While the black and white racial experience has been delineated over the years, the ethnic realities of Latinos have received minimal attention. Therefore, with Latinos projected as the upcoming U.S. population majority, the central goal of this book is to document the Latino experience in the world of academia, focusing primarily, but not…

A significant and growing percentage of the children enrolled in early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs in Europe and the United States are children of recent im/migrants. For most young (3-5 years old) children of parents who have come from other countries, ECEC settings are the first context in which they come face to face with…

This book examines oral and written communicative practices of a binational network of Mexican immigrants in Chicago and their relatives and friends remaining in three rural Mexican towns. The book's primary goals are to demonstrate the richness of the linguistic and cultural resources available to adult Mexicanos and to provide a basis for…

Nortenos, or Hispanos, are Spanish-heritage residents of northern New Mexico whose ancestors settled in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries and were long isolated from the U.S. mainstream. The ebb and flow of cultural crosscurrents in northern New Mexico add richness and complexity to educational issues faced by the Norteno community. This…

Focusing on the ethnic identity and achievement motivation of adolescents, this book reports on a study of Mexican-origin and Anglo American adolescents and sets it in sociopolitical, theoretical, ethnohistorical, and demographic contexts. The opening chapters examine public malaise over immigration and ethnic diversification in the United States…

Based on oral histories and archival documents, this book reconstructs the unwritten history of the Mexican-origin community of Santa Paula, California. This previously unwritten history contrasts sharply with the official version, which focuses on Anglo American accomplishments and excludes the area's earliest settlers and longest…

Nonparticipation in traditional adult basic education programs is an ongoing concern for educators and administrators. Most studies of such nonparticipation have focused on lack of motivation or other psychological deterrents, suggesting that individuals have a choice and that they or their culture are somehow deficient if they "choose"…

This book examines the efforts of Valley Interfaith--a community-based organization in the south Texas borderlands--to improve the living conditions of low-income residents and immigrants and the public schools their children attend. Valley Interfaith is unusual in that it crosses the boundary separating the worlds of community organizing and…

This book reports on a 3-year ethnographic study of academic achievement and schooling orientations among immigrant Mexican and Mexican American students at a Houston (Texas) high school. The study included a survey of the entire student body (2,281 students), participant observation in the school and community from 1992 to 1995, 25 open-ended…

This book presents an ethnography of community efforts in Carpinteria, California, to bridge ethnic differences, empower parents, and improve education for the town's diverse student population. Located on the central California coast south of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria has been home to generations of Mexican immigrants and their children. Over…

The U.S.-Mexican border is an extensive geographical region that is socially and economically distinct from either the United States or Mexico. It has always been a multilingual and multicultural place. This book examines the social and cultural complexities of life in one small rural border town and its high school. Chapter 1 describes Havens,…

This book aims to provide a better understanding of Mexican American high school students and their struggles with ethnicity, Americanization, prejudice, schools, and life's purposes. In most Anglo minds, these students are characterized by exceptionally high dropout rates and poor school performance, without any explanation for this performance…

"Westhills" is a multiethnic coastal community in San Diego County, California, in which Mexican Americans comprise approximately 22 percent of the population. This book reports ethnographic research on a group of working-class Chicana adolescents in one Westhills barrio and their problems, school experiences, immersion in two…

This book explores race relations between Mexican Americans and Anglo Americans in "Middlewest," a fictitious name for an actual rural Idaho community with the highest proportion of Mexican Americans in the state. Many Mexican Americans in this predominantly agricultural area are current or former migrant workers. The first chapter…

This book presents a detailed study of the social support networks and help-seeking experiences of low-income Mexican-origin adolescents from immigrant families in the San Diego and San Francisco areas. Drawing on social network data, interviews, and statistical survey data, the book documents and elaborates on the numerous constraints and social…