An element seen to be lacking in the development of bilingual programs in California is a sensitivity to the sociolinguistic and psychological influences in Chicano language usage. These include the mixing in of American slang. (MSE)

One Washington state school district uses mariachi music lessons to engage Hispanic students in school and deter them from dropping out. The district's dropout rate is very low, despite its high Hispanic population. Students in the top-performing mariachi groups say that participating has motivated them academically. Just as mariachi has…

Analyzes the impact of employment context and family structure on Mexican American families' health insurance status. Found that, of the groups studied, Mexican Americans are least likely to have either overall coverage or coverage from an employer. An extended family increased the odds of having no one insured in the family. (RJM)

Increasing gang membership among Mexican-American adolescents is rooted in a cultural context and reflects a desperate attempt to gain some control over barrio life marked by low employment, poverty, and discrimination. Discusses the decision-making process involved, and recommends three ways schools can reframe their views towards these students,…

This book contains memoirs about growing up as the son of Mexican immigrants in rural California, as well as stories that the author's parents told him about their childhoods and village life in Mexico. In a preface and introductory stories, the immigrant explains how his family culture sustained him during bad experiences in school, and describes…

This collection of 14 folk drama scripts is drawn from the Hispanic culture and traditions of the American Southwest and designed for use in educational settings. The plays are short, simple, and easy to produce. A single play can fill a class period, while several plays grouped together would make a school assembly. Six plays, intended for grades…

This annotated bibiliography provides background information on three main groups of Hispanic Americans (Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans) and is arranged to reflect the diverse histories, experiences, and cultures of these Hispanic subgroups. The bibliography includes both English publications and bilingual publications…

This work is an attempt to synthesize the findings of the multi-disciplinary research on various aspects of Chicanos' use of their two languages, Spanish and English. After an introduction on notions of language, speech, and sociology, the text covers nine aspects of the question: (1) historical background on the relations between the English and…

Examines the beliefs of college-educated Chicanas regarding ethnic identification, preferred endogamy, and male perceptions of their achievements. Concludes that these women attempt to integrate traditional female role behavior with newly achieved professional status. (FMW)

This publication is intended as a resource guide for teachers, students, and librarians interested in Mexican American culture, and for groups wishing to conduct local community research using oral histories. The Mexican American Traditions in Nebraska project was designed to document and preserve the richness of Nebraska's Mexican culture. The…

Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans have had different geographical and cultural experiences. Problems specific to each group, and educational strategies to solve them, are presented to promote cultural pluralism in the schools. (JN)

Examines proverb use among 304 Mexican Americans (aged 16-85) of Los Angeles (California), assembling information on how or where particular proverbs were learned, with whom or what kind of individual their use is associated, the occasions on which they are used, and general attitudes toward the use of proverbs. (LC)

Observation of a maintenance bilingual (Spanish-English) program to determine its effects on majority language students found that fully English-proficient students enrolled in the program did achieve competency in Spanish and that their attitudes toward Spanish, second-language learning, and Mexican-American culture and community were strongly…

Relationships between participant ethnicity, acculturation level, counselor model of helping, and ratings of counselor credibility were examined using an analogue research design (N=199). Results suggest that aspects of Mexican American culture support the use of, rather than underutilize, counseling services. Implications for counselors and…

Examines the transformation of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe as the foundation for proposing objectives teachers might use to guide students in borrowing traditional images from their own or others' cultures. Offers a series of six objectives to guide students in understanding and transforming traditional images. (CMK)