.
Summarizing briefly we find the problem of trans
iency is not restricted to one locality or school but is
widespread in scope and presents a variety of angles to
be considered. The need to know more about the problem
is recognized as being important. In the next two chap
ters the procedures used in studying the problem and some
10
suggested solutions will be given. The procedure will
include how the problem arose and the method of determin
ing a bibliography and how reliability and validity are
conceived.
CHAPTER II
PROCEDURES
In Chapter I the nature of the problem was dis
cussed and a description ox the situation giving rise to
the present study was given. An investigation of the
literature portrayed the scope and importance of prob
lems connected with the education of the transient school
child. Chapter II deals with the literature studied and
shows how the problem emerged, how the bibliography was
developed and how reliability and validity were conceived.
I. MERGENCE OF THE PROBLEM
In order for the reader to better understand the
problem and how it emerged, a description of the area
in general and the school community in particular will
be given.
II. DESCRIPTION OF LOCALITY
The city of Bakersfield lies in the extreme
southern end of the great San Joaquin Valley. To the
east the Sierra mountains and to the west the Costal
range. To the south where the two ranges merge lies what
most San Joaquin inhabitants call "the Ridge". Across the
12
"Ridge” and the whole length of the valley runs California
State Highway No. 99 serving to connect Bakersfield with
Los Angeles to the south and Fresno, San Francisco and
other valley cities to the north. The area surrounding
Bakersfield is arid in nature hut is frequently^ broken
by small settlements of fertile farming lands where water
is obtainable.
Population. Greater Bakersfield lays claim to
approximately 105>000 inhabitants in 1949. The school
population during the school year of 1940-1941 was about
6,837. This figure has increased to 11,887 in the school
year of 1948-1949. The larger per cent of the population
is white but there is a rather large number of Mexican
and Negro families, and a scattering of Chinese, Japanese
and some of southern European nationalities.
Industries. Oil and Agriculture vie for first
place as principal industries. The production of cotton,
potatoes, grapes and dairy products in the community is
steadily expanding while sheep and cattle raising also
play an important part in the commercial life of the city.
Business District. Due to the large surrounding
rural areas there are two distinct business sections. The
larger on the west of Highway No. 99 serves the west section
13
of the town and the surrounding communities and the one
in east Bakersfield serves the areas east of Highway Ho. 99
and the surrounding area.
Union Avenue School. The community served by the
Union Avenue School of Bakersfield is one of various type
homes ranging from "well-to-do" middle class homes to
tents. There are a number of motels, trailer camps,
shanties and tents serving for homes in this district.
More generally as a rule, rather than an exception, the
smaller the house the more children are to be found liv
ing there. The majority of the children of this school
was white but there was a sprinkling of Mexican, Hegro
and Indian children.
The enrollment was approximately 1,0^0 children
in grades one through six. There were thirty-two teachers
and every available room was in use. This entire school
was on what is termed "double session". Each classroom
did double duty through the day. One group of teachers
came on duty at a very early hour in the morning and
taught classes ranging in size from thirty to forty-five
pupils and an entirely new group of teachers and children
took over at noon and repeated the performance in the
afternoon.
New buildings were being constructed but until
these were completed when a new pupil arrived he had to be
14
"squeezed" into already filled classrooms. Often there
were no desks for the newcomer for after all, only a cer
tain number of desks can be placed in a room.
It can hardly be said that such a situation read
ily lends itself to a feeling of welcome for the late
arrival. It would also be pressing the point a little
too far to say the situation was encouraging to the tea
chers when just any morning might bring two or three new
faces upon the scene.
Before this investigation was undertaken a simple
questionnaire was given to the entire enrollment in these
six grades in order to discover how many children had
attended schools elsewhere. Of the 1,050 questionnaires
submitted, 971 were filled in and returned. It was found
that over half, 565 of the children enrolled in this school
had previously been enrolled elsewhere. Some had made
only one move during their school career while others
had made as many as eight moves.
The prevailing conditions described in the above
paragraphs gave rise to a desire on the part of the writer
to see what is being done in similar school situations and
what might be done in this particular one.
A partial view of the literature proved to the
writer that many other schools and communities are con
fronted with similar problems.
15
Carpenter and Capps® say of the transient educa
tional problem: MOnce 'going to school* was a local
problem* it is no longer a local problem, but it is a
state problem. Yes and more, it is a National problem.”
Cross^ in his book Newcomers and Nomads in Calif
ornia. says of the transient:
The transient in California, on closer consider
ation presents not essentially a problem of relief
and not an emergency of recent origin. He presents
a problem in the distribution of population, related
to education, industrial management and utilization
of land . . •
Concerning the migratory problem Josephine Rea1' 0 says:
The problem of determining the achievement of
migratory children is one familiar to all teachers
who have such children in their classes. Usually
these children are in one school only a few days
or weeks.
III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIBLIOGRAPHY
In developing the bibliography the writer chose
books, published articles and Master's theses pertaining
®W. W. Carpenter and A. G. Capps, "Uncle Sam and
His Children", School Executives Magazine. 54:70-71,
November, 1934, p. 70.
9william T. Cross and Dorothy E., Newcomers and
Nomads in California. Palo Alto, California: Stanford
University City Press, 1937, p. 124.
10Josephine Rea, "Migratory Children", Sierra Edu
cational News. 37*42, December 1941, p. 42.
