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Advocate Online
In the Know
Latina Student Horizons
A new study finds that school, family,
and cultural factors combine to limit Latina students' vision of their
'possible selves'—and suggests remedies.
Sí, Se Puede!, Yes, We Can: Latinas
in School, a report by the American Association of University Women,
suggests that when a young Latina in America asks herself what she can
do with her future, her imagination, or sense of her "possible self,"
has already been narrowed by determinants ranging from mismeasurement
in school to competing values at home and school.
"Communities formed by families, peers,
and schools provide a social context in which possible selves are imagined
and changed over time," the report says. "In some cases, possible
selves are constrained by these contexts; in others, they are broadened."
In the case of Latinas, the evidence of
constraint is compelling. Although data suggest a strong commitment to
education on the part of Latina students and their parents, these students
are at higher risk of not finishing high school than any other ethnic,
racial, or gender group.
Statistics further show that Latina students
are tracked disproportionately away from college preparatory courses and
into special education courses, where they are likely to be labeled "learning
disabled" because of lack of English proficiency.
While facing such obstacles, the report
says, the Latina student nevertheless receives a strong message at school
that individuality and personal achievement are central to development
within society. And this may well be at odds with the message she is receiving
at home.
"Regardless of class, Latinas have
greater cross-generational involvement and sense of responsibility to
the family than do Anglos," the report states. Among poorer Latino
families, "even young girls often have family responsibilities involving
child care and housework. Latinas, who as high school students have already
experienced incompatibilities between their educational and familial possible
selves, may not envision themselves as college students."
The report concludes with recommendations
for expanding the horizons of Latina students, including development of
more culturally sensitive counseling that demystifies the college environment
and the financial aid process, and creation of programs to aggressively
recruit students out of remedial courses.
More information, including a complete
copy of the report in English or Spanish, can be obtained at www.aauw.org.
| From The
Lectern |
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For all faculty,
irrespective of individual status or discipline, the achievement
of some workable degree of national unity and transformation is
a compelling matter for immediate action. The professoriate can
be like the rudder on a ship. A rudder, small in comparison to the
main, can determine the direction of the whole. Unfortunately, at
the moment, faculty provide little direction, a loss not only to
the tattered profession but, even more importantly, to the whole
of society. Inescapable ethical questions remain to be faced by
the professoriate, questions about our responsibility to democracy
and the education of students. Any effective solutions will have
to be achieved through discourse, representation, and consensus—in
a process that must rise above discipline, personal politics, and
academic deals.
—Jim
Sullivan, Emeritus Southern Illinois University, Fall 2000 Thought
& Action
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