This book is about teachers, teaching, and learners in poor environments in four Latin American countries: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela. Using ethnographic research methods, the study observed rural and urban schools at different periods during the school year. What emerged from the investigation is a vivid picture of teaching styles, teacher-pupil interactions, and the effects of teacher atttitudes upon pupils' self-concept and attainment. For each country, a selection was made from materials gathered by the researchers that attempted to highlight different aspects of the teaching, learning, and socialization processes observed: the mode of classroom teaching in Columbia, the differences between types of schools in Venezuela, the way in which failure can be constructed for first year pupils in Chile, and how a teacher considered "different" is successful in the education of Bolivian children. (JAM)