16
to the subject of transients. These writing were by com
petent sociologists, educators in the field, supervisors,
principals, case-workers and people who were connected
with the Federal Transient Service and the National Assoc
iation for Travelers Aid and Transient Service. Four of
the thirty-four references could not be located in the
library of The University of Southern California so these
were eliminated. The references were limited to works
published or written within the last fifteen years and to
those most often cited by the authorities in a preliminary
survey of material pertaining to the problems of transient
or migratory groups.
The determination of selected bibliographical
list by random sampling. An alphabetical list of thirty
available books, periodicals and Master’s theses was
arranged and a selected list obtained. The method of
obtaining this list was one of random sampling. The writer
started with the second reference on the alphabetical list
and selected every other one for consideration. This gave
a list of fifteen works for intensive study.
How reliability and validity are conceived. After
a review of the references selected the writer compiled
the results and then made a check on the reliability of
the first random sampling by again going to the references
17
and selecting five more studies for consideration. It
was found that there was no change in the results as es
tablished by the first random sampling.
The authorities were agreed on the problems of
the transient families and those of the transient school
child. Competent writers in the field offered a number
of solutions to these problems and these solutions foll
owed practically the same pattern throughout the litera
ture reviewed. The writer found in studying the material
concerning the problems of the transient many solutions
applicable to the local situation giving rise to this
investigation.
Chapter II has served to show how the problem
emerged and how a selected bibliography was obtained and
how reliability and validity were established. Chapter
III will be concerned with the literature pertinent to
the home situation of transient elementary school child
ren in order to give the reader a better understanding
of the many adjustments problems confronting the elementary
school child when he enrolls in school.
CHAPTER III
THE PROBLEMS OF THE TRANSIENT FAMILY
This chapter presents studies of the problems of
the transient families and the methods in which these
problems are being treated.
I. SMITH'S STUDY
Smith11 made a study of 571 transient families
cared for in the Los Angeles area, October 9, 1933 to
October 9, 1934, by the Federal Transient Service. The
study was desc riptive rather th§ntStatistieal. The mat
erial for the study came ffom cases-cared for and closed
in the first year of the Federal Transient Services and
gave a clear picture of the organization of the Federal
Transient Services. Particular attention was given to
occupation, age, education and individual family grouping
Occupation. Concerning the occupations of these
transient families only 66 fell in the class of "laborer"
11Elizabeth Crain Smith, "The Transient Family in
Southern California; A study of 571 Transient Families
Dealt with by the Federal Transient Bureau in Los Angeles
1933-1934," (unpublished Master's thesis, The University
of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1935)*
19
At the top of the group were found the few professional
men and the largest group were skilled and semi-skilled
workers.
Age. Four hundred and twenty eight of the five
hundred and seventy one men represented, were forty years
of age or younger, showing that it is the relatively young
man who has the energy to attempt to make new adjustments.
Education. It was found that the education of the
women, for the most part was less than that of the men.
In more than half the cases they were one year behind the
man. Of the 571 men represented, 234 equaled the average
pace set by school authorities, or were retarded only one
year. There were 117 who were ahead of the average grade
according to their ages, making a total of 441 who may be
considered normal in their educational attainments.
Individual family grouping. The number of indi
viduals in any one family group ranged from nine to two.
There were fifty-five dependents other than children in
the family groups. There were 436 children under the age
of sixteen.
Final disposition. Smith summed up the final dis
position of these families by the Federal Transient Serv
ice by showing that 42 families were assimilated locally,
20
97 of the men secured permanent employment, three were
given permanent institutional care, 189 were returned to
their homes and the remaining 240 refused any plan of the
agency and their whereabouts were unknown.
Findings. The general results of the study were
expressed*in the following list of findings^2:
1. The depression has effected a great change
in the composition of transient groups in respect
to family status.
2. The occupational groups represented by the
transient families are similar in character to those
found throughout the United States.
3. The young man, the man before the age of
forty, has the energy to attempt another start in
a new community.
4. The educational range found in the transient
group is a widely varying one, showing however, that
the head of the average transient family is a man of
at least grammar school education.
5. Many of the families under care of the trans
ient bureau in Los Angeles are in reality not trans
ient, but those without legal settlement, who are try
ing to make adjustments in a new community.
6. The picture of the old type of transient
family, moving from town to town in an antiquated ear
out of date. This type represents only a small pro
portion of the total number of families.
II. CAMPBELL’S STUDY
Campbell’s1^ study was on the Federal Transient
^2Ibid., p. 56.
•^Cheryl Beth Campbell, ”A Study of the Federal
Transient Program with Special Reference to Fifty Trans
ient Families in Los Angeles”, (unpublished Master’s thesis,
The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, '1936).
21
Program with special reference to fifty transient families
in Los Angeles. It was designed to evaluate types of treat
ment, methods of approval and resultant accomplishments
or failures. Her study gave a clear, descriptive analysis
of the history of the social treatment of the transient
families in Los Angeles as provided for under the Federal
Program. Snphasis was placed upon the social situations,
economic backgrounds, and their attitudes toward migra
tion, toward their own problems and relief agencies.
Campbell used fifty case records secured while she was
employed by the Federal Transient Family Bureau in Los
Angeles as a case worker and later as a case aide for the
Transient Division of the Los Angeles County Relief
Administration.
Social treatment. At first the policy in dealing
with clients was to extend to all courteous, patient, and
sympathetic consideration. No form of coercion was to
be invoked to compel families to return against their
will to legal residence. After August 30, 1935» there
was a change in the policy due to the limitations of state
funds. The policy was still one of courteous attention
but, If a family refused to return to legal residence af
ter an authorization had been received for their return
then all relief was discontinued.
