FINAL REPORT ON HEAD START EVALUATION AND RESEARCH--1966-67 TO THE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. SECTION V, THE ROLE OF DIALECT IN THE SCHOOL-SOCIALIZATION OF LOWER CLASS CHILDREN

IT HAS BEEN HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE ADOPTION OF THE LINGUISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUBCULTURE OTHER THAN A CHILD'S OWN IS A VALID INDICATION OF THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE CHILD HAS BECOME SOCIALIZED INTO THAT SUBCULTURE. TO EXAMINE THIS HYPOTHESIS, RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED (1) TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LINGUISTIC HABITS AND ATTITUDE SOCIALIZATION IN UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN AND (2) TO COMPARE THE LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES TOWARD HOME AND SCHOOL OF LOWER AND MIDDLE CLASS CHILDREN. AN EXPERIMENTAL POPULATION OF 54 FIRST THROUGH THIRD GRADE STUDENTS FROM AN ISOLATED RURAL AREA WAS COMPARED WITH A CONTROL POPULATION FROM THE SAME 3 GRADES OF AN UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS SUBURBAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. COLLECTION OF DIALECT SAMPLES PROVIDED INDICES OF PHONOLOGICAL, LEXICAL, AND SYNTACTICAL VARIANTS WHICH DIFFERENTIATED THE LINGUISTIC BEHAVIORS OF THE 2 POPULATIONS. THREE SOCIALIZATION MEASURES, DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE CHILD'S ACCEPTANCE OF MIDDLE CLASS VALUES, WERE DEVELOPED. AFTER PRETESTING WITH POPULATION SAMPLES SIMILAR TO THE CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS, THE SOCIALIZATION MEASURES WERE ADMINISTERED TO THE TEST GROUPS AND SPEECH SAMPLES ELICITED FROM THEM. ALTHOUGH ANALYSIS OF THE DATA IS IN PROGRESS, THE COMPUTATION OF CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS FOR SOCIALIZATION AND LINGUISTIC VARIABLES HAS, THUS FAR, FAILED TO SUPPORT THE ORIGINAL HYPOTHESIS REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ATTITUDE SOCIALIZATION AND LINGUISTIC BEHAVIOR. (JS)