Background/Context: Transnational Mexican-origin youth comprise a large and increasing number of students in U.S. schools, yet their teachers have often misunderstood their backgrounds and the conditions related to their transnational movement over borders. With such a large number of immigrant/transnational youth in the U.S. of Mexican origin, it…

University of Arizona's Marta Civil has been studying the complexities of bridging in-school and out-of-school mathematics for some time, during which she has raised specific questions related to connecting in-school and out-of-school mathematics (Civil, 2002, 2007, 2014). These questions have to do with "What is mathematics?"…

This in-depth case shows how five Mexican-American community college students use their "pedagogies of survival" to build resistance and navigate through the barriers of community colleges. Pedagogies of survival emanate from social, cultural, economic, and historical struggles of the students, their families, and their communities which…

The purpose of this study was to describe the psychosocial and identity challenges of 3rd generation and beyond U.S.-born (3GAB-USB) Mexican heritage college students. Alvarez (1973) has written about the psychosocial impact "hybridity" can have on a U.S.- born (USB) Mexican individual who incorporates two distinct cultures (American and…

Nativism is a forgotten ideology which nevertheless operates in the current era as illustrated by the resurgence of anti-immigrant sentiment and restrictionistic policies in response to growing Latino/a immigration. This response to Latino/a immigration recalls a historic era from the early 1900s known as the Americanization period which was also…

Students at Tucson High School in Arizona, part of Tucson Unified School District's highly successful Mexican American Studies (MAS) K-12 program, the largest in the nation, are taught Indigenous concepts, including Panche Be (seek the root of the truth), and the Aztec and Maya calendars. The author speaks to the students about the relationship…

The purpose of this presentation is to identify the challenges faced by special educators throughout North America in meeting the needs of Mexican-American students. Recommendations will also be provided for collaborating with families from Mexico along the following dimensions: population and demographic factors, urbanization and the decline of…

This article takes a look at the Mendez v. Westminster School District, a landmark case that faded into historical obscurity. In the 1940s, Gonzalo and Felicita Mendez wanted their three children to attend the school nearest their farm, which was the 17th Street Elementary School in Westminster. But in the Westminster, Orange County, El Medina,…

Second-generation immigrants are typically analyzed under the assumption that, having been born in the United States, they grew up in the United States. We challenge this assumption by investigating the prevalence and patterns of second-generation Mexican-American children's migration to and return from Mexico during childhood, and consider the…

This report estimates the number of recent immigrant students that would enroll in Texas public schools as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and recommends educational strategies to address the unique needs of recent immigrants. Research approaches included a review of existing research on immigration trends and…

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 an ethnography of the life experiences in home, school, and community of 14 Mexican American immigrant children as they struggle with acculturation processes. Argues that the authors fail to achieve an "ethnography of empowerment" that puts theory into practice and improves the living conditions of its subjects, and that this notion is…

As a student in the Chicana/o studies program at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Jesse S. Arrieta decided that her classroom instruction about the culture and history of people of Mexican origin wasn't enough. Arrieta, 27, who graduated from UTEP in 2002 before earning a master's in American history from the University of California,…

This newsletter contains six articles all related to the theme of education for recent legal and illegal immigrants. In "Golden Lord with Us from the Main Forest: Some Thoughts on the Education of Recent Immigrants," Aurelio M. Montemayor reflects on his experiences growing up in a bilingual, bicultural extended family of…