22
Economic backgrounds. The standard of living
had been little above the subsistence level. The major
ity of the heads of the family were laborers or semi-skill
ed laborers. Eighty per cent of the families had less
than one dollar in cash at the time of the first interview.
Educational backgrounds. Of the cases three men
and three women had completed less than three grammar
school grades while three men and three women had entered
college. Nineteen men and twenty women had completed
grade school while twenty-five men and twenty-four women
had entered high school, but their completion was uncertain.
Age of group and size of families. The median
age was between thirty-two and thirty-five, while it was
found that one half of the family group was between the
ages of sixteen and thirty-five. Regarding the size of
the families it was found that 3.2 was the average size.
Marital status. Thirty of the fifty transient
families were married and nine couples were living under
the common law marriage. Two of these nine couples had
children. In seven cases only one parent was included in
the family group and all seven had children.
Relative to migration. In 73 per cent of the
cases adjustment to a roving life seemed harder for the
23
women than for the men. The young children adjusted eas
ily, except those of school age who found migration harder
because of the constant changing of schools.
Attitudes toward relief agencies. There were no
adverse complaints except from five of the fifty families
who were not satisfied with the relief given them by the
Los Angeles Family Bureau but neither had these five been
satisfied with other relief they had received. Forty-one
of the families responded willingly on the work projects
and in seven of these cases two members of the family
worked on the projects.
Attitudes toward own problems. In ten cases hus
band and wife seemed completely indifferent to their prob
lem but in twenty of the families there was found an aware
ness of their problem. Five families lacked ability to
understand their problems while in six cases it was found
that the wife seemed to understand the problem but the
husband was contented to let the wife do the worrying.
In four cases the wife was indifferent while the husband
showed an awareness.
Final disposition. Fourteen of these families
were returned by the agency to their places of legal re
sidence. Twelve left the county, five refused the plan
24
of the agency, six were assimilated in the local community,
six secured work in provate industries, while thirteen
received work assignments under the Works Progress
Administration.
Recommendations. Campbell1s14 recommendations
were:
1. The federal government be called on to accept
immediate recognition of its responsibility for the
relief and unemployment of transients.
2. Pressure be brought to bear on federal and
state authorities and on Congress to make provision
for the establishment of permanent departments of
state and local government to care for transients.
3. There be more active exchange of interest
and experiences between states through conferences
or publications, in order to study the problem of
transiency and dig to its roots.
4. There be an amendment td the Social Security
Act to provide a new Section: ’ ’Grant to States for
Aid to Transients.”1? A bill, S4264, proposing such
an amendment, has been introduced into the United
States Senate by Senator Trannel of Florida.
5. That existing pauper laws be reviewed and
studied by the public to convince the latter that the
existing laws with their theory of local responsibil
ity for settled inhabitants, have involved confusion,
both from a legal and philosophical standpoint.
Democratic government must be extended beyond
the confines of the Immediate community to accept
the principle of responsibility for the support of
’ incompetents, including the transients, of the whole
state and whole nation, if the security of each in
dividual citizen is to be guaranteed.
14lbid., p. 65
i^The Transient« Bi-monthly Publication, March,
2 .936.
25
6. There be such revision of state laws as to:
a) Make for a uniformity of periods of res
idence, preferably brief, for acquiring
legal settlement.
b) Reorganize relief laws to provide for
the care of persons not having legal
settlement.
c) Provide adequate standards on relief
for all persons needing relief, regard
less of their settlement status.
III. WILSON'S STUDY
Wilson-^ in his handbook on the methods, practices,
and procedures in group care discusses the group approach
to transient needs, physical care, work projects, use of
free time, educational activities and outlets. The source
of his material was observations, experiences and going
experiments in the field in various programs of service
for transient homeless collected over a period of years
by The National Association for Travelers Aid and Trans
ient Service.
He states:^
In the pages which follow we have sought to set
down standards of service and methods by which some
of these constructive possibilities for service may
be realized. These suggestions can in no sense of
•^Robert S. Wilson and Dorothy B. de la Pole,
Group Treatment for Transients. New York: National Assoc
iation for Travelers Aid and Transient Service, 1937.
17ibid., p. 1-2.
26
the word, be interpreted as a survey of what is
happening. Nor are they a summary of final, proven
rules and procedures. Instead, we have tried to
extract from the multiplicity of activities and
programs over the country some of the experiments
and tested experiences of the last few months which
seem to us significant, provocative, or path finding.
Attitudes. Concerning attitudes toward transients
he writes that workers are realizing that a program which
really does something toward giving the transient an oppor
tunity to develop into the kind of human being through
which he best lives his life and expresses himself is
better and cheaper than a program which merely keeps him
alive.
Physical care. Types of shelter, camps and farms,
classifications, food requirements, cleanliness and sani
tation, homosexuality, drinking and alcoholism were dis
cussed under physical care.
Social factors. The social factors were stated
as, providing of the elements of customary living, which
includes decent standard of living, opportunities for sat
isfying interest, and a chance for friendly association.
Work projects. A newer concept of work require
ments was to give the man some activity which would be of
interest to him and in which he could maintain his self-
respect and keep his time occupied. Among the states
27
using this type work program to a somewhat successful
degree were Kansas, Minnesota and California,
Free time. The traditional way of using free time
among transients was to sit dejectedly, silent and list
less. With a well-conceived and supervised recreational
program the way in which free time among transients might
be spent differed greatly. Among the list of equipment
suggested and used in many camps and shelters were, game
tables, reading tables, newspapers, books and magazines,
radios, puzzles, craft equipment, woodworking equipment,
soft balls, boxing gloves, cards, checkers, and chess.
