Abstract
This article concentrates on the educational experiences of urban and suburban Mexican American youth, from recent immigrants to those that have been in the United States for generations. The article seeks to unravel the relationship between acculturation and school success by offering a holistic and longitudinal approach of three time periods: 1974, 1988, and 2004. The dynamics of Mexican American acculturation and adaptation differ across populations (People), environmental settings (Place), and across the three time periods studied (Time). The diversity of physical space, social locations, and ethnic identities within the Mexican American population needs to be recognized within such an analysis. This article highlights policy and practice designed to impact the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, a population constantly facing changes.
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Notes
We use Mexican American and Chicano to refer to the students in this sample or when the research we are citing uses these terms. The term Latino is used relatively interchangeably and is used when the research we are citing uses this pan-ethnic term instead of the ethnic specific terms Mexican American or Chicano.
While the original studies included students of various Latino descents, we restrict this sample and analysis to those students who identified as Mexican origin for the three time periods included in this analysis.
For a detailed explanation of the acculturation scale scores and meanings, see Vigil (2002).
Although many students were familiar with street-wise rules and regulations, they often preferred school-smart routines and rhythms. For example, there were always a few role shifters in the urban school, balancing their daytime learning activities with nighttime entertainments and adventures on the street. The effect and degree that these roles play in determining educational success is still unclear. Research does suggest that these factors are interconnected and that no single factor, present on its own, ensures academic success (i.e., Carter 2005; Conchas 2001).
From the 1974 to 1988 study, institutional changes related to gender tensions evolved as a result of the growing awareness of differences in how males and females receive their education (Noguera et al. 2011). Many teachers and school officials coordinated their efforts to meet the needs of female students. By the 2004 study, the educational paths of females had opened to the point that they were a sizeable majority of graduates going on to higher education from both the urban and suburban high schools.
See the work of Urrieta (2009), Working from Within, for a thorough discussion of this phenomenon.
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Conchas, G.Q., Oseguera, L. & Vigil, J.D. Acculturation and School Success: Understanding the Variability of Mexican American Youth Adaptation Across Urban and Suburban Contexts. Urban Rev 44, 401–422 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-012-0197-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-012-0197-2