The assertion that Chicano Studies lack legitimacy in academe is questioned. Chicano Studies programs and courses have now been in existence for more than 30 years and Chicano scholars have produced an impressive body of literature. The Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston is described as an example of the gains that…

Explores motivations and approaches of three researchers on Mexican American education: Emory Stephen Bogardus, who promoted an ideology of conformity to Anglo norms; Loyd Spencer Tireman, who adopted a "melting-pot" assimilationist approach; and Herschel Thurman Manuel, advocate of a pluralist position respecting Spanish language and…

Reviews investigations of McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities as applicable to Puerto Rican and Mexican American children. Information too limited to draw conclusions regarding Puerto Rican applicability. Scales show promise as intelligence test for Mexican Americans. Recommends further research, especially among special education students.…

Despite efforts to improve perceptions about Mexican Americans and other Spanish-speaking people in the United States, Chicanos and other Latinos are not yet seen as typical American citizens. Latinos continue to receive poor educations, and the media continue to represent them in ways unaffected by the emergence of Chicano literature. This book…

Although during the last two decades overt forms of discrimination against Mexican American students have become less common, today a variety of more sophisticated and powerful forms of prejudice are prevalent. They continue to damage school children psychologically and emotionally. The quest for equity in education must also become stronger and…

Two major problems exist in working with handicapped minority-group children: the handicap itself and the integration of language and culture into the curriculum. Classroom activities to help meet the special needs of the handicapped Mexican-American child are recommended. (PP)

Examines the myth that Mexican American children have poor academic achievement because their parents don't value education. Focuses on the myth's origins in "deficit thinking" and concepts of "cultural deprivation" and "at-risk." Examines evidence to the contrary: Mexican Americans' long struggle for equal…

Of the more than 2 million Spanish-surnamed students enrolled in the public elementary and secondary schools, more than 70% are located in the five Southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, and of these more than 95% are Mexican Americans. However, in all five Southwestern states the proportion of Chicano…

Reasons that Mexican American children have difficulty learning to read include: (1) Learning to read and learning a new language simultaneously is difficult; (2) Mexican American students experience alienation in the school culture; (3) Low self-esteem contributes to the inability to read; and (4) Certain minority groups do not expect as much of…

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 essay outlines Mexican immigration to the United States, with particular reference to Mexican children and the implications for schooling. The ability of Mexican immigrants to obtain jobs and the nature of the work itself has changed drastically for the worse in recent years. Children of Mexican origin differ in numerous ways in part because…

Reviews the status of Hispanic education, examines studies of Hispanic students, describes major finance and governance issues in Hispanic education, and explores theoretical models of internal colonialism as a means of understanding the condition of Hispanic education. Proposes a research agenda for Hispanic education. (Author/SB)

Chicano Spanish in not only a product of two languages, but also the influence of middle-class environment and immediate realities. These realities are much different from those in Mexico, even though they derive from it, having a strong relationship to all factors that constitute social level and status. Three principal dialects are: Tex-Mex,…

Mexican Americans were legally defined as Whites as a result of treaty obligations with Mexico that expressly allowed Mexicans to become U.S. citizens. Federal laws of the time required that an alien be White to become a U.S. citizen. The government of Mexico and the U.S. Department of State pressured the U.S. Census Bureau to reclassify Mexican…

This introduction to the papers assembled in "Children of La Frontera" provides background information on Mexican immigration to the United States, Mexican migrant workers and their children, and implications for schools. It discusses economic forces in both Mexico and the United States that push and pull Mexicans to "El Norte"; the economic…