An element seen to be lacking in the development of bilingual programs in California is a sensitivity to the sociolinguistic and psychological influences in Chicano language usage. These include the mixing in of American slang. (MSE)

Identifies areas of progress and unresolved problems in achieving educational equity for Hispanic students. The information summarized is based on two regional conferences on the topic. Statistical data are from the National Center for Educational Statistics. (Author/MLF)

Analysis of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data on Hispanic men interviewed at age 14-17 and again at age 23-27 found that poverty in young adulthood was related to academic aptitude and family-of-origin socioeconomic resources during adolescence, educational and relocation decisions made during transition to adulthood, and labor market…

A study operationally defined academic and social integration to fit the population of Hispanic two-year college students, and examined psychometric properties of the measures through confirmatory factor analysis. Findings confirmed the importance of culturally sensitive operational definitions of academic and social integration when including…

Realizing that multicultural education's true goal is academic achievement, a Seattle high school teacher began to add native Spanish speakers to the native English speakers in her advanced Spanish studies class and offered opportunities to hone literacy skills. Over the next 3 years, 19 of 26 native Spanish speakers from the class passed Spanish…

According to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey, rural workers score somewhat lower than urban workers in ability to use written and quantitative materials. However, scores of rural and urban young adults are similar, reflecting recent improvements in rural education. Rural workers earn less than urban workers with similar literacy skills;…

Presents research on seven Chicano families who have experienced cultural and academic success, to determine successive generational influence on child development and academic success. Findings reveal the importance of cultural traditions, generational support and communication, and parents as mediators in guiding their children to higher…

Examines the perspectives of a subgroup of Latinas, their options, barriers, and access to education within their lives as young women and within their families' experiences as immigrants. Presents the struggles of one of three Latina women who continues her education in college largely through the support of a peer group. (GR)

Thirty-one correlates of critical thinking skills were studied for 79 Black and Latino engineering students at three American universities in programs designed to retain students with academic difficulties. Results suggest that minority students with better critical thinking skills are at greater risk in college, especially on predominantly white…

A study examining Hispanic underrepresentation in managerial and professional occupations used Public Use Microdata Samples of census data. Findings indicated a 6 percent chance of Hispanics working as managers/professionals, versus a 32 percent chance for non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanics who were citizens, older, educated, married, and fluent in…

A study compared 47 Spanish-speaking, predominantly English-speaking, and Spanish-English bilingual children's performance on a battery of semantic tasks. Children in all three groups achieved similar average levels of performance. The profiles of bilingual children in each language were somewhat different from those of the other children.…

The impact of mass media on public images of teachers and students is considered in a dialogue between two educational and mass media researchers. Stereotypes in films, such as teacher-savior and student-failure, and abundant reports about Latino dropout rates and low academic achievement impact teachers and the public, who accept negative images…

Study tested influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, and writing aptitude on 181 ninth-grade students. Aptitude and self-efficacy had direct effects on performance. Girls and boys did not differ in aptitude or performance, but girls reported lower writing self-efficacy. Native English-speaking Hispanic students had lower aptitude…

Low-income parents completed a social map and measures of self-esteem and child-rearing practices. Results indicated that American Indians had an interconnected web of kin; Hispanics, close-knit social networks; and Anglos, diffuse but supportive networks. Affective dimensions of social networks were related to parenting. Parental self-efficacy…

Results from 698 Hispanic junior high school students provide the information for a descriptive framework for Hispanic adolescents' preference for social support on salient concerns in their daily lives. Patterns described vary according to gender and migrant status. (SLD)