This book analyzes how African and Hispanic Americans perceive and interact with one another, highlighting black-brown relations in Houston, Texas, one of the largest cities with a majority ethnic population and one in which Hispanic Americans outnumber African Americans. Using results from several sociological studies, the book examines: how each…

As part of a larger ethnographic study, this book focuses on Mexican American family life, parental attitudes toward school, and efforts to increase student achievement by changing families. Exploration of the daily life of the 10 immigrant families sheds light on what educators have interpreted as the disinterest of newly arrived immigrants in…

This collection explores diversity in American schools by opening the discussion to the unprecedented diversity of children in American schools. Sections on rethinking familiar minorities, newcomers to the country, and other, often unrecognized minorities, deal with the common themes of minority status, marginality, and resistance. The following…

This book is a discussion of the major social, economic, political, and geographical topics relating to Cuban settlement and culture in the United States. First, the book examines Cubans as an ethnic minority, as well as some of the events and people that have helped shape the popular images that Americans may have of this group. The focus then…

Gaps in educational and employment outcomes persist (and in some cases are growing) among various groups of young adults in the United States. Particularly notable are the gaps that exist between minority young adults--especially black young adults--and their white counterparts. One oft-cited reason for this trend is the growing number of youth…

Written by a team of graduate student teachers, this collection of papers focuses on the challenges of teaching at-risk students and the development of successful classroom strategies. The first chapter, "Kids in Need: The Teachers' Perspective," addresses Hispanic children in poverty, the effects of poverty on academic achievement, and…

This illustrated bilingual children's book (English and Spanish), relates the story of Pepita, a young Hispanic girl who is fluent in both Spanish and English. Pepita always helps when asked to talk for others in Spanish and English. But one day Pepita decides she doesn't want to help anymore. She wants to hurry and get home from school before her…

The United States is quick to celebrate the Brown v. Board of Education decision, but there is an insidious trend toward resegregation in the public schools. For the first time since 1954, school segregation is actually increasing for African American students. In several rarely discussed decisions, the Supreme Court has opened the door for the…

"Westhills" is a multiethnic coastal community in San Diego County, California, in which Mexican Americans comprise approximately 22 percent of the population. This book reports ethnographic research on a group of working-class Chicana adolescents in one Westhills barrio and their problems, school experiences, immersion in two…

This book focuses on one of the key questions in education: What determines a student's success? Based on twenty years of work on student success, Ray Padilla here presents two related models he has developed that both provide a framework for understanding success and indicate how it can be enhanced and replicated. The research and theory that…

Taking its departure from a conference hosted by the National Center on Education in the Inner City (Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), this collection considers developing a research base for preventive and intervention-oriented efforts to foster resilience and educational success for minority students from disadvantaged backgrounds.…

The experiences of Cuban Americans, immigrants who often came to the United States reluctantly, are explored to introduce this prominent minority population to others. The following chapters are included: (1) "Historical Background"; (2) "Genesis of the Cuban Exile"; (3) "Development of the Cuban Exile Country"; (4)…

An illustrated guide to aspects of life in the United States is presented in Spanish for recent Hispanic arrivals. The guidelines address such topics as resettlement agencies, community relations and national customs, the U.S. government, local and long distance transport, mail and telephone communication systems, employment practices, the…

Schools are not serving our Black and Hispanic youth well, as standardized test scores reflect. The problem of educating these students must be addressed. This book offers suggestions to educators who have the interest, intent, and inspiration to facilitate achievement motivation among these students, but who may lack the information or teaching…

The essays and articles in this collection were presented at a conference on "the Puerto Rican in Literature" that addressed, among other issues, the duality of the Puerto Rican experience and the constant oscillation between mainland and the island. The essays represent the vitality, diversity, and distinctiveness of contemporary Puerto…