Since the 1950s, ethnic relations in Tenejapa (Chiapas, Mexico) have shifted toward greater equality and less antagonism between formerly dominant mestizos and formerly dominated "indigenas" (Maya Indians). An important cause is the long-term promotion of indigenous education by a national agency, Instituto Nacional Indigenista,…

In rural Guatemala, long-standing ethnic differences in economic well-being widened during 1988-95 despite rapid national economic growth. Analysis of data from three national surveys found that returns to education were substantially lower for rural indigenous households, especially those where the head of household did not speak Spanish.…

Based on research supported by the Peace Corps, this book about the Guatemalan Indians examines some of the cultural implications and problems of current efforts that aim toward national integration of traditional communities. There are seven major chapters. Chapter 1, "A Social History of the Guatemalan Indian," looks at the Indians…

This paper attempts to assess the influence of development communication theory on the planning and implementation of technical assistance projects in the Third World that utilize mass communication as an agent of change. Like political development theory, communication theory has often been applied in an ethnocentric manner in less developed…

A longitudinal study explored cultural historical change within the Zinacantecan Mayan culture to create theoretical and empirical links between individual processes of cultural apprenticeship and societal processes of cultural change. The study examined the transmission of culture from parent to child in an apprenticeship relationship as the…