Closing the ‘achievement gap’ of Mexican Americans: A question of language, learning style, or economics?

Abstract

The achievement gap of Mexican Americans in the US has been attributed to a variety of factors, among them language, learning styles, and socio-economic status. In this paper, after looking at the question of linguistic allegiance and the debate which arose in the area of bilingual education between the government which favoured transition to English and those who preferred language maintenance programmes, the role of the schools and the question of learning styles will be discussed. It will be seen that the achievement gap of Mexican Americans and other groups in the US is essentially a question of economics and that the solution lies in greater access to the wider society.

Are self‐esteem and academic achievement reciprocally related? Findings from a longitudinal study of Mexican‐origin youth

“…Finally, although a few prior longitudinal studies have examined the association between self‐esteem and achievement, there are very few studies focused on Mexican‐origin youth in particular. Given the achievement gap between Whites and Latinos (Hemphill, Vanneman, & Rahman, 2011), particularly the Mexican‐American subgroup (Stein, 2010), it is critical to understand the impact of self‐esteem on achievement and how achievement affects the self‐esteem of Mexican‐origin youth.…”

Inquiry at the Crossroads of Policy and Learning: A Study of a District-Wide Literacy Initiative

“…More specific analyses of the impact of the district's efforts on students' reading achievement, however, can be found in a series of technical reports produced by the High Performance Learning Communities Project ~Harwell, D'Amico, Stein, & Gatti, 2000;Resnick & Harwell, 1998;Stein, Harwell, & D'Amico, 1999!, the most recent of which provides specific evidence regarding the impact of Balanced Literacy on students' achievement as measured by standardized tests ~D'Amico, Harwell, Stein, & van den Heuvel, 2001!. Using multilevel models of student achievement, the authors indicate the relationship between students' socioeconomic status and their reading achievement is weakened in cases where teachers report that the Balanced Literacy Program is an important guiding framework in their day-to-day professional lives.…”

A Linguistic Needs Assessment of a Latino Community

“…Contrasting with this is Freire's vision of many perspectives on reality coming together as active creators of history and as constructors in changing the power structure. Stein (1990) All thirty participants were mothers between the ages of 19 and 37, the majority in their twenties, and all except for one had at least one child between the ages of zero and six.…”