Reviews recent historical literature on the education of Chicanos in the United States. Identifies two major approaches, one which attempts to identify what educational institutions have done to and for Chicanos and the other which attempts to focus on the Chicanos' quest for educational equality. (JDH)

New research on Chicano education from the perspective of Chicanos illuminates the struggle for equality and access. The establishment of community schools (escuelitas) by Mexican Americans in Texas was intended to preserve Mexican heritage and language as well as prepare children for bicultural existence. (SK)

Highlights the year (1928-29) Lyndon Johnson served as teacher/principal of Welhausen School (Cotulla, Texas) and notes how this experience in a small, poor, Mexican American community influenced his later programs that had a profound effect on American education. (BRR)

Examines Gonzales' extensive rhetoric in his campaign to improve the life of Chicanos. Gonzales' rhetorical vision focused on the need for Chicanos to know and take pride in their heritage. Some of his harshest criticisms deal with the education of his people. (PD)

In the early 1900s, a central theme in many books and scholarly works about Mexico and Mexicans was the transnational "Mexican problem"--the innate political and cultural backwardness that prevented Mexico's development and modernization. These works greatly influenced both U.S. policy toward Mexico and educational policies aimed at…

This paper examines the comparable educational histories of the "Hispanos" of a mountainous area of New Mexico and the peoples of southern Appalachia. Presbyterian missionaries entered both regions following the Civil War and soon placed mountain people in the category of "exceptional populations," along with freed slaves,…

Contests the State of Texas argument in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case that historical discrimination against African Americans and Mexican Americans is unrelated to their TAAS outcomes. Examines contemporary de facto school segregation, distribution of substandard teachers, and the relationship of these factors to student…

For over a century, Texas public schools have attempted to acculturate Mexican-American children by denigrating Mexican-American culture, language, and history. These efforts have largely failed, as Mexican-Americans in Texas have not lost their cultural heritage and assimilated into the larger society. However, this ethnic group has been shorn of…

Hispanics may share a language, a religion, and a similar culture, but they are not a homogeneous group. They are from many different countries, with different histories and ethnicities. This booklet describes the situation of Hispanic Americans, the fastest growing minority group in the country. The largest group of Hispanics in the United States…

Since the 1970s, the Mexican-descent population of Guadalupe, California, has spearheaded a drive for local political representation. This paper examines their struggles and challenges the misconception of Mexican campesino immigrants as politically apathetic in their new homeland. From 1960 to 1990, the percentage of Guadalupe's population that…

This paper examines how U.S. courts, particularly the Supreme Court, have applied constitutional law principles to Latino communities and individuals in three areas: public education, the status of Puerto Rico, and jury selection. Consistent with traditional views of American society as biracial (black and white), constitutional law discussions…

In the early 1970s, thousands of Mexican-origin students, parents, and community members participated in legal and political actions against the Houston public schools. Their actions were sparked by the school district's effort in 1970 to circumvent a desegregation court order by classifying Mexican American children as "white,"…

What was unique about the Mexican American experience in Fort Collins (Colorado) was the extent to which the Great Western Sugar Company colonized Mexican workers. They lived in Mexican colonies, separate neighborhoods, or remote locations on sugar beet farms. In public schools, Mexican Americans were perceived as intellectually inferior and were…

The history of Arizona public schooling had a modest beginning in 1864 when the first Territorial Legislature allotted $1,500 to five existing mission schools. The third territorial governor, Anson P. K. Safford, launched a crusade to establish public schools, and by 1877 there were 28. The 1885 Legislature authorized the founding of a Territorial…

Despite the efforts of Mexican American groups, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the G.I. Forum, and court orders to end segregation, schools in Texas continued to segregate Mexican American children. The political liberalism of these groups kept them from developing effective strategies against segregation. (IS)