Since the U.S. Recession of 2008, more Mexicans are leaving than coming to the United States. Many Mexican families return to Mexico with their U.S.-born--or "American Mexican"--children and youth. Approximately 700,000 American Mexican children and youth are now living and attending K-12 schools throughout Mexico (Gandara & Jensen,…

Pedagogies employing critical traditions have increasingly been used to ameliorate achievement disparities and centralize issues of power in the education of Students of Color. In this study, I trace a teacher's journey--new to critical pedagogies--as she learned about community cultural wealth and incorporated family histories as…

We examined perceived emotional support and expectations from parents, teachers, and classmates in relation to Mexican American adolescents' (n = 398) social behavior and academic functioning. Results of regression analyses indicated that direct associations between emotional support and expectations differ as a function of source and domain;…

Children of Latino immigrants in the United States encounter ecological stressors that heighten their risk for depressive symptoms, externalizing behavior, and problems in school. Studies have shown that affirming parent-child communication is protective of child depressive symptoms and accompanying problems. The purpose of this study was to…

This article analyzes data from a summer literacy program for intermediate and middle-level children of migrant farmworkers. The program was grounded in a sociocultural perspective on literacy, stressing the importance of interaction and collaboration within socioculturally responsive pedagogy, using enabling literature to empower students.…

Although Mexican American adolescents experience multiple risk factors in their daily lives, most research examines the influences of risk factors on adjustment independently, ignoring the additive and interactive effects of multiple risk factors. Guided by a person-centered perspective and utilizing latent profile analysis, this study identified…

Children of Mexican immigrants are exposed to multiple ecological risks that heighten their likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms. In previous studies, affirming parent-child communication has been found to be protective against depressive symptoms in Hispanic youth. Interventions focused on enhancing communication between parents and…

Recent studies have identified multiple forms of capital that Latino students acquire in their homes and communities. Influenced by these studies, this article examines how transnational students of Mexican origin use various forms of their community's cultural wealth as tools to survive situations of violence in Mexico. In this article, we…

Age and ethnic group differences in cold weather and contagion or germ theories of infectious disease were explored in two studies. A cold weather theory was frequently invoked to explain colds and to a lesser extent flu but became less prominent with age as children gained command of a germ theory of disease. Explanations of how contact with…

In this article, we explore three anthropological approaches to science education research: funds of knowledge, third space/hybridity and practice theory. Definitions, historical origins, uses and constraints of each approach are included along with reviews of exemplary studies in each tradition. We show that funds of knowledge research draws on…

Our study examined discrepancies in Mexican American adolescent-parent perceptions regarding parental autonomy promoting and their associations with adolescents' adjustment. A total of 138 Mexican American sixth graders reported their global self-worth and depressive symptoms. Adolescents and parents also reported their perceptions of parental…

The current study explored how parental inductions and punitiveness were related to the prosocial moral reasoning through perspective taking and sympathy. Data were collected from three ethnic groups: 106 European American, 202 Mexican American, and 196 Taiwanese fifth and sixth graders (approximately 50% girls). Using structural equation modeling…

Using an ecocultural framework, we investigated relations between parental academic socialization (PAS) and adolescent motivation and achievement. Two-hundred sixteen Mexican-origin, low-income sixth graders reported on their motivational beliefs and behaviors and on their parents' academic socialization. Results indicated that parents engaged in…

Motivation is a fundamental educational challenge for adolescents in the United States, and particularly for immigrant youth. The motivation to achieve, especially in mathematics, declines during adolescence. Most of what is known about motivation is based on studies of predominately middle-class White students; yet the influx of immigrants over…

Mexican American youth are at greater risk of school failure than their peers. To identify factors that may contribute to academic success in this population, this study examined the prospective relationships from 5th grade to 7th grade of family (i.e., human capital [a parent with at least a high school education], residential stability,…