6.5 Teenage birth rates
6.6 Violence on school property
The indicators in this section examine a wide range of student activities in order to better understand the social environments of stu- dents and how students interact with their environments. Positive indicators on civic awareness and community service partici- pation examine the integration of young people into society. Student access to tech- nology and technology-based information is measured through students’ use of the
Participation in civic awareness activities in- dicates the ways in which students are preparing for citizenship and are learning to take part in public affairs. In 1999, 52 per- cent of Hispanic students in grades 6 to 12 participated in at least one of three civic aware- ness activities on an almost daily basis: watching or listening to the national news, reading national news stories, or discussing national news and politics with parents. About as many Black students (55 percent) and slightly fewer White students (47 per-
cent) indicated that they had taken part in one of the three activities.
Examining the three activities individually, Hispanic students were more likely to report watching or listening to the national news— 45 percent of Hispanic students did so—than reading national news stories or discussing news with parents—11 and 9 percent, re- spectively, did so. Watching or listening to the national news was the predominant ac- tivity across all three racial/ethnic groups.
6.1 Civic awareness activities of youth
About one-half of Hispanic students participated in at least one of three civic awareness activities (reading national news stories, watching or listening to the national news, and discussing national news) on an almost daily basis in 1999.
Percent of students in grades 6–12 who participated in selected civic awareness activities almost daily, by race/ethnicity: 1999
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education, 2000, based on National Household Education Survey (NHES), 1999 (Youth Interview Component).
Chapter 6 — Student Behaviors
Percent
White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic Any of the following Read national news stories Watch/listen
to national news
Discuss national news with parent 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 47 55 52 12 11 11 40 49 45 6 26 9
Student participation in community service is commonly considered integral to devel- oping habits of responsible citizenship.50 In
1999, Hispanic students in grades 6 to 12 were less likely than White or Black stu- dents to have participated in community service: 38 percent compared with 56 and
48 percent, respectively. The percentage of Hispanic students in these grades partici- pating in community service was the same in 1996. However, White students’ partici- pation increased, whereas the apparent difference for Black students was not statis- tically significant.
6.2 Community service participation of youth
Hispanic students are less likely than White and Black students to participate in community service.
50 B. Kleiner and C. Chapman, Statistics in Brief: Youth Service-Learning and Community Service Among
Percent of students in grades 6–12 who participated in community service, by race/ethnicity: 1996 and 1999
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education, 2001, based on National Household Education Survey (NHES), 1996 and 1999 (Youth Interview Component).
Chapter 6 — Student Behaviors
Percent
1996 1999
White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic 10 20 30 40 50 60 53 56 43 48 38 38 0
In our increasingly technological society, com- puters are an essential tool. Exposure to computers in school or at home may help young people gain the computer literacy they will need to function effectively in society. Understanding the extent to which students have access to computers, and ultimately if and how they use them, may indicate their preparedness to enter the working world. In 1998, fewer Hispanic and Black students in
grades 1 to 12 had access to a computer at home or to the Internet at home or at school than did White students. Students from all three racial/ethnic groups were more likely to access the Internet at school than at home. However, the difference in the percentages of Hispanics and Whites who access the Internet at home was larger than the His- panic-White difference for school Internet access.
6.3 Students’ use of the Internet and access to computers
Hispanic students are less likely than White students to have a computer at home or to use the Internet at home.
Chapter 6 — Student Behaviors
Percent of students in grades 1–12 who reported a computer in their household and percent reporting Internet access at various places, by race/ethnicity: 1998
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education, 2000, based on U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, October and December Current Population Surveys, 1998.
Percent
White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic Computer in household 20 40 60 80 100 70 28 28 At school 83 70 71 0 At home 32 8 8 Other 22 13 16
Engaging in illegal, risky, or unhealthy be- haviors, such as using alcohol or drugs, has been linked to dropping out of school, de- pression, crime, and violence.51,52,53 In
1999, more Hispanic 12- to 17-year-olds (17 percent) than Blacks (9 percent) and Asians (7 percent) of the same age range reported using alcohol in the past month, but about as many Hispanics as Whites (18 percent) and American Indians/Alaska Natives (19 percent) of the same ages had done so. Hispanics (11 percent) were more likely than Blacks (8 percent) to use tobacco
products, including cigarettes, in the past month, but Whites (19 percent) and Ameri- can Indians/Alaska Natives (31 percent) were more likely than any of the other groups to do so. No differences were de- tected in the percent of Hispanics (7 percent) who had used marijuana in the past month and the percents of those from the other racial/ethnic groups who had done so,54 but
more Hispanics (5 percent) than Blacks (3 percent) and Asians (2 percent) had used an illicit drug other than marijuana in the past month.