This study explores college-going "ganas" in the South Rio Grande Valley of Texas within the context of Frierian liberatory praxis. During focus groups, current and former high school students discussed their experiences developing "ganas" regarding college going and discussed how parental support was integral to "ganas" formation. The…

With education consistently ranked as the highest priority for Latino voters, how have members of Congress responded to Latino constituents on this dimension? This article explores the relationship between Latino constituencies and the importance members of Congress have placed on this issue. Through an analysis of National Hispanic Leadership…

Schools serve as antidemocratic spaces where teacher, parent, community member, and student voices are typically disregarded. Instead, philanthropists and businesses are allowed to drive school and district agendas. An exploration of 3 local efforts that connect a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) with prekindergarten to Grade 12 students and…

Some Hispanic students are making it through the Eurocentric, United Statesian education pipeline, but exponentially more are failing. Meanwhile, poor Chican@ communities are disproportionately suffering from unemployment, low levels of education, chronic illness, pollution, and myriad social ills. At this historical crossroads, it behooves…

This article describes a teacher education program in the California State University system that made significant changes in order to address and change the sentiments of new teachers in the Central Valley of California. It describes how a teacher education program focused on preparing faculty and teacher education supervisors to meet the needs…

This article reports on a teacher education program's preparation of bilingual paraeducators during a period of conflicting educational reform of structured English immersion in Massachusetts. Drawing on nexus analysis of discourses (R. Scollon & S. W. Scollon, 2004), we discuss factors faced by Latino educators. These include competing…

Children from migrant agricultural families have some of the lowest socioeconomic and educational indicators in the American Southwest, and migrant parents are often characterized by school personnel as "hard to reach" and uninvolved in their children's education. This study analyzes the process of school participation among migrant parents who…

This article focuses on how 47 Latinos/as (Grades 2-5) described their day in a state-rated exemplary public school. They attended Tarea, a pseudonym for a test-focused South Texas school. Interviews took place during an after-school cultural arts program I taught at Tarea for enrichment purposes. The most common interview themes were lack of…

Government programs currently mandate direct parental input in school governance. In comparing the actions of low-income Latino parents with those of middle-income White and Asian parents within the context of school governance, we found that although both groups actively sought and achieved reforms in order to improve their children's education,…

This investigation examined the impact of opportunity to learn content and skills targeted by a writing assessment on the achievement of English learners (ELs), including the potential for differential impact of increased exposure to literary analysis and writing instruction. Results revealed several factors contributing to students' writing…

It is well established that the impact of globalization is immediate and widespread. Yet the public institution most affected by this force of change is slow in responding to the need for change in content and its conceptualization of the learner and citizen. This article examines at ground level the impact that this inertia has on one of the…

If school renewal is to ultimately impact student outcomes, then understanding and responding to the factors students describe as influencing their constructive and unconstructive effort is vital. Results from focus groups with 4th, 7th, 9th, and 11th graders indicated that when students set and work toward goals, they expend more effort in…

From the perspective of two practitioners who have been influenced by work in the area of critical pedagogy and critical theory, this article examines bilingual education, education reform, and the achievement gap in relation to Latino English Language Learners. The authors integrate personal experiences as they examine underlying assumptions of…

A study examining Latina parents' perspectives about their children's mathematics education invited three mothers to observe three middle-school reform mathematics classrooms and discuss their observations. The parents noted and approved of new roles for teachers and students, such as walking around the room, listening to students, and cooperative…

Evaluates the impact of education policy initiatives on academic achievement and educational equity for Latino students, particularly bilingual learners. Examines the impact of California's Proposition 227 and concurrent laws regarding promotion and retention and approaches to literacy instruction. Suggests that the impact of state and federal…