It was pointed out that much of this equipment could be
constructed by the transients.
Educational activities. The traditional point
of view has been that transients were not interested nor
competent to take advantage of educational activities.
Since most shelters only allowed a stay of one or two
days this view was a convenient rationalism. Recent ex
periments varied in degrees of success. Those which were
characterized by teaching of cultural subjects through
formal class methods were not as successful as those char
acterized by teaching subjects of immediate interest of
the transient with emphasis on the doing.
28
Basic fastQCg . s M conclusions. Wilson1^ ’ set forth
ten factors which he thought essential for constructive
service. They are:
1. Astute leadership familiar with methods of
handling groups.
2. Careful sorting and classification.
3. A balanced program of activity.
4. The correlation of activities and departments
in the reception shelter, lodge or camp.
5. Diversification of activities in line with
the natural interests and abilities of the man.
6. Deliberate building-up of group pride and a
sense of unity.
7. Participation of lodgers in planning and
carrying on the activities and work program.
8. Cooperative community relationships.
9. Visible immediate goals in discussing a work
plan.
10. The necessity for supplying the elements of
normal living and minimizing features associated
with charity, institutional care, or paternalistic
care.
IV. CROSS’ STUDY
Crosse-9 in his study of Newcomers and Nomads In
California advocates a general program dealing with fac
tors causing migration as well as results of migration.
He says: ’ ’Independent action by city, county, or state
governments more than ever before gives promise of mere
l8Ibid.. p. 147-148.
19william T. Cross and Dorothy E., Newcomers and
Nomads in California. iRalo Alto, California: Stanford
University City Press, 1937* p. vi.
29
futility.” He maintains that adults as well as children
should have an educational program if rehabilitation is
to be at all effective. A Iso if families are to reach
any degree of stability and self-support that continuing
community influence is necessary.
Summary. In summarizing the opinions of the
authorities reviewed, they were unanimously agreed that
there should be a form of Federal Relief Service for trans
ients. All the writers found that the occupational groups
represented among the studies fell mainly in the un-skilled,
semi-skilled and skilled laboring class. Regarding the
age of the heads of the transient families, fifty per cent
Lfi of the authorities found that the majority of the group
were comparatively young, that is to say, forty years of
age or younger. Three of the four authorities said the
educational range varied widely from no education at all
in some cases to college work in others showing, however,
that the majority of cases were at least of grammar school
education. There was complete agreement that, in general,
educational retardation was prevalent. There was consider
able difference of opinion regarding the size of transient
families. One writer stated the average size to be 3.2
while Outland found that nearly one third of 3>353 cases
studied were from families of six or more children. There
30
was no dissension among authorities concerning economic
status and living conditions of the transients. The stan
dards of living was not far above the subsistence level.
The procedure for treating the problems of transient fam
ilies was the same in all the literature reviewed. The
families were given immediate shelter and relief and a
chance to return to their homes or assisted in securing
work through work projects, local industry and other sources.
One half the authorities said that in many cities, commun
ities, and states rehabilitation experiments have been
conducted.
This chapter has served to show the living condi
tions of the transient family, their economic and social
status and their educational background so that a better
understanding of the problems of a transient school child
can be gained. The next chapter will dea^. with the school
problems of children from these migrant type homes. Also
will be given some accounts of going experiments in the
field of transient education and suggested solutions by
authorities throughout the country will be given.
CHAPTER IV
PROBLEMS OF THE TRANSIENT
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD
Coining from the transient family background re
lated in the preceding chapter the migrant child arrives
at school. It is in this chapter that his problems and
the solutions to his problems as given by the authorities
will be related.
I. OUTLAND'S STUDIES
George E. Outland20 in his book Boy Transiency
in America which is composed of twenty articles published
separately during a period of five years has devoted eight
of these articles to a discussion of education and educa
tional backgrounds of transient boys. The other twelve
articles are equally divided between work of the Federal
Transient Service and causal factors concerning boy
transiency.
The education of transient boys. The source of
the material for this publication was a study of 5*000
20
^George E. Outland, Boy Transiency in America.
Santa Barbara State College Press, Santa Barbara, Calif
ornia, 1939.
32
transient boys registered at the Central Intake Bureau
of Transient Service of the Federal Emergency Relief Ad
ministration during the period from December 12, 1933,
to July 28, 1934. This study was made to ascertain the
degree of education these boys possessed. It was found
that 2,042 of them had an 8th grade education or less?
while 2,928 had some degree of high school education.
The general average for the 5,000 was 9.09 grades.
Educational desires of transient boys. A ques
tionnaire was submitted to 134 boys enrolled in Camp Piru,
a resident camp in Dos Angeles County, asking them to
check which subjects they would like to 'study. Out of the
possible 134 votes 90 went for English, 70 for Arithmetic
and-7Qi f or Penmanship and the same number for Aviation.
This was astonishing to workers in the Federal Transient
Service as well as the Director of the camp. English,
Arithmetic and Penmanship were not thought to be favorite
subjects with boys throughout American secondary schools.
The educational background of migrant bovs.
