Preschool teachers from Texas school districts with high and low Hispanic populations completed surveys examining their knowledge and beliefs about early childhood bilingualism and developmentally appropriate practice. Positive beliefs about the use of native language to develop emergent cognitive-academic language proficiency through active…

Analysis of questionnaire responses of 44 minority (African American, Hispanic, or Filipino) gifted students attending a high school preparatory program, and follow-up interviews with 24 students, identified themes of locus of control, peer relations, leadership, and community orientation. Responses differed between genders. The role of school…

This study examined the relationship between attributions for success and failure and mathematics achievement in African American, Hispanic, Indochinese, and Caucasian elementary students. Students completed the Sydney Attribution Scale and Wide Range Achievement Test. Across groups, high achievement related to attributing success to ability, not…

Examines the Boston University/Chelsea project and explores how privatization intrinsically results in decreased openness and accountability. Discusses the historical background of Boston (MA) and its schools to decipher Chelsea's economic dependency, and repeated the falls into receivership and privatization. Includes a discussion on Boston's…

Evaluates how Puerto Ricans in the United States are worse off relative to other groups, and whether their disadvantage remains after the controls of family background and ethnic status are added. Results suggest that, compared to Whites, Blacks, and Mexicans, Puerto Ricans have a unique educational disadvantage that contributes to their having…

Latina academic achievement is compromised by poverty, family responsibilities, low preschool participation, poor quality schools, limited neighborhood resources, low expectations, few role models, and gender role attitudes. These disparities contribute to psychosocial issues and are not associated with Latino cultural capital, which has not…

Interviews with 32 Mexican-descent college students examined teacher actions in high school that had impacted students' academic success. Positive and negative teacher actions were described in the areas of cultural understanding, stereotypes, expectations of students, and exclusion from or inclusion in classroom activities. Recommendations for…

Addresses challenges faced by bilingual children transitioning to literacy in English when answering reading comprehension questions requiring interpretation and synthesis of information related to fictitious characters' thoughts. Notes that understanding a character's perspective may depend on inference, rather than on lexical content within a…

Argues that the inclusion of ethnic folktales into a social studies unit can reinforce stereotypical assumptions unless it is balanced with accurate and insightful social and cultural instruction. Summarizes and discusses a number of Latino folktales and how they could be used as springboards for appropriate instruction. (MJP)

Examined contemporaneous and predictive relations between parenting styles, adolescents' attributions, and educational outcomes. Found that adolescents who perceived their parents as nonauthoritative were more likely than peers to attribute achievement outcomes to external causes or low ability. The higher the proportion of dysfunctional…

Traces the settlement and demographic patterns of Hispanic Americans in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Although originally concentrated in the southwest, Hispanics began migrating northward into some northeastern areas after World War II. Includes maps and tables detailing these demographics. (MJP)

Introduces a framework for high school retention efforts based on the findings from a study of 84 young Mexican American women who were first in their families to attend college. The framework provides the means for bridging educational gaps by supporting the strengths of these young people and by reducing barriers to educational achievement.…

Narratives of Puerto Rican and Mexican American students, written in 8th grade and then 11th grade, describe who they are and illustrate school-sponsored silencing, with student critiques of their educational experience ignored by schools. The narratives help explain the Hispanic student high dropout rate, reasons behind students' academic…

Interviews with 116 Texas health science center administrators and faculty, community leaders, and state officials investigated barriers to development of area health education centers for training health professionals. School and community respondents agreed on the need for more cooperative planning and training for future activities with border…

Differences and relationships between home environment and motivational orientation were examined for 28 higher and 29 lower achieving mainland Puerto Rican children in grades 5 and 6. Post-hoc multiple regression analysis revealed that family involvement accounted for a significant amount of variance with regard to achievement. (SLD)