This report describes economic, social, and political characteristics of the lower Rio Grande Valley with implications for the educational system, and presents preliminary findings on how south Texas schools are integrating new immigrant Mexican students. The lower Rio Grande Valley comprises four Texas counties and northern Tamaulipas, Mexico.…

This document is a compilation of 20 papers from a seminar on educational policy and strategy for educating the indigenous peoples of Latin America and Mexico. There is a growing awareness among linguistics and anthropology specialists and educators of the necessity to validate education that respects the values of an indigenous culture. This…

Explores the conflicting cultural perspectives associated with studying English, drawing on two studies of Mexican students. P. Ryan (1994) studied the perceptions of culture related to language learning for six college teachers and their urban students. N. Francis (1994) studied the perceptions of rural bilingual (Spanish/Nahuatl) elementary…

This proceedings, in English and Spanish, describes the first U.S./Mexico Curriculum Symposium, held in Austin, Texas, in November 1994. The symposium grew out of an ongoing exchange between educators in the Republic of Mexico and the United States and was attended by over 200 teachers, administrators, staff from state and regional education…

In Mexico, the teaching of English surpasses the teaching of all other foreign languages together and extends widely throughout Mexican educational institutions from nursery schools to universities. This report provides specific details on the use of English in Mexico and describes English language instruction at all educational levels, in public…

Beginning in 1978, a 20-year study charted the evolution of the public education system in Mexico, focusing on literacy instruction for various age groups and special populations. Drawing on descriptions of schools visited during the author's 13 visits to Mexico, this book describes Mexican educational practices, with the aim of helping U.S.…

The American School in Mexico City is a multicultural school drawing its students from the upper middle class with a pupil population of about 40% United States citizens, 40% Mexican, and 20% other nationalities. Admission is based on language proficiency, scholastic achievement, and ability to pay. The school admits monolingual Spanish speakers…

This curriculum guide is intended: (1) to expose students to the people and customs of Michoacan, Mexico; (2) to explore the meaning of traditional Day of the Dead customs through hands-on experiences; and (3) to build the self-esteem of second language learners of Mexican descent. During the study, students whose primary language is Spanish read…

This volume gathers a sampling of educators' ideas on the issue of the role of the non-standard dialect in the teaching of Spanish to Spanish speakers. Part one, "Rationale for the Teaching of Spanish to the Spanish Speaking," deals with philosophy and theory and contains papers by Guadalupe Valdes Fallis and Nasario Garcia. Part two,…

As NAFTA opens the border between the United States and Mexico, the need for binational cooperation in education becomes ever more imperative. This chapter provides a rationale for binational education--the benefits of binational education both for language-minority students and for the majority culture--and describes a variety of cooperative…

This material is a compilation of junior high school student-developed stories and games about the way Christmas is celebrated in Portugal, Mexico, and Cuba. The material was developed in the classroom by Portuguese, Mexican, and Cuban immigrant students and by American students who do not have a recent immigrant background, all of whom were…

Essays on political issues in multicultural and bilingual education include: "Cultural Recognition and Civil Discourse in Democracy" (Carlos J. Ovando, Peter McLaren); "The Political Life of Language Metaphors in Writings About Diversity in Education" (Sharon Pugh, Ovando, Nicole Schonemann); "Contesting Whiteness:…

Mexico and the United States have reached agreements at the national, state, and local levels designed to improve the literacy and schooling of Mexican immigrants in the United States. National agreements include: (1) the Program for Mexican Communities Abroad, which links U.S. communities of Mexican origin to Mexico through programs administered…

This two-week unit, appropriate for bilingual education settings as well as foreign language programs, deals with the three primary cultural influences found in Mexican contemporary art. The multisensory materials, pragmatic focus, and direct creative student involvement are designed to make it a microcosmic, real-life experience. The first part…

Mexico and Guatemala are undergoing changes in their educational systems due to a paradigm shift that replaces ethnic assimilation with pluralism. Both countries' governments have legally recognized the linguistic and cultural diversity of their countries via amendments to their constitutions. Both countries face tremendous obstacles in…