DIFFERENCES IN SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS AS A FUNCTION OF GENDER, ECONOMIC STATUS, AND ETHNICITY/RACE OF TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: A MULTIYEAR STATEWIDE STUDY

The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine the extent to which differences in social studies skills were present between boys and girls as a function of their economic status (i.e., Not Poor, Moderately Poor, and Extremely Poor), and of their ethnicity/race (i.e., Asian, White, Hispanic, and Black). The first purpose was to determine the extent to which differences were present in social studies skills between high school boys and girls. The second purpose was to determine the degree to which differences existed in social studies skills between high school students who were poor and who were Not Poor. Finally, a third purpose was to analyze the extent to which differences were present between four different ethnic/racial groups. Eight years of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Social Studies assessment data were examined to determine the degree to which trends were present in social studies skills.