This article explores how a secondary ethnic studies course leveraged immigrant families' literacies rooted in the Mexican spiritual ritual of Las Posadas for in-school literacy instruction and to engage in community-responsive grassroots processions as social protest. Using ethnographic and participatory design research, the authors--one a…

This article traces how Mexican American Studies (MAS) scholar activists led and supported a statewide movement for MAS in Texas. As a Xicana feminist scholar activist, Saldan~a draws from her retrospective memory and personal archive of organizational notes, movement documents, personal testimonies before the State Board of Education, and photos,…

Using Kymlicka's analysis of conflicts between "imperatives of state control" and "objectives of social movements," I draw on my experiences with multicultural education to extrapolate some trends from the past and present that may inform the future. After briefly describing the origins of multicultural education (mainly within…

The educational pipeline has become a commonly referenced depiction of educational outcomes for racialized groups across the country. While visually impactful, an overreliance on decontextualized quantitative data often leads to majoritarian interpretations. Without sociohistorical contexts, these interpretations run the risk of perpetuating…

The author's class has been invited to speak on NPR's "Call-In-Radio" and two of her students, Omar and Diana, were elected to be their spokespeople regarding HB 2281, Arizona's controversial ethnic studies ban. Omar stressed that he and his classmates are engaged by this topic because they see what's happening in Arizona is wrong--that…

Drawing from a nine-month critical teacher inquiry investigation, this article examines the experiences of eleventh and twelfth grade students who participated in a year-long Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies course in California shortly after the passing of Arizona House Bill 2281 (HB 2281). Through a borderlands analysis, I explore how these students…

The purpose of this study was to examine constructivist-based algebra lessons and a cooperative construct to address the achievement gap between White (non-Hispanic) and Mexican American 8th grade students at a southern California middle school. The lessons were designed to facilitate social interdependence which promoted peer-to-peer interaction…

Documenting the impact of technological advancements upon the American farmer, this article describes a rural California county where the small farmers have had to sell or lease their land to larger enterprises who then recruit Mexican American farm workers to replace the labor once provided by the small farmer. (JC)

Using case files of the Whittier State School, California's leading reform school in the early twentieth century, this essay examines the possibilities of gleaning the historical agency of Mexican and Mexican American youth who found themselves confined to an institution that granted them little, if any, decision-making power. As scholars have…

This report examines how demographic changes, particularly in immigration and fertility, have affected and will continue to affect every segment of California's population. Three points are emphasized in the report: the number and type of Californians in future years, the size and composition of the labor force and the related issues resulting…

Since the late 1970s, California's rural poor (frequently immigrants and refugees) have been engaged in grassroots efforts to change the cultural and political landscapes of their communities. Told in the words of rural people, this book presents six stories of struggle and empowerment. In Yuba City, Latino and East Indian farmworkers felt that…

This book traces the histories of two Chicano gangs in East Los Angeles since the early 1940s, when common gang stereotypes were created by the media and law enforcement agencies. In an unusual collaborative effort, researchers worked with former gang members to make contact with and interview members of various "cliques" (cohorts) of…

In considering whether subcultural values were associated with violence, it was critical to determine both the precise content of such values and the way in which the subculture interacts with structural forces to affect the level of violence. Based on interview and observational materials, this qualitative study examined the role of…

Assesses Chicano-Anglo relations in Ontario, California, from 1937-1947, a transitional decade for Chicanos in "semi-rural" areas of American Southwest. Focuses on Chicanos' economic plight, their leadership and organization, civil rights and discrimination, legal issues, and political realities. Studies effect of World War II on Chicano…

Since 1965, changes in the immigration law have altered the influx from abroad and transformed the nation, especially California. This book examines the fundamental transformation of the state's population, focusing on local outcomes in California communities. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss social and economic causes of immigration, types of migrants,…