The academic achievement rates of urban Latino students are significantly lower than those of non-minority youth. To date, most of the research on this topic has focused on learning and motivational characteristics of underrepresented youth in elementary and middle school and much less on urban high schools. This study investigated variables…

This study focused on the link between parental involvement in reading and schooling and children's reading motivation. The sample consisted of 128 low-income Latino students in the second through seventh grade and their immigrant parents. The specific questions addressed were: (1) How involved are Latino parents in their children's schooling and…

This article describes passing for English fluent among Latino immigrant children. A two-year ethnography of eight Latino immigrant families was conducted in which fifth-grade children were followed in home, school, and community contexts. This article presents passing as a consequence of U.S. race relations. Their reasons for presenting…

In seeking ways to address issues in diverse classrooms, the authors have focused their recent work on paraeducators. The nation's nearly 500,000 paraeducators working in K-12 classrooms embody a potential source of prospective instructors for the nation's diverse student population in both special and general education. Paraeducators are school…

The changing demographic profile of the nation has led many schools to consider how to provide effective instruction in a way that is responsive to childrens' cultural needs. Providing culturally appropriate or culturally responsive instruction is commonly mentioned as a viable alternative. This article examines the issue of culturally responsive…

This article contains a description of the Dual Proficiency (DP) program in an urban elementary school located in the heart of a large south-western city, as well as the teachers who designed and now implement DP, and the immigrant community participating by choice in DP. We write from a context where, ironically, the number of English language…