Outland found in this study of 9,919 migrant boys regis
tering at Los Angeles between December 12, 1933 and Novem
ber 21, 1934 that the amount of schooling ranged from 54
boys with no schooling at all to 203 "who had some college
33
work to their credit. The average grade was 9.16 and the
percentage of those having at least ninth grade was 60.
He found that these boys grasped at educational opportun
ities and concluded that had the educational process at
home been given a more practical application these boys
would likely not have taken to the road.
Acceleration and retardation among transient boys.
In this study of 3>352 transient boys it was found that
as a group the transient boys were retarded a little less
than one year. Negro transient boys were retarded about
twice as much as the native white boys.
The relation between school drop-outs and boy
transiency. This study was also of 3>352 transient boys
and divided into three phases. These boys stopped school
either for economic, social or educational reasons. It
was found that most of these boys did not go onto the road
until being out of school for several months. The school
was not directly responsible for sending more than a few
on the road but the implications appear to center around
the holding power of the school. With a diversified pro
gram and a better knowledge of the social background of
the individual pupil on the part of the teacher, and a
use of this knowledge the boys might have been kept in
school.
34
Other articles by Outland. It was pointed out in
another article that sociologists have realized the high
degree of mobility of the American people but that educa
tors have failed to consider the effects of this mobility
oh the question of educational opportunity. Another edu
cational implication is that raised by the social environ
ment of the homes from which transient children come.
The determinants involved in boy transiency were listed
in the following order; economic, social, adventure, rea
sons oonnected with the army, etc., personality defects,
educational and miscellaneous. It was found that only
2.9 per cent of the boys left home because of some reason
connected with the educational system. Of these educa
tional reasons Outland2^ writes:
While it would be a bold person who would
state that all teachers should be social workers,
it does seem that training in principles of case
work would benefit all future elementary and se
condary school teachers. This seems advisable
even though the teacher is overwhelmed with num
bers to the extent that she has very little time
for the problems of the individual pupil.
The teacher that understands the home situa
tion from which her pupils come is certainly in
a better position to help them learn than is the
one who is not. In a study which the writer is
making at the present time concerning the causes
of boy transiency, he has found a number of cases
where boys have quit school, and eventually have
taken to the road, when a better knowledge on the
part of the teacher of the boy's personal prob
lems (and a few minutes for counsell) probably
would have kept the boy in school and at home.
21lbid.. p. 99
35
II. LEARNED»S STUDY
In the Washington School in Sacramento, Calif
ornia, R. E. Learned22 was confronted with a highly trans
ient enrollment. Due to an expanded industrial program
in this district it was changed from a desirable residen
tial district to one of poor type rental property and a
transient population.
He says of this ;school situation:2^
We were baffled at first as how to best meet
the changed situation, which had climax ed so sud--
denly. Standards of heglth, personal cleanliness,
regular attendance, classroom and playground morale,
and scholarship, which other schools maintained so
easily, seemed all at once to evade our grasp. Re
sults declined in quality no matter how hard we drove
ourselves or forced the children. The restiveness
of the home carried over into the school, and when
time-tested attitudes and procedures failed, we
were at a loss to know what to do.
At last we came to the full realization that
we were on the threshold of a magnificant opportun
ity to serve an unfortunate childhood, but obviously
by a new and uncharted approach, we realized our
first task was to furnish these children a sense of
success, and a feeling of security of which they
were deprived at home. We must extend them a radiant
welcome from the moment of arrival, until they
transfer from us. So, today we greet the newcomers
most cordially as he registers and escort him to his
receiving teacher, Each of the six grades has its
jg# Learned, "School Solves It’s Transient
Problem." American School Board Journal, 104:23-5, May,
1942 '
23Ibid.. p. 24
36
receiving teacher, who is skillful in subjectively
appraising the interests, abilities, and scholastic
achievement level of the new pupil. She may take
two or three days, and if necessary, she usually
supplements her judgement with standardized testa.
The grade placement of the youngsters was gov
erned by the chronological age, physical development
and social maturity and the reading achievement deter
mined the class to which the child was assigned. Because
of the close correlation between reading achievement
and the achievement level of other schoolwork the read
ing score was used. There were three classes in each
grade, a large, fast-reading class; one average-sized
class of average readers and one small slow-reading
class.
Concerning the slow-reading children Learned24
said:
Incidentally, through testing we have found
that a high percentage of our slow reading child
ren are normal or superior in innate ability. It
took us a long time to grasp this fact. We were
prone previously to excuse low performance on the
grounds of dull mentality. Some of these youngsters
with extremely transient backgrounds are retarded
in achievement as much as five or six years below
their actual capacity. As one would expect, these
bright but retarded victims of transiency often
reflect the discouragement which they have long
suffered.
24Ibid,, p. 25
37
III. GAUMNITZ* STUDY
In his article which proposes solutions to the
problems of educating migrant children Gaumnitz2^ states
that generally speaking school authorities accept the
fact that education is one of the rights of every child
regardless of race or creed but for some groups of child
ren this is no more than an unfulfilled promise. One
excuse for this condition is that authorities find them
selves working in systems devised for a relatively stable
population and established at a time when education for
the children within the borders of the district could
be financed independently. In recent years the adminis
trative responsibilities of State departments of educa
tion has become increasingly broader, but many problems
such as, student accounting, the providing of staff and
equipment suitable for dealing with specialized groups,
and the adjustment of instructions to individual pupil
needs are still left up to'the county or local communities
which are limited to narrow borders.
Regarding the attention given to these problems
2%alter H. Gaumnitz, “Educating Migrant Children—
Some Proposed Solutions." School Life. 29*11-12
December 1946.
38
pZ
Gaumnitz writes:^0
The problems of providing schooling for children
of families of migratory farm workers has, in the
past, received just enough attention from educators
to make them rather vaguely aware that these child
ren generally are either inadequately served or en
tirely neglected. Those who have given serious thought
to the problems involved in making available effective
educational opportunities to such children have found
such problems to be both numerous and complex. Be
cause they usually involve more than one State, the
development of workable solutions has too often been
slow and ineffectual.
Gaumnitz cites the names of various committees who have
worked on problems of migratory farm workers and their
children and points out that California stands out both
in the amount of study the authorities have given the
education of children of migratory workers and in the
efforts made to serve them.
Of these efforts he says:27
Insofar as these efforts to study migratory
laborers include data on the educational opportun
ities of the children involved, the evidence shows
that: 1) the children are often not in school,
2) not many schools are making serious effort to
put suitable types of schooling within their reach,
and 3) when the children do enroll, they so overburd
en the teachers and strain the school's facilities
that they seldom find educational services geared
to their peculiar needs and are rarely made to
feel welcome.
26Ibid., p. 11
27Ibid., p. 11
39
The writer of this article offered a wide variety
of solutions to the various problems of educating the
pQ
migrant child, some of which are briefly listed below:
1. Develop and offer special training to
prepare teachers to meet the needs of different
groups of children of migratory laborers. . .
2. Employ an extra supply or reserve of
teachers or tutors on the basis of State, County,
or City school systems . . .
3. Establish ungraded classrooms organized
and equipped to deal in a practical way with a
wide variety of age, interest, and intelligence
groups . . .
4. Provide a simple, but clean and orderly,
school room or study center which will appeal to
the children coming from shacks, camps, and other
poor home surroundings . . .
5. Make class groups which include migrant
children or consist entirely of migrants smaller
than those for resident pupils only . . .
6. Call interstate and intrastate conferences
to study jointly problems of migratory children . . .
7. Provide State and Federal grants to
encourage special provisions for the education
of migrants . . .
8. Give special attention to children of
migrants as concerns the health and physical
education services of the schools . . .
9. In order not to lose track of children
of migrants, develop and in stall improved State
wide systems of child records and accounting,
including permanent and cumulative school re
cords for every child . . .
10. . . . enact effective, and perhaps more
uniform, State laws relating to school census,
compulsory attendance, and child labor.
11. Develop and experiment with emergency or
traveling schools for migratory groups.
12. Promote studies, surveys and experimenta
tion on the educational problems of migrants on
local, State and Federal levels and public findings.
28ibid., p. 12
40
13. Work out curriculum units or programs for
migrants which put more emphasis upon handiwork,
training in skilled trades, waitress and maid
services, homemaking and agriculture - also more
emphasis upon reading, writing, and arithmetic as
tools for improving standards of living, vocation
al efficiency, self expression, and recreation
rather than courses as school subjects.
14. Give more attention to language handicap to
school success and progress frequently found among
migrant children, many of whom come from foreign
speaking families.
15. Establish and maintain nursery or child
care centers for young children whose mothers work
in the crops.
IV. GRANT'S STUDY
Grant,29 while Supervisor of Primary Education
and Migratory Schools in Merced County, made a study of
the needs and achievements of migratory children in the
county during the school year of 1940-41. She gave an
example of a two room school which had during October of
1940 an enrollment of 160 and stated that within a month
these children were all gone and the school had to be
closed. Under conditions such as these it is difficult
to find the teachers who are willing to accept a tempo
rary position. It is also very nearly impossible to find
capable teachers who are willing to make teaching in
schools for children of migratory workers their profess
ional goal and thus undertake a scientific study of the
29jetty Fern Grant, "Educational Achievement and
Needs of Migratory Children in California". California
Journal of Elementary Education. 11:22-30, August, 1942.
41
educational needs of migratory children. One of the
major problems is to determine how their educational needs
differ from the needs of children of permanent residents
and what changes in the program will be helpful in meeting
these needs.
During the school year of 1940-41 Grant conducted
a comparative study of the educational achievements of
100 migratory children and 100 native California children.
She states
The purposes of this investigation were 1) to
determine similarities and differences in the educa
tional achievement of the two groups, and 2) to in
terpret the differences and achievement in terms of
the educational needs of the migratory children.
The children selected for this study were matched
on the basis of chronological age and mental ability.
They were selected from grades four to eight from the
elementary schools of Porterville, California. The 100
native children had been in California schools only. The
group of migrants had come to the state within six months
of the time of the beginning of the study. A series of
tests were givenand scores tabulated.
The general conclusions were that as a whole the
native pupils of this study were definitely superior. The
superiority of the native pupils was most marked in reading
30lbid., p. 22.
42
literature and language. In general knowledge the sup
eriority of the native pupils was less marked and in drill
subjects of arithmetic and spelling the scores were near
ly equal.
The findings concerning the needs were;31
The study revealed a need for orientation classes
for 1) migratory children coming into the system who
have been out of school for a long time; 2) migrant
children who are retarded in one or more subjects
and need more individual instruction than it is poss
ible in regular classes; and 3) migrants who are
unable to make a satisfactory social adjustment in
the new community and school environment. Many
children would do better work in an ungraded class-
,room.
Grant's recommendations in brief were:
1. Ungraded classrooms.
2. Large curriculum units.
3. A variety of books.
4. Fewer formal recitation periods.
5. A greater variety of activities including
nature study, rhythms, craft work, etc.
6. Utilization of educative community resources.
V. OTHER'STUDIES OF MIGRANT CHILDREN
Eva Knox Evans32 gave a picture of the life of
migratory children, described what is being done for them
33-Ibid.. p. 29
32Eva Knox Evans, "Uncle Sam's Migrant Children"
Childhood Education. 18:362-6,APril, 1942
43
in government camps and pointed out the results in terms
of conserving human economic resources. She says of
Uncle Sam’s Migrant Childrens33
These children are inevitably retarded although
not as retarded as one would expect. The average
migrant child who attends school is about one year
behind in normal grade; but sometimes twelve-and-
thirteen-year-old children are found in primary
grades.
In a study of 98 non-migrant and 175 migrant child
ren in Grades III-VIII, inclusive, in the elementary school
in Seneca, Illinois, HUus34 made a comparison of achieve
ment and found that the largest difference as measured
by the Stanford Achievement Test occurred in Grade VI
where the average grade score of the non-migrant was more
than one year higher than that of the migrant.
She gave four specific conclusionss35
1. The child’s security within his school group
affects his school achievements.
2. Children who have migrated frequently are
likely to have a wider range of interests than non
migrants.
3. The homes of migrant children are less likely
33ibid., p. 364
34Helen Huus, "Factors Associated with the Read
ing Achievement of Children from a Migratory Population."
Elementary School Journal. 45:203-12, December, 1944
35lbid.. p. 212.
44
to provide materials and incentives for improvement
in academic work.
4. Put children to scholastic tasks they can
accomplish successfully.
Writing about providing education for transients,
Chambers36 says that:
One of the ugliest aspects of current community
life is the feeling that sometimes arises against
the newcomer - an irrational feeling that their
rights as citizens are inferior to those of older
residents, that their children are not properly en
titled to equal educational opportunities. These
ill-reasoned and emotion-charged feelings sometimes
lead to the gross exaggeration of imaginary social
distinctions, class conscious antagonisms, and law
less pressure to push the incomers on to another
community.
Like the whole problem of ensuring the provision
of good school facilities for all American children,
this one requires action by all three levels of
government; local, state, and national, and honest
and alert cooperation among all three.
W. W. Carpenter and A. G. Capps^? made a study
of the shifting population in the state of Missouri.
Their first study was so startling that they made a se
cond and found that of the six towns studied the total
enrollment was 19,820 and the total number of students
who had moved was 31.2. As the total number of moves
3%. M. Chambers, "Providing Education for Trail
er Camp Children", Nation1s Schools. 43:58 February, 1949*
37W. W. Carpenter and A. G. Capps, "Uncle Sam and
His Children" School Executives Magazine. 54:70-71,
November, 1934.
46
the community, county or state. Five of the seven writ
ers offered recommendations for solving these educational
needs. These recommendations ranged in scope from the
classroom to the national problem of educating the trans
ient. Two of the seven authors treated the problem from
a local point of view and the solutions they suggested
were in general about the same. Some offered only a few
specific answers to the problem while others gave a num
ber of suggestions. The need for remedial work to elim
inate retardation was mentioned by five of the authorities
while two made no mention of this need. Four of the seven
said there was a special need for better standards of
health, better home and school relations, more wholesome
classrooms, special training for educators, smaller class
groups, security and success for the transient child.
Consensus of the findings pertaining to the prob
lems of the school child and the solutions to these prob
lems are listed as follows:
1. The problem is too large for community, county
or state, both from the educational and financial stand
point.
2. Educators have failed to consider the effects
of transients in a community.
3. Teachers are not especially trained or equip
ped to deal with the problems of the transient child
47
scientifically.
4. Too few schools are making serious effort to
put suitable types of schooling within the reach of trans
ient children.
5. Children are retarded and often show an atti
tude of defeat.
6. Children are effected by insecurity in school
groups.
7. Children too often are not welcomed in school
or community.
8. The standards of health and cleanliness are
often low.
9. The homes of these children are less likely
to offer incentives for academic improvements than homes
of permanent residents.
10. The numbers of children from broken homes
among the transient group is high.
V
Suggested Solutions
1. Action by all three levels of government;
local, state and national.
2. That there be an awareness of the problems
on the part of educators.
3. That special training of teachers to deal
scientifically with the transient school child be given.
48
4. That there be more serious effort on the part
of all school people confronted with transient pupils.
5. Special remedial work to.bring transient
children up to grade level and give them a feeling of
accomplishment be given.
6. That a feeling .of security in the school
group be established.
7. That all transients be given a radiant welcome.
8. That special attention be given to the child’s
physical well being.
This chapter has served to show the findings of
the authorities concerning the problems and solutions of
the problems of educational nature of the transient school
child. In Chapter V will be found the conclusions based
on the findings in Chapters III and IV.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS
In a review of the literature in Chapters III
and IV the home conditions of transient families and the
educational adjustment problems of the transient school
children were discussed. This chapter will present the
conclusions as drawn from the findings. The conclusions
fall into two definite groups? 1) conclusions concerning
the problems of the transient families, and 2) conclusions
dealing with educational problems of the elementary school
child. These conclusions are as follows:
I. FAMILY PROBLEMS
1. There should be a form of Federal Relief Serv
ice for transient families.
2. That the heads of transient families generally
are classed as un-skilled, semi-skilled or skilled laborers.
3. The heads of transient families are compara
tively young, forty years of age or younger.
4. That there is a wide range in educational
achievement but that the majority of cases studied by
the writers were at least of grammar school education.
5. That educational retardation is prevalent
among transients.
6. There is a difference of opinions as to the
average size of the transient family.
7. That economic status and living conditions
are little above the subsistence level.
8. That treatment given transients consisted of
immediate shelter and relief and a chance to return to
their legal residence or assistance in securing work.
9. That in many cities rehabilitation experiments
have been and are being conducted.
II. EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF TRANSIENT
SCHOOL CHILDREN
The conclusions concerning the needs of the
transient child as based on the literature are:
1. There is a need for remedial work to elimi
nate retardation.
2. There is a special need for a warm welcome.
3. There is a need for better standards of
health and cleanliness.
4. A better home and school relationship needs
to be established.
5. A need for alleviating attitudes of defeat
and insecurity.
6. That attractive, wholesome classrooms or
working areas are needed.
51
7. There is a need for special training and
understanding on the part of administrators and teachers.
8. A need for smaller class groups among
transient children.
9. There is a need for curriculum units or
programs with emphasis on activities.
10. That there is a need for federal relief for
the education of transient school children.
In Chapter V two specific lists of conclusions
based on the findings in previous chapters have been
given. Chapter VI on recommendations will be concerned
directly with the conclusions of the educational needs
of the school child and indirectly with the needs of the
transient family as they effect the problem of adjust
ment confronting the child at school.
CHAPTER VI
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is realized that only by application can these
or any other recommendations meet the needs for which they
are established. These recommendations stem from the con
clusions drawn in Chapter V and group themselves into two
sections; those applying to teachers and administrators
who are confronted with transient children and those apply
ing directly to the transient children. With these facts
in mind it is recommended that:
I. ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS
1. Administrators and teachers be encouraged to
take special courses dealing with the education of trans
ient children.
2. Educators cooperate with all agencies in
expediting a national program for the education of the
transient youth.
II. TRANSIENT CHILDREN
1. The child be given a radiant welcome upon
enrolling in school.
2. The child’s attitude of insecurity and defeat
be eliminated as much as possible.
53
3. Arrangements for remedial work "be made in
order to bring the transient children up to grade stand
ards &s nearly as possible.
4. Special emphasis be placed on health and clean
liness as a means of raising the standards of living.
This could be done by teaching practical ideas that can
be carried out in the home.
6. Classes which consist mostly of transient
groups smaller than those for resident pupils.
7. These children be given a. workable program
of activities with emphasis on ’ ’doing”.
8. The home-school relationship program be
broadened.
The investigator has reached the final conclusion
that it is the duty of the educational profession to assume
the responsibility for two endeavors. The profession must
continually and firmly persist in the efforts already
begun to provide for adequate organization of the school
program to fit the needs of the transient child and cooper
ate with all agencies in expediting a National program
for the education of the unfortunate transient youth.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. BOOKS
Cross, William T. and Dorothy E., Hewcomers and Nomads
in California. Palo Alto, California: Stanford Univ
ersity City Press, 1937.
Outland, George E., Bov Transiency in America. Santa
Barbara State College Press, Santa Barbara, Calif
ornia, 1939.
Wilson, Robert S., Individualized Service for Transients
(National Travelers Aid Society) New York, 1937.
ffilson, Robert S. and Dorothy B. de la Pole, Group Treat
ment for Transients. New York; National Association
for Travelers Aid and Transient Service, 1937.
B. PERIODICAL ARTICLES
Carpenter, W. W. and A. G. Capps, "Uncle Sam and His
Children", Childhood Education. 18:362-6, April, 1942
Chambers, M. M., "Providing Education for Trailer Camp
Children", Nation*s Schools. 43:58 February, 1949
Evans, Eva Knox, "Uncle Sam*s Migrant Childfen", Childhood
Education. 18:362-6 April 1942
Gaumnitz, Walter H., "Educating Migrant Children - Some
Proposed Solutions". School Life. 29:11-12 December
1946.
Grant, Jetty Fern, "Educational Achievement and Needs of
Migratory Children in California", California Journal
of Elementary Education. 11:22-30, August, 1942
Huus, Helen, "Factors Associated with the Reading Achieve
ment of Children from a Migratory Population". Elem
entary School Journal. 45:203-12, December, 1944.
56
Learned, R. E., "School Solves Its Transient Problem",
American School Board Journal* 104:23-5, May, 1942.
Rea, Josephine, "Migratory Children", Sierra Educational
Mews. 37:42, December, 1941.
Synngberg, Margaret J., "Transiency - A Major Problem",
Nation*s Schools, 28:49, September, 1941
C. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS
Americanian, Isabel, "Educational and Psychological Study
of Vagabonds" (Unpublished Master’s thesis, The Univ
ersity of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1933)
Campbell, Cheryl Beth, "A Study of the Federal Transient
Program with Special Reference to Fifty Transient
Families in Los Angeles", (Unpublished Master's thesis,
: ? University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1936)
Smith, Elizabeth Crain, "The Transient Family in Southern
California; A Study of 571 Transient Families Dealt
With by the Federal Transient Bureau in Los Angeles,
1933-1934", (Unpublished Master's thesis. The Univer
sity of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1935).
'^Jv8P8fty of Sdutharn California UbSS.*?
Abstract (if available)
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Ostendorf, Sagie M.
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Core Title
An investigation of the adjustment problems of transient elementary school children.
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Education,Educational Psychology
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