"The ethnics are coming" --and the fear of many observers is that the quality of traditional disciplines will suffer as a result. Immigrant Voices: In Search of Pedagogical Reform is a new book which shows that such fear is unfounded. Ethnic scholars of international repute come together in this new collection of essays to meditate upon the single most important social phenomena in America today: Immigration. Due to the ever increasing ethnic diversity in today's school populations, the need to explore this issue has become more critical than ever. Giving voice to a broad range of complex...

Fifteen years ago, Concha Delgado-Gaitan began literacy research in Carpinteria, California. At that time, Mexican immigrants who labored in nurseries, factories, and housekeeping, had almost no voice in how their children were educated. Committed to participative research, Delgado-Gaitan collaborated with the community to connect family, school, and community. Regular community gatherings gave birth to the Comite de Padres Latinos. Refusing the role of the victim, the Comite paticipants organized to reach out to everyone in the community, not just other Latino families. Bound by their...

The ethnographic experience is an indelible venture that continuously redefines one's life. Bringing together important cross-currents in the national debate on education, this book introduces the student or practitioner to the challenges, resources, and skills informing ethnographic research today. From the first chapter describing the cultural foundations of ethnographic research, by George Spindler, the book traces both traditional and new approaches to the study of schools and their communities. Emphasis on discourse, critical pedagogy, and ethnicity are among the many aspects of...

The New Americans describes the life of immigrants and transnationals in the Lower Rio Grande Valley where poverty is the 'training ground' for people's resilience and capacity to adapt to different social and economic settings. At the heart of their ability to survive and succeed is their ability to form a strong personal and ethnic identity that allows them to accommodate new life styles without losing their self-respect. Trueba shows how the resilience and diverse cultural experiences of transnationals and immigrants enable them to succeed in school and in their work and communities....

American society is changing in front of our eyes with the presence of new Americans, immigrants and transnationals, whose experiences have prepared them to play key leadership roles in our country. The paradox of having the poorest of the new Americans rising to important social, economic, and academic roles is explained in these pages.

Myth or Reality presents in simple language the case of Asian Americans in California. Case studies and episodes are presented in a theoretical context of language minority students' adjustment to mainstream cultures. The high levels of expectation and the achievement motivation of many Asian Americans has added to the myth of success of all Asian populations in the United States. The authors use data that calibrates the differential success of various Asian populations, and the need to assist those who are less successful. Asian minorities at risk, the role of teachers in preventing...

This book elucidates the amazing life journeys of academically successful migrant students. Offering vivid case studies of successful students, this book helps teachers, education students, and researchers understand the factors that lead to success by minority language children. The authors develop the lessons of student success stories into recommendations for schools and for educational policy. Readers gain from this book the stories of real students, the challenges they faced, and the means by which students and schools may overcome language and cultural barriers to educational success.

This study looks at the history and plight of the Hmong and the way in which such a minority fits into the American dream. More specifically the book examines the problems faced by the children of a small group of Hmong who have settled in La Playa, in East Central California.

This book elucidates the amazing life journeys of academically successful migrant students. Offering vivid case studies of successful students, this book helps teachers, education students, and researchers understand the factors that lead to success by minority language children. The authors develop the lessons of student success stories into recommendations for schools and for educational policy. Readers gain from this book the stories of real students, the challenges they faced, and the means by which students and schools may overcome language and cultural barriers to educational success.