Empirical research demonstrates that Chicanx students thrive in an educational setting where Western histories are de-centered, and the core objectives of the curricula are the student's own self-exploration, the discovery of their subjectivity, social change, and learning (Cabrera et al. in Urban Rev 45:7-22, 2013). This critical pedagogical…

This ongoing ethnographic study examines how a counter-space, La Libertad, introduces Latin@ students to a liberating pedagogy of praxis which counters dehumanization they experience in their high school. The researcher spent 180+ hours over 14 months in the field collecting data through participant observation, field notes, and personal…

This essay reviews Latina/o students' counter-narratives challenging colorblindness. The author highlights the experiences of students from Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American Studies program. By examining student counter-narratives, the author also identifies race-related terms that are more suitable for dialogue among and with…

In this article, the author argues that true knowledge of democracy requires learning about the values of diversity and dissent. The American brand of democratic ideology has inspired numerous movements for inclusion through the securing of rights and opportunities for marginalized populations. Multicultural education is a recent historical…

This article illustrates how elements of praxis within George Spindler's cultural therapy and Paul Willis's cultural production are useful precedents for a praxis-based pedagogy. I argue that combining the praxis elements within cultural therapy and cultural production engenders a third mode of ethnographic praxis that I call "cultural…

In this paper we forward our experiences and understanding of how we have used critical race theory (CRT) in our classrooms; more importantly, we bring forth the voices of students as a method of conveying the impact of our CRT classroom exercises. These exercises are parts of three structures that we created to counter the reality of racism and…

The article reports on Latina/o high school students who conducted participatory action research (PAR) on problems that circumscribe their possibilities for self-determination. The intention is to legitimize student knowledge to develop effective educational policies and practices for young Latinas/os. PAR is engaged through the Social Justice…

Latina/o students often experience coursework that is remedial and unchallenging--benign at best, a dumbing-down at worst. This potential limiting curriculum is not only failing to provide Latinas/os with the credentials necessary to advance economically, but their education denies them the opportunity to develop the critical voices and…

This article discusses how an experimental social science curriculum has influenced Latina/o students' perspectives of their potential to graduate high school and attend college. The curriculum, which is called the Social Justice Education Project (SJEP), requires students to adopt a serious academic subjectivity to analyze and address social…

This article examined Latina/o students' experiences of racism at El Centro High. Many felt that negative relationships with school personnel were deleterious to their education. These relationships had grown from teachers' and administrators' ideological assumptions of Latina/o students' racial inferiority. These assumptions had stemmed from two…

This article explores the student resistances that shape orientations to schooling. Drawing on a study of Latina/o youth, I examine how race and gender influence whether they perceive education as oppressive or useful in resisting oppression. The key lever that may alter their perceptions is how school and society treat Latinos